Tuesday, October 10, 2006
BOOM!
The gallon of mead that I’d stopped fermenting, was NOT stopped.
I’ve been watching it continue to bubble and carbonate. Last week I decided that there was no way it was done, considering the number of bubbles I could watch forming. Sunday, I headed over to the Wine and Hops shop to get another rubber stopper. I was going to put a water lock back on it, and let it ferment some more, not under pressure.
I removed the cap, and mead geysered out of the bottle. I’m not talking about the little spray you get from a shaken beer can. I’m talking about a plume of foam nearly 4 feet tall. I jammed the airlock in quickly, and foam was shooting through it, out the tiny holes in top.
I probably ended up with a pint and a half of mead lost, when the foaming finally stopped. I can only imagine what would have happened if the jar had shattered. I’d probably have plate glass chunks embedded in my walls. Or it would have cut my head off.
The color looks good so far, a nice amber shade. All three containers have a different color, even though the 3 gallon and 1 gallon had the same treatment. The geyser 1 gallon is the darkest, probably from its week of slow anaerobic fermentation.
The room where they’re stored sure smells good now. At some point in the next week, I’ll have to take another sample, and see where the alcohol level is sitting. And the taste, of course.