Mead fermentation taking too long?

Hello homebrew forum,

I have been making my first brew, a melomel mead using approximately 7 pounds of honey, 4 frozen concentrate lemonade, and enough filtered water to fill up my 5 gal. carboy, with about 6 inches of space from the top of the neck. I used 2 packets of Lavlin 1116 yeast (I only added one, but got spooked when nothing happened, and added another, only to later read that yeast has a lag time when it is multiplying and colonizing the must).

Right now, it has been going since Jan 18, with an OG of 1.090. The bubbler on the top has shown a promising "blip" every 30 seconds or so, but when I checked it on Feb 9, it had only gotten to a SG of 1.052. I just checked it again today (Mar 25), and it is reading 1.034. Is this a normal speed for mead? Is there a way to speed it up?

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Slow fermentation is common with meads, but there is one thing that stands out for me here. Neither honey nor lemonade have many nutrients in them, so it may be that lack of nutrients is the problem here. Since you are getting some fermentation, it may just take a long time to finish, but it's good that you're getting some progress.

Boil some bread yeast and dump it in, it sounds like a lack of nutrients to me.

Yep, lemons have a tendency to shock the yeast. If you do what the above comments say, you should be fine. Mead fermentation can often take a long time anyway.

Bluespark said:

Boil some bread yeast and dump it in, it sounds like a lack of nutrients to me.

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By boiling the bakers yeast, would this kill the yeast to use as nutrients? I have bread machine yeast, can I use this?
Before dumping it in, I would want to let it cool to room temperature, right?

Yes, you want to kill it. I can't see why bread machine yeast wouldn't work. I just pour a bit of boiling water over a tsp of yeast, let it cool to room temp and add.

There is a perception of slow fermentation being common with meads because of suboptimal fermentation conditions being common. Nutrients are very likely part of the issue; also, with the lemon too, pH can be an issue; if adding nutrients doesn't kick start things, you could try adding some calcium carbonate. Your OG wasn't all that high, and your yeast should have chewed through that in less than a month...

Temperature could also be an issue if your carboy is in a particularly cool location (basement, etc.)

I did go with a lower sweetness mead, I wanted a dryer result. Being my first time, I was a bit concerned when it took more than a month, but thought that maybe it was normal. Thank you guys for the fast replies! I'll try the bread yeast, and go from there

Oh, the carboy is kept in a room that is usually kept from 19-22 °C, so I don't think temperature is a major playing issue in this, but I'm no expert. There is also a garbage bag around the carboy to block light, that may help keep the temperature up a few degrees.

I added the bread yeast, but it didn't seem to change much. I'm going on holidays for a few days, so I turned the heat up for that room before I left, hope that helps it a bit

I'm glad you posted this because I made a 5 gallon mead on February 1st with the Lemonade concentrate and it is still actively fermenting almost 2 months later and thought something might be wrong. I get a bubble through the fermentation lock around every 10 seconds. I'm assuming that it does have something to do with the lemonade but probably not due to lack of nutrients because I used 5 tsp of yeast nutrient in mine when first brewed just to make sure.

Will a slow fermentation produce an off flavor, or will these Meads turn out just fine? I'm not sure myself, but if the slow fermentation is just fine, maybe you guys should just let it sit around for a while longer.

Struggling fermentations can cause off flavors. pH does sound like the culprit here. You could try some potassium or calcium carbonate, and see if it things pick up. I prefer to do citrus meads by completing the fermentation first, and adding the citrus component afterward, to avoid the risk of a slow fermentation like this.

KenSchramm said:

Struggling fermentations can cause off flavors. pH does sound like the culprit here. You could try some potassium or calcium carbonate, and see if it things pick up. I prefer to do citrus meads by completing the fermentation first, and adding the citrus component afterward, to avoid the risk of a slow fermentation like this.

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That makes sense. For future references, what is a good PH level? cause maybe I will get some PH testing strips and check my next batch before fermenting

PCChazter said:

That makes sense. For future references, what is a good PH level? cause maybe I will get some PH testing strips and check my next batch before fermenting

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Great read here, http://www.solorb.com/mead/danspaper.html 'An Analysis of Mead, Mead Making and the Role of its Primary Constituents' by
Daniel S. McConnell and Kenneth D. Schramm

saramc said:

Great read here, http://www.solorb.com/mead/danspaper.html 'An Analysis of Mead, Mead Making and the Role of its Primary Constituents' by
Daniel S. McConnell and Kenneth D. Schramm

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This looks very interesting, will definately give it a read. It isn't available in PDF by any chance, is it?

PCChazter said:

This looks very interesting, will definately give it a read. It isn't available in PDF by any chance, is it?

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No clue, that was the format I found it in, but I see no reason it could not be saved in PDF. I would attempt to do so & repost, but I am only on my phone since I am.not at home.

saramc said:

Great read here, http://www.solorb.com/mead/danspaper.html 'An Analysis of Mead, Mead Making and the Role of its Primary Constituents' by
Daniel S. McConnell and Kenneth D. Schramm

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I gave this a read through, very interesting read. Goes to show there is a lot more to making a good recipe than dumping a bunch of stuff into a carboy and letting it ferment.


I stopped by a local winemaking supply store to see if they had pH testing strips and calcium carbonate. They had calcium carbonate, but no pH strips, so I have them on order. While I was there, I told the lady working there my situation, and how long my must/mead has been in the primary, and she told me that I should be racking it into a secondary, otherwise the lees could add an off taste. This makes sense, but when should I usually rack to the secondary? I realize this alone probably won't help my "slow fermenting" situation, but I was planning on adding a bit of nutrients, and when my pH strips get in, checking and correcting the pH if required.

You can purchase ph test strips at Wally World or any restaurant supply house instead of waiting on your LHBS.

Check out this video on YouTube:<br/><br/>[ame]http://youtu.be/IwjAZI86bOo[/ame]

Here is a video with Curt Stock on how he does his meads and how important it is to add nutrient while adding yeast. I made 2 3 1/2 gallon batches a few months ago and followed what he said and fermentation was complete in just under 2 weeks and my OG was 1.090 also. Hope this helps.

So I racked into my secondary 3 days ago, and added a tsp of yeast nutrients, a 1/2 tsp of calcium carbonate, and a half pack of 1116 yeast (to cover all bases). I let it sit, and now its going strong, with a bubble once every 20 seconds.