I used Ken Schramm's recipe from The Complete Meadmaker which he titles it a Medium Show Mead.
I do have energizer, fermaid K and Go-ferm but no yeast hulls.
I understand. I think the BJCP definition of show mead came later than the book.
I'd use the Fermaid K as mentioned above and you can use 1 tsp of GoFerm in place of the yeast hulls.
You can try bringing the temp up to about 70 F as that may perk things up a bit, but with all this we are treating everything except what is most likely the problem - a low pH. Can you get some pH strips or borrow a meter from someone (local homebrew club maybe)?
Also you should try and wait till your gravity reading is about where you want it before racking. I have racked a very active ferment just to get it off some cinnamon sticks and the ferment stalled. So next time just wait till the gravity is acceptable to you. For instance I just racked a show mead @ 1.006. It tastes great and don't care if my mead is stuck at this point. Actually I hope it is done!
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Last edited by LightningInABottle; 02-07-2010 at 05:31 PM.
Reason: forgot word
As the other posters said, buy some pH strips off the net or you could go to a pet store and get a pH testing kit there (although the range chart provided in the kit might not work for you since mead pH would kill a fish). In any case, you'll need to test the pH of your mead in order to diagnose the issue. Good luck with your mead.
Just picked up some test strips. The ph 3.7 +/- so it appears to be fine. The brewing stor told me to pitch 5 gm packet of Lalvin EC-118 and let her go. Any thoughts?
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I'd give the current yeast some nutrients first before I tried to pitch any other yeast. If you do wind up needing to pitch in some other yeast, try using Hightest's instructions - you'll get more reliable results than if you just pitch the extra yeast into the must.
It took me a reread of your initial post to realize you had racked off your yeast population. That may not have been the best idea while the fermentation was still in progress, but you should still be able to make this work. If you got through 60+ points in 3 weeks, it probably wasn't actually stuck, and in fact, it's been a cold January here (you look like you're about only one zip code away), so nothing may have gone wrong at all. You're really only looking for another .025 of attenuation. I'd be inclined to rehydrate a new culture with some Go-ferm and let it rip. Maybe add another 2 tsp of Fermaid K when you pitch. And stick with D-47. 1118 will give you rocket fuel with that recipe. Let us know what happens.
Ken
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Last edited by KenSchramm; 02-07-2010 at 11:21 PM.
Ken, I had already pitched a 5 gm pkg of 1118 before I read your posting. Looks like rocket fuel it is. What should the reading be when I rack off the yeast now, below 1.00? I guess I should have just let it ferment for about a 30-45 days before doing anything.
The storage temp is about 64 now days. She is processing sugar a good pace again.
I am very close to you in West Bloomfield.
Thanks everyone for the help!!!
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“Happiness? A good cigar, a good meal, a good cigar and a good woman - or a bad woman; it depends on how much happiness you can handle.” - George Burns
Aaaarrggh. Yeah, if the 1118 behaves like it usually does, that will be about right. Maybe .994-.996. Your guess about letting it go a month or more would be a good idea. I pretty much leave them all on the primary lees at least a month.
Do you ever attend any of the clubs in Oakland County? I belong to AABG, because that was the best local club when I got started, but it's a long drive now that I live in Troy.
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No longer a Junior Member. Thank goodness.
I just started this glorious hobby and am not part of any club yet. I have been trying to find one that wasn't an hour drive from where I am at and have not found one yet. I am at Commerce Rd. and Union Lake Rd. If you know of any options I am game.
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“Happiness? A good cigar, a good meal, a good cigar and a good woman - or a bad woman; it depends on how much happiness you can handle.” - George Burns
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