tenchu_11

Recipes 

I've had my mead fermenting for about 1 week and had a very small amount of fermentation showing. I took a ph reading yesterday and it had a ph of 6, and today i checked it and it was at 5. My starting gravity reading was 1.112 I checked it today a week later and it is at 1.120. So I stirred it for about 2 minutes thinking it had a lack of oxygen and now I have no air lock activity its not even floating (i have a 3 piece lock) the lid on my bucket has no pressure on it It just stopped. My mead taste like sweet honey water with like the taste of like 4% alcohol to it. Is it time to re pitch some new yeast?

(I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong section, yeast and fermentation had alot of post but all about beer)

TheRabidKumquat

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Your SG increased, so it would seem like you didn't fully mix the honey and water together, and that your yeast didn't really take off. Was it really old?

More of your procedure and ingredients might help others give you better info.

arthertonjohn

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what yeast are u using ... 1.120 is very high gravity ... i just started a 1 gallon batch yesterday and the tenps are in the 50's but its going strong ... try Lavlin EC-1118 i've never seen such a strong ferment before

tenchu_11

Recipes 

I'm using Wyeast Liquid WineYeast on the label it said "Sweet Mead" its the smack pack. I smaked it and it only puffed up about 1/2 of an inch so it might of been bad yeast. I'm thinking about using Lalving D-47 but not sure how it would interact with the small amount of liquid yeast in my mead.

TheRabidKumquat

Recipes 

I believe the Wyeast sweet mead is one that a lot or people seem to have trouble with, but that's usually later on during fermentation. It'll stall out and stick.

Seeing as it's been a week and your yeast isn't doing their job, D-47 shouldn't have any problems stepping up to the plate.

tenchu_11

Recipes 

Yeah, its alive a little bitt of pressure on the lid but fermenting very slow. I will just leave it alone until i'm ready to repitched i tasted and it didn't taste like it had any wild yeast so at least its not contaminated. I live in rural alaska and have to get everything ordered and they don't' offer fast shipping. So it should be about 2 weeks by the time I get new yeast and. I will get D-47 yeast and make a small mead and water starter. To make sure it takes off running once its repitched.

TheRabidKumquat

Recipes 

If it's going, just slowly, then it's going. What's the ambient temp? If it's on the cooler side, that could be a part of it.

Do you have any yeast nutrients? If so, adding some and aerating could help the yeast pick up as well.

tenchu_11

Recipes 

the average temp is between 80 to 85F.

MedsenFey

Recipes 

If you do pitch another yeast, I'd suggest not using D47 at that temperature unless you want a batch of paint thinner. Consider K1V or D21 - you'll be glad you did (but it will still take more than 1 year of aging for the Band-Aid smells to go away).

__________________
"Our results are merely the result of carefully managing the transformation of bee spit into yeast excrement."
--- Wayneb

tenchu_11

Recipes 

Oh dang i just ordered my yeast which is D-47 and another pouch of liquid yeast. I can bring down my fermentation bucket from the top shelve to ground level where its around 70 and gets down to 58 at night (although i'll put a towel around it. So i don't get rocket fuel, I did put the recommended yeast enegizer and yeast nutrient but could adding more help it out like teaspoon and earating it might help. Although dosn't aerating during fermentation cause a brew to oxedize and taste bad?
Or should i leave it out in my entry way over night where it gets down to like freezing killing the old yeast siphoning to a new container and restarting fermentation with new yeast?