Ricky's Mead Brew Journal - Week of 10/17 - Cleaning!

A week wherein Ricky discusses his attempt to get all of the mead canned and the tanks completely drained (something we haven't done in years) and the ongoing sport of "clean the freakin' Meadery."

10/17
Kicked both the test batches of Varangian and Shieldmaiden today! That means I only have one tank of mead still full! I don't know if I'm going to successfully get all of my tanks empty at the same time, but it would be pretty neat (and weird).

We need a new name for Shieldmaiden, as it turns out.

It is also an open question as to when we'll finally all learn deep in our hearts that waiting until the slip sheet catcher fills up to empty it is a terrible idea.

10/18
It's Bryce and Kelly's big cleaning day! I made classic Mead Hall Fare for everyone.

I also got the old dishwasher working and washed all of the buckets. Time to bring back the policy where we wash every bucket as soon as we're done using it. Good lord. I also fixed that solenoid valve by hitting it with the butt end of a screwdriver. That's a pretty standard practice in HVAC.

Chiller seems to be cycling properly, though at a higher temperature than I'd like.

10/19
Work from home is going well. This is the first time in years that poor Jake is all by himself at the meadery, but there's no one I'd trust more to get 'er done than that boy. 

Working hard on a new name for Shieldmaiden.



10/20
I can finally see the floor in parts of the Mead Hall in the back! 

10/21
Another big Jelly day! I can't believe how much people are loving it! Maybe I'll change my legal name from Ricky the Meadmaker to Ricky Jellyman.


These are all of Ricky’s actual notes on our meadery operation and the mead we make. There might be profanity, usually of the late 19th Century variety. The only redactions are to remove the names of people and businesses when deemed appropriate. Footnotes provided by Jess and Kelly.