Jump to content


Photo
- - - - -

Pectin enzyme - is it ever too late?


  • Please log in to reply
4 replies to this topic

#1 robsauce

robsauce

    Comptroller of Teh Great Northern Wasteland

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 573 posts
  • LocationCanada

Posted 02 April 2009 - 10:21 AM

First post on these new forums - followed hightest here from the homebrewtalk forums. Long time beer maker, first time mead maker and I have a question about Pectin enzyme. Is it ever too late to add it - 'just in case'? When I brewed up my mead I didn't use pectin based on comments from people on other forums stating you dont need to unless you are boiling your fruit. Is this 100% true - or is there a small chance I may end up with a pectin haze that will take an overly long time to clear. So, is it ever too late to add the pectin enzyme as a precautionary measure? Also, when is the best time to rack off the fruit and lees? Once all the fruit has dropped, once primary fermentaiton is mostly complete, before its complete? Anyone have any tricks to limit the amount of fruit that gets into the secondary when siphoning?? I thought of passing it through a strainer but am afraid that would run the risk of oxygenating the mead. If it helps, here is my brewlog: 1) Added 6L of room temp tap water to primary2) Blended (using an immersion blender) ~10lbs of sour cherries (previously frozen/thawed twice)3) Added blended cherries to primary4) Boiled and cooled 7L of water to approx 130F5) Stirred and dissolved 1gallon of honey into 130F water6) Heated 1L of water to ~160F and added to honey bucket to get all the goodness out7) Added honey mixtures to primary – total volume approx 22L8) Stage1 nutrient addition: Dissolved a little more than 1tsp of each DAP and Fermaid-K into 1L of warm water and added to must9) Added additional 3L of water to must – total volume approx gallons10) Rehydrated 10g of Go-ferm in 110F water. Added 8g D47 yeast once cooled to 104F and let sit for 15 minutes.11) Stirred must vigorously for 5 minutes12) Pitched yeast - must temp 78F, yeast temp 82F.13) Stirred must vigorously for 5 minutes14) Stir for ~ 5minutes 2x/day until 1/2 sugar break.Day1 - Mar 24 - 12pm Gravity: 1.102 - Must temp: 78F Room temp: 60FDay2 - Mar 25 - 6pm Gravity: 1.102 - Must temp: 62F Room temp: 60F -> moved from basement upstairs to ~ 68-70F room temp.Day3 - Mar 26 - 8pm Gravity: 1.096 - Must temp: 71F Room temp: 69F. Tested pH with pH strip - somewhere around 3.0 or slightly higher.Day4 - Mar 27 - 6pm Gravity: 1.072 - Must temp: 68F Room temp: 64F. Added 3/4tsp of each DAP and Fermaid-K. Moved back downstairs.Day5 - Mar 28 - 5pm Gravity: 1.044 - Must temp: 69F Room temp: 63F. Added 1/4tsp of each DAP and Fermaid-K.Day6 - Mar 29 - 9pm Gravity: 1.028 - Must temp: 64F Room temp: 60F.Day7 - Mar 30 - 10pm Gravity: 1.020 - Must temp: 64F Room temp: 62F.Day8 - Mar 31 - 9pm Gravity: 1.012 - Must temp: 62F Room temp: 61F.Day9 - Apr 1 - 6pm Gravity: 1.008 - Must temp: 61F Room temp: 61F.

#2 Wayne B

Wayne B

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 114 posts
  • LocationEvergreen, CO

Posted 02 April 2009 - 11:22 AM

Pectins can act to keep stuff in suspension even if they haven't been "chained" by heating. It never hurts to add pectic enzyme to a batch that uses a high pectin fruit. Pectic enzyme works most efficiently before ethanol builds up in the solution, but it will still work (although far more slowly) if you add it after fermentation is done.I keep a copper scrubby pad handy, that I wrap around my siphon (the end going into the fermenter, not the thing I'm racking into), and I secure it with a piece of sanitized string. It helps to keep most fruit bits from getting to the siphon, and drastically cuts down on the amount of fruit that gets transferred.

#3 robsauce

robsauce

    Comptroller of Teh Great Northern Wasteland

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 573 posts
  • LocationCanada

Posted 02 April 2009 - 07:58 PM

Thanks for all the input. Some of your corrections come from me being a mead newbie as stated in my post - this is my first attempt. Yes I meant pectin enzyme. Thanks for the suggestions regarding fruit in primary vs. secondary. Its too late now though, although I do have quite a bit of frozen sour cherries left over (I bought 17lbs and only used 10 in the primary) and may very well rack onto some additional cherries along with the pectin enzyme. I guess my main concern with racking sooner as opposed to later is I fermented in a plastic 10gallon bucket (with lid - no airlock) and only have 6.5 gallons of mead leaving me with the equivalent of 4gallons of headspace/air. THe last think I want is for the fruit that is still floating and not suspended in the mead to go rancid/moldy or for my mead to be exposed to too much oxygen and spoil.

#4 Wayne B

Wayne B

    Advanced Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 114 posts
  • LocationEvergreen, CO

Posted 03 April 2009 - 07:48 AM

I've got to point out that there's really no set "rule" about when to add fruit. The correct answer is "it depends," specifically on the effect that you're trying to achieve with the fruit. As noted earlier, fruit added in primary will be "scrubbed" through the fermentation process, so much of the volatile aromatics that give a particular fruit its "fruitiness" will be gone once your mel is complete. However, the addition of other things that the fruit brings to the mix in primary will allow the development of many additional esters and other organics that would not come from fermenting the honey alone. So, in general if you want the fruit to add more complexity to your finished mel but not necessarily taste like "fruit" in the finished product, add it in primary. If you want more of the representative "fruitiness" to show through in your end result, add it in secondary. IMHO, when I'm after both the complexity and some recognizable elements from the fruit to be in the mel, adding fruit to both primary and secondary is a great idea!BTW, color tends to be as extracted as possible after only 4 to 7 days in primary (or slightly longer, 7 to 10 days in secondary). Most of the fruit flavor that you'll get from a fruit addition is also transferred to the must within a week or two. But the tannins (from skins and seeds) -- they keep on coming -- for as much as a month or more, depending on the fruit used. So if you're going to add fruit to secondary, make sure that you monitor the changes in your mead carefully every few days. What initially tastes yummy can easily turn into a mouth puckering astringent soup if the fruit is left in too long.

#5 robsauce

robsauce

    Comptroller of Teh Great Northern Wasteland

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 573 posts
  • LocationCanada

Posted 03 April 2009 - 10:29 AM

I think I might just take that advice and add a few lbs of fruit to the secondary too before racking a 3rd time onto some vanilla beans.


0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users