Eye8oneu812
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- Dec 20, 2006
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Hi all,
I have just ventured into the world of making mead. I previously have stuck to just brewing beer, with good results across the board (if I do say so myself.) I made my mead this last Saturday (it is now Monday), so it has been in the primary for 2 days and there has not been a single bubble yet from the fermenter (at least, none that I saw). I used the WYeast Sweet Mead yeast, an Activator pack which is supposed to not need a starter. I added yeast nutrient to the boil kettle (I did not boil long, I used commercial honey so I just got it to a rolling boil to make sure everything was well dissolved.)
I am making a rather simple mead here, and I suspect that the yeast that I used may not have been very vigorous. I smacked the smack pack and left it alone for a few hours at room temperature, but I did not notice any substantial swelling from it. From experience, I know this does not necessarily mean the yeast are bad, it's just that I didn't give it overnight or anything. I believe I aerated the must sufficiently, though I did not use an aquarium stone or anything, just pouring in the must to make it splash, adding some well aerated water, and shaking vigorously prior to pitching the yeast. Anybody have any experience with this yeast having a long lag time prior to active fermentation? I'm nervous that I just wasted 15 pounds of honey and my time. I know, relax, have a homebrew, but I'm sure everybody understands the anxiety of possibly messing up a batch.
Thanks for your feeback!
I have just ventured into the world of making mead. I previously have stuck to just brewing beer, with good results across the board (if I do say so myself.) I made my mead this last Saturday (it is now Monday), so it has been in the primary for 2 days and there has not been a single bubble yet from the fermenter (at least, none that I saw). I used the WYeast Sweet Mead yeast, an Activator pack which is supposed to not need a starter. I added yeast nutrient to the boil kettle (I did not boil long, I used commercial honey so I just got it to a rolling boil to make sure everything was well dissolved.)
I am making a rather simple mead here, and I suspect that the yeast that I used may not have been very vigorous. I smacked the smack pack and left it alone for a few hours at room temperature, but I did not notice any substantial swelling from it. From experience, I know this does not necessarily mean the yeast are bad, it's just that I didn't give it overnight or anything. I believe I aerated the must sufficiently, though I did not use an aquarium stone or anything, just pouring in the must to make it splash, adding some well aerated water, and shaking vigorously prior to pitching the yeast. Anybody have any experience with this yeast having a long lag time prior to active fermentation? I'm nervous that I just wasted 15 pounds of honey and my time. I know, relax, have a homebrew, but I'm sure everybody understands the anxiety of possibly messing up a batch.
Thanks for your feeback!