Honey Wash Advice

[Benoit]

Hello all, I started a honey wash this morning & whilst all seems to be ok I had a couple of questions for those who have done them before. Ive used dried bakers yeast for which I rehydrated as required & got a real big froth in the jar so I was kind of expecting the same from the wash but it never came. After about an hour there was maybe 1cm deep cap all over but now I'm home from work, all of that has gone & the raisins I used as nutrient have all floated to the top in its place. The whole thing is still fizzing away merrily but I've only really done a turbo wash for a sacrificial run before this & wanted to check it was normal, I'm still very green to all this!

My recipe was:
10x jars of honey (approx 3.4kg)
2x tbsp boiled yeast (for nutrient)
1x big handful minced raisins (for nutrient)
5 litres of hot water to dissolve it all then made up to 20 litres with warm water until the temp settled at 28°C
Aerated for 15mins
Checked pH & added half tsp of citric acid
Pitched rehydrated yeast (2x tbsp's bakers)

If I'm reading this hydrometer correctly then the starting gravity was 1.05 with a potential alcohol of 8%, I don't plan on checking this again for another week unless it seems to have stopped. I thought the cap would last longer, I'm I worried for nothing?

Benoit

[Easydrinker]

Yes mate,you are worrying without cause.
Sometimes my washes grow a big,sometimes foamy,sometimes creamy head.
Sometimes this disappears and just leaves a whole lot of visible bubble activity.
As long as it is bubbling it is good,it should only stop doing so when finished.
Relax.
BTW,that is a funky wash that you have going there,let us know how it turns out.

Robert.

[Benoit]

Thanks Robert! I've read that honey washes can take a long time to finish so I started this first, there will be an Odin's Cornflake Whiskey set up in a week or so & if by some minor miracle I don't cock it up I have a bag of malted barley for a single malt about the same time. The plan is to have them coincide with a weeks holiday that's coming up & spend a few days in the garage!
Done a lot of reading & honey always caught my attention for some reason?! I guess the plan is to try & get something around the 60% mark then oak for a couple of months & finish off with a spoonful of fresh honey when it's bottled. Sounds like a good Xmas morning warmer, I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Benoit

[chill]

In at least some cases, I think the formation is the head depends on what is in the wash. It needs something to keep the surface tension in the water so that bubbles form. A lentil wash will throw up a head, but when I have re-used the trub and lentils by adding more sugar and water, the second ferment did not throw up a head. It fermented well and finished fine, but bubbles were the only sign of activity.

That is my current theory.

Chuck

[Benoit]

Maybe something to do with the first few generations getting established then Chuck? Just thinking if your lentil wash doesn't do it second time round & my honey wash didn't do it when the rehydrated stuff was added to the main bucket.....maybe 2+2=5??!
I don't know anything on the subject really, just an idea that popped into my head!

Benoit

[Mash]

Honey washes do need to be PH tested and adjusted. Quite common to add calcium carbonate to speed up fermentation.

Honey is one product that does require pH adjustment even if the brix is low because it can dramatically affect the acidity.. Back on the cockles!

Phantom!!

[Benoit]

I had a quick peek at it this morning & it was still fizzing as much as it was yesterday so I guess that's a good sign. When I checked the pH before pitching the yeast it was still fairly neutral (hence adding citric) but I'll keep an eye on it every couple of days, I'm sure my little boy has a bucket full of shells outside somewhere. Do egg shells work the same?

Benoit

[Benoit]

Checked again this morning, still fizzing & smells great...CO2 takes your breath away a bit like but other than that!
The raisins have lost most of their colour, some have emptied out entirely & the skins are floating about full of bubbles. I dropped the hydrometer in & it's dropped from 1.05 to 1.025, pH is about 5
Going quite well for a first attempt!

Benoit

[Easydrinker]

Believe in the bubbles,may The Force be with you..

Robert.

[Mash]

The yeast is strong with you

[Benoit]

Down to what looks like 1.004 today, still got the rice crispies soundtrack & I boiled a spoon up for a little taste. It's quite sour, hard to distinguish a flavour as such but it's similar to a white wine I guess.
Now then next question, if this looks like it will be done in the next couple of days how long would you leave it before racking into another bucket? I've read leaving it on the gunk for a few days can help chew up some off flavours, I've also read mead (which I guess this is?) benefits from a few weeks maturation if anyone has any advice on that? Would you use any finings?

Thanks again for your advice and interest

Benoit

[Benoit]

0.995!! Still a little bit of fizz going on but not much, anyone have any suggestions on when to rack etc?

Benoit

[RumJohn]

No harm in leaving it a few days. Dead yeast and solids will settle which you don't want in your boiler.