Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

So here's a weird one for you guys. I just started a batch of the Groennfell Nordic Farmhouse (http://www.groennfell.com/recipes/nordic-farmhouse). I mixed everything together as listed, put my campden in, and it sat for 36hrs before I took SG and pitched my starter.

OG was 1.020? What the hell? I used 5lb (half gallon) + 8oz of honey, along with a half gallon of cranberry juice. Diluted to 5.5gal. Am I delusional?

- Josh Peanasky

Yes. Or drunk.

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Seriously, the math doesn't work out for that. Hydrometer or refractometer?

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Infection?

Hydrometer.

Was dosed with 4 campden tablets right after initial mixing, then 36 hr "wait" period, so hopefully not an infection.

Could it be that the honey settled out during those 36 hours and I just pulled a poorly mixed sample?

How did you store this while you waited to pitch the starter? Note: the addition of yeast was optional, so the expectation is that spontaneous fermentation would occur.

Did you have this under an airlock? And if so, did you see any activity?

How does it look?

How does it taste?

I have a mead that I cannot coax below 1.020, with the addition of yeast or yeast energizer...and I used yeast nutrient at the beginning, but it tastes good. So I've stopped messing with it and think it will be ok.

Drink whatever you pull off to measure SG; ....if it tastes good now, it should turn out just fine.

Must was in a carboy with airlock during the campden treatment. 1.020 was the original gravity. I pitched the yeast last night, so we'll see what activity comes from that.

I'm starting to think it was a case of poor mixing since I grabbed the gravity sample from the top.

- Josh Peanasky

That sounds like the most likely explanation. If something had managed to munch that many points of gravity in only 36 hours I'm sure you would have seen activity.

Since the settled layer will likely be a high enough sugar concentration to be hydroscopic, it would be good to remix the must.

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jjpeanasky wrote:So here's a weird one for you guys. I just started a batch of the Groennfell Nordic Farmhouse (http://www.groennfell.com/recipes/nordic-farmhouse). I mixed everything together as listed, put my campden in, and it sat for 36hrs before I took SG and pitched my starter.

OG was 1.020? What the hell? I used 5lb (half gallon) + 8oz of honey, along with a half gallon of cranberry juice. Diluted to 5.5gal. Am I delusional?

- Josh Peanasky

Assuming 4.5 gallons of water, .5 gallons of juice, and .5 gallons honey -- Brix should be in the neighborhood of 11 degrees -- So OG should be around 1.044 plus or minus a few points.

You should stir vigorously before taking your SG.