I will still steep. You can bottle out of primary. I do it all the time without much issue. Secondary just gets some of the trub out and makes it clearer. All you have to do is sanitize another fermenter then move the mead over with an autosyphon. Try to not splash too much when moving the mead.
I believe the first batch was with english ale with sour mix. It was before Jester King went full "sour". They used english ale with lacot/sour mix. English should work with it so you have some sweetness to it.
I'm going to remove Batch #3 form the barrel today. That one should be great.
I used a newer Jester King yeast and some of the original dreges. This batch is different because the first one was when JK had english ale + bugs. This one is a Saison yeast (probably 3711) and bugs. The barrel will add quite a bit once it sits in there for a while.
I got one more barrel I...
Not a problem man. I dont frequent this site anymore because of reasons but will still help out my recipes. I brewed 20 gallons sunday with a few tweaks and it is nice and happy fermenting in the barrel.
That is just minor loss you so not have to worry about. You can throw in a anti foamer to prevent it. Forgot what it is called but every homebrew store should carry it. I ferment in buckets and with this beer i never had a blow off (decent head space). If you are going to go the bucket route...
Sourness comes from bacteria not yeast. I recommend pitching a Sacc next to the dreges to insure fermentation the batch #2 I did. I took dreges from Buddah's brew and stepped them up for a previous sour. Then used that dreges to ferment and make this sour as well as others. Start off with a...