Purchased some honey in bulk (good old Amazon) and was wondering which recipe to use, then came across some inspiration on Mastodon.
Brew day was straightforward, and fermentation seemed to start despite the yeast not being pitched into the ideal environment - too cold - however things changed.
The Brew
Simple enough recipe.
Bulk purchased honey
Honey warmed and added to 17L of warm water in the fermenter. Ignoring logic, I pitched the yeast into wort that was really too cold, taking almost 24hrs to reach the correct temperature.
To be safe, I repitched the yeast the following day at the correct temperature - happier yeast 😊.
Yeast being rehydrated in the wortWaiting for the magic to begin
Stuck Fermentation
Stuck, or at least slowed considerably, despite still having a relatively high SG of 1.058. Reading a couple of articles (one such) suggesting possible problems. The wort is 4.0pH, within range for the yeast, and it's had nutrients added.
A new batch of dried yeast, rehydrated properly in chlorine free water at the correct temperature, added to a sample of the wort with a little added nutrient; quickly began working suggesting that not all the simple sugars have been depleted, therefore there must be another reason for the fermentation slowing.
Popped on the stir plate to keep things moving.
It'll be interesting to see how the SG moves with the starter, from the initial 1.058.
Following morning 1.039.
Next day 1.035.
Repitching the yeast.
The starter has worked well, and ready for repitching.
Prior to aeration.
After aeration.
Day after pitching the yeast the SG had moved from 1.058 to 1.048, a good improvement with vigorous fermentation.
Using the correct Brix conversion tool, following day SG 1.027.
Day 13 - Fermentation picked up again after aeration and nutrient.
SG now 1.020.
A Month Later - Eventually the fermenting completed, metabisulphite and sorbate were used to stop any further fermentation when back-sweetened, which was done with honey, lime cordial was added and it was left to 'mature'.
A couple of weeks later - the harshness has gone and it's drinkable. The lime flavour is really mild, future batches will need a stronger flavouring.
