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Second Batch Started

mrbill

mrbill

Got my second batch started today.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
used all the habs, about 2/3 of the colored bells, handful of carrots, all the peaches(drained), half the yellow onion, some sea salt and 4 probiotic capsules emptied into about an oz of warm water and allowed to bloom while cutting up the peppers and onion.
 
here it is all locked up. accidentally went a little blitz happy w/the food processor, it's already almost a puree, but we'll see what happens. not sure how long i'll let it roll. probably at least a month.
 
 
 
 
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karoo said:
Great colour.
post again , with bubbles!
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will do. just like my first, i'll post pics about every week or so as it progresses
 
MikeUSMC said:
Looking good, mrbill! Looks like the fermenting bug bit ya! Don't worry, it happens to all of us ;)
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lol, i'm not worried at all. been wanting to do this(make hot sauces) for a while. finally got the equipment(decent food processor/canning supplies/ph tester..etc) gathered, so i'm off to the races. just wish i wasn't the only one in my family that liked hot stuff so i could do larger batches.
 
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No worries if you make it they will come. Made small batches at first but always seems to be someone who wants a jar. Can't keep them on the shelf long. :)  And welcome to the fermentation Crew!!!  And as Brother Mike pointed out once Bitten there is no cure except more ferments.  hahaha Keep us Posted.
 
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well this batch is way more active than my first. looked like i was in danger of a blowout. last night i checked it and it looked fairly tame with just a bubble here and there. got home from work today and the mash was almost to the lid with about an inch of pure fluid underneath. i don't have any cheese cloth, cabbage or weights. so i improvised with the top of a wide mouth sports bottle(nozzle up) and a ziplock bag. i didn't want to open it up, but i feared what would happen to my cabinet if i didn't. after adding my makeshift mash holder downer, i put the jar inside a bowl in the cabinet in case it does blow out, maybe it won't be so bad.
 
all fixed up(hopefully) and about to go back in the cabinet.
 
 
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it's a good thing i put the jar in a bowl. came home today and while it wasn't a full blowout, the airlock was full of pepperjuice and there was a decent puddle in the bowl. cleaned out the bowl, removed some mash and cleaned/refilled the airlock. then back into the bowl and then back into cabinet.
 
here it is about to be put back up
 
 
 
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based on this ferment, i just now ordered some glass fermentation weights from amazon. i'll be using them from here on out for all of my ferments. as well as splitting the batches up into more than one container. so i won't have the mess or need to open it up to prevent blowouts. on the plus side, each time i had to open this batch, there was a strong "sauerkrautish" odor coming from the mash which tells me, the good stuff is alive and well w/o the nasties being present. not happy about having to open it multiple times, but glad i've got the good bugs growing and not the "nasties" even though i lost some volume off what will be the finished product by having to ditch some of the mash.
 
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mrbill said:
based on this ferment, i just now ordered some glass fermentation weights
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Good idea, mrbill. I've only had that happen to me once, a couple of years ago. Jay's Peach Ghost Scorpions, peaches, brown sugar, etc. What surprised me the most was that the ferment didn't kick into high gear until about 3 WEEKS in! I wouldn't have even known except I heard the noise from the cabinet above my stove in the kitchen. It sounded like a full 2 liter bottle turned upside down and being poured out, haha. That's how much "glugging" the airlock was doing.



To slow it down, I took it off the heat mat and kept it out in the garage for a few days (much cooler out there). With yours being that active, I don't think you'll have to worry about any "nasties" showing up when you opened it. Any oxygen that got inside the jar should be displaced in no time :)
 
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the weights are working. got them in thursday. hated to open it up yet again, but the sports bottle top "spacer" just wasn't keeping the mash down. so i sani'd up a couple of the weights, put a layer of saran wrap on the mash, then the weights on top of that. just checked it a few minutes ago and looks good to me.
 
 
 
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okay, so i screwed this one up. it will be disposed of. i completely forgot about it and let the lock run dry. went to check on it and there was all kinds of nastyness inside(discoloration of the mash, all kinds of funkyness growing above it...etc). lessons learned. will try again after the holidays.
 
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That sucks, mrbill. At least you know where you went wrong. It's much more frustrating when something goes bad and you don't know why. Best of luck next time, man. Don't get discouraged!!!

:cheers:
 
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I read somewhere on here that someone set alarms for every couple weeks to refill their airlocks, I know the batch of wine I made went to waste due to dry airlock
 
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