SouthernGorilla
Well-Known Member
My wife got off work early the other day so she could swing by the homebrew store and pick up some yeast and some new toys. Yeah, I'm one of the lucky ones who's other half is as involved as I am.
Anyhow, the guy was out of the WLP720 sweat mead yeast we wanted and sold her two packets of EC-1118 instead. For some odd reason he claimed EC-1118 was a direct swap for the WLP720. I guess he can't read the packages.
Since we only needed one packet for the one-gallon blackberry we had planned I decided to make an orange caramel to use the other packet. Which brings me to the point of this thread.
The same yeast under identical temperatures and in similar musts is acting completely differently in the two batches.
The orange caramel smells amazing. There are no detectable esters, no off smells at all. I could drink it right out of the primary.
The blackberry, on the other hand, smells like it's ready for a fight. It's estery and acidic.
Oddly, the orange should have a higher SG based on the amount of honey I used. And it should probably be more acidic as well. Yet the yeast seem quite happy and enthusiastic compared to the blackberry.
My hypothesis as to the difference is a mechanical problem rather than a chemical one. I ran the blackberries through a blender before adding them to the must. The smaller pieces allowed the blackberries to pack closely together at the top whereas whole berries would have left gaps. This tighter packing made it impossible for the CO2 to escape quickly. I saw evidence of this when I opened the jug and stirred the must. It foamed quite violently when I broke the cap of berries.
With the orange I just cut it into eight wedges and then cut the wedges in half. So there are huge gaps between the fruit for CO2 to escape.
This makes me realize just how critical all the little details are to a successful brew. The blackberry must with the caramelized honey smelled like a fresh-baked blackberry pastry before I pitched the yeast. Now it smells more like somebody spilled Jack Daniels into a glass of Kool-Ade. I suspect it will still taste great at some point. But I'm certain it will take more aging than the orange.
Is there something else that could cause two melomels to react so differently to the same yeast? The orange also has some caramelized honey. Not as much, but some. Both used the same water. Both were sanitized the same. Both seemed equally delicious prior to pitching. Are the different fruits really that different where yeast are concerned?
Anyhow, the guy was out of the WLP720 sweat mead yeast we wanted and sold her two packets of EC-1118 instead. For some odd reason he claimed EC-1118 was a direct swap for the WLP720. I guess he can't read the packages.
Since we only needed one packet for the one-gallon blackberry we had planned I decided to make an orange caramel to use the other packet. Which brings me to the point of this thread.
The same yeast under identical temperatures and in similar musts is acting completely differently in the two batches.
The orange caramel smells amazing. There are no detectable esters, no off smells at all. I could drink it right out of the primary.
The blackberry, on the other hand, smells like it's ready for a fight. It's estery and acidic.
Oddly, the orange should have a higher SG based on the amount of honey I used. And it should probably be more acidic as well. Yet the yeast seem quite happy and enthusiastic compared to the blackberry.
My hypothesis as to the difference is a mechanical problem rather than a chemical one. I ran the blackberries through a blender before adding them to the must. The smaller pieces allowed the blackberries to pack closely together at the top whereas whole berries would have left gaps. This tighter packing made it impossible for the CO2 to escape quickly. I saw evidence of this when I opened the jug and stirred the must. It foamed quite violently when I broke the cap of berries.
With the orange I just cut it into eight wedges and then cut the wedges in half. So there are huge gaps between the fruit for CO2 to escape.
This makes me realize just how critical all the little details are to a successful brew. The blackberry must with the caramelized honey smelled like a fresh-baked blackberry pastry before I pitched the yeast. Now it smells more like somebody spilled Jack Daniels into a glass of Kool-Ade. I suspect it will still taste great at some point. But I'm certain it will take more aging than the orange.
Is there something else that could cause two melomels to react so differently to the same yeast? The orange also has some caramelized honey. Not as much, but some. Both used the same water. Both were sanitized the same. Both seemed equally delicious prior to pitching. Are the different fruits really that different where yeast are concerned?
