Need Advice, Stuck fermentation

asshat · 03-04-2010, 11:45 PM

So I brewed a batch of mead Tuesday night. I made 4 gallons of 1 to 3 clover honey to spring water. I tossed in some nutrient and a WLP720. 48hours later I am still not seeing any signs of fermentation (i.e. no bubble in the airlock no activity on top of the must).

The yeast had a use before date of 28 Jan 2010. The store, Winecraft of ATL, I bought it at said it would be good for at least a month after the use before date...

Should I just toss in a package of Red Star Premiere Cuvee to try and kick it off?

Thanks for any suggestions.

OG = 1.12

MedsenFey · 03-04-2010, 11:52 PM

What temp are you keeping?
If you stir it good, does it start bubbling?

If there is no activity visible (or audible), you can wait another day and see if it picks up. If it doesn't you can pitch the Premier Cuvee.

ZooBrew · 03-05-2010, 12:09 AM

Ditto what MedsenFrey wrote. And K1-V1116 is an aggressive strain will dislodge a stuck ferment.

http://morewinemaking.com/view_product/16457//Dry_Wine_Yeast_-_K1-V1116_8_g

asshat · 03-05-2010, 04:47 AM

I have been keeping it between 70 and 74 degrees F. It's already in the bottle, so I can't stir it.

A emailed a guy in my local home brew club and he said go ahead and toss in the Red Star. The vapor lock started moving within an hour of doing that.

Medsen & Zoo thank you for the help and the link!

MedsenFey · 03-05-2010, 01:16 PM

If the airlock started bubbling within an hour of tossing in the package of yeast, it is not the new yeast that are doing it - instead, you are seeing gas release from the other yeast which are now working. In any case, I'm glad to here your batch is off and running.

And just for info, you can stir stuff in a carboy, and in fact during the first couple of days you probably should to aerate the yeast. I use the handle of a plastic stirring paddle - it fits through the neck of the carboy and allow agitation. I have also used a short piece of thick walled tubing that doubles as a blow-off tube. Some folks have the fancy lees stirrers that attach to a drill, but I haven't felt the need to spring for one of them up until now.