Changes

It has been demonstrated that while honey is antimicrobial due to its high sugar concentration and low water concentration, which inhibits the growth of microbes, honey is not inherently pasteurized and sanitary. Low levels of molds, yeasts, and spore-forming bacteria can survive in honey and can begin to grow once the honey is diluted with water as it is in mead-making. It is thought that most of the microbes found in finished honey originate from the handling of the honey, and do not originate from the hive, although some microbes may be introduced from the bees <ref>[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0168160596009701 Microorganisms in honey. Jill A Snowdon, Dean O Cliver. International Journal of Food Microbiology. Volume 31, Issues 1–3, August 1996, Pages 1-261996.]</ref>. It is therefore possible that mold growth can occur during mead making if the mead does not begin to ferment in a timely manner, for example, for wild/spontaneous fermentation <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/2140692022625667/ Adam Johnson. Milk The Funk Facebook group post on preventing mold growth. 06/21/2018.]</ref>. To prevent mold growth during wild fermentation of mead (with no lab yeast pitched), purging the vessel with CO² until after the mead begins actively fermenting should help reduce the chances of mold growth. Lowering the pH to 4.5 will also help prevent mold growth, as well as a starting gravity at or below 1.070 (higher gravity must takes longer to start fermenting, which gives more opportunity for mold to grow before fermentation begins) <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/2140692022625667/?comment_id=2142696379091898&reply_comment_id=2144309682263901&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R8%22%7D Justin Amaral. Milk The Funk group thread on mold in spontaneously fermented mead. 06/23/2018.]</ref>.