One thing no one has mentioned yet is the bungs/airlocks that are used on the better bottle. Are your bungs really tight? Are they old? Sanitized well? Maybe they aren't properly closing off the air and you are getting oxidization after the fermentation finishes before you open it to see what...
Saw this article today. Wonder how it is going to effect our honey prices in the future. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/05/winter-honeybee-losses/
I am wondering the same thing. I have a mead that has been in secondary for about 5 months now and is still pretty cloudy. It is a simple wildflower mead of about 5 gallons. Should I rack to tertiary and add sparkloids or bentonite? Or do I just need to wait longer for this this to settle out. I...
I wouldn't think that it would get that high that fast. It took 3 weeks for my last melomel to reach ~12%. I guess anything is possible, maybe it just needs some nutrient or time to get back to work.
Why don't you try a strawberry extract? This could add the strawberry flavors that you are looking for. I think I'm going to try this but I might add the strawberry to a secondary. Did you have any problems with too much activity clogging up your air lock?