SC - Question re: Lord Ras' redaction of Compost recipe

[Meliora & Drake]

On Wednesday, April 22, 1998 3:03 PM, Greg Lindahl
[SMTP:lindahl at pbm.com] wrote:
> I have friends who make mead with unpurified honey and without
> stirring. So I don't think your speculation is correct. This friend's
> theory is that by starting with honey in the bottom and a lot of
> starter yeast, the wild yeast in the honey is always outnumbered and
> loses out, while the honey itself slowly dissolves into the water due
> to the action of the yeast.

The key here, I think is " a lot of starter yeast". This was not clearly
stated in the original poster's message. 
>From what you say, your friend clearly recognizes that the wild yeast in
the honey could be a contaminant, and takes steps to stop it from being
a factor. He adds a heavy inoculation of active yeast.
If the original poster did not have a lot of sugar, and fermentation
stopped, then the yeast had begun to eat itself, autolyze, and die off. 
I think that since the culture was not active and lively, that there was
much more of a danger that the wild yeast would contaminate the brew. I
think that stirring in the honey mixed the sugar with far more of the
remaining active yeast cells than leaving it on the bottom, resulting in
a much faster uptake and regeneration of the desired yeast culture. 

Brandu
 
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