Slow fermentation in a braggot?

I have a braggot that's OG was 1.072.

fermentation went well so I thought.. And then it got stuck at 1.024 at 2 weeks

I brought temps up to 70 and it has been fermenting.

Two weeks later i'm only at 1.019. Shouldn't it be going faster..?

The vent is active.. About a burp every minute. But it seems to be really taking its time. I was anticipating a 1.010 FG. At this slow rate I can take FG rating every three days and it can be close to stable.. But obviously its till fermenting.

Anyway, could I bottle and use less priming sugar..? Stop fermentation.. Etc..

Not sure what to do..

I vote leave it. The more experience I get, the more I realize some just take forever. I have a hibiscus going on 6 months that still has a steady stream of bubbles coming up. At this point I think it's just co2 coming out of solution, but it took forever to finish fermenting, unlike the other brews started at the same time, which are all done and bottled.

So then if I hold at say 1.019 it is possible for the vent to be active.. but not be fermenting..? Its a 7.4 gallon batch in a 7.5 gallon container so I don't have a lot of head space.

Try checking the pH. If it is under 3.2 yeast can become lazy.
Did you add nutrient? Did you aerate?

No nutrients, did aerate.. but since I am well past halftime told I shouldn't aerate again.. ?

Whats coming out of the fermenter is really good.. I would think a PH Of 3.0 would be really sour.. don't seem to have any sour flavors.. If it werent for the vent still being active I would bottle the stuff given the FG can't change a whole lot I wouldnt think..

Just afraid of bottle bombs if I bottle too soon.

CDGoin said:

No nutrients, did aerate.. but since I am well past halftime told I shouldn't aerate again.. ?

Whats coming out of the fermenter is really good.. I would think a PH Of 3.0 would be really sour.. don't seem to have any sour flavors.. If it werent for the vent still being active I would bottle the stuff given the FG can't change a whole lot I wouldnt think..

Just afraid of bottle bombs if I bottle too soon.

Click to expand...

Yeah, aeration isn't good now as you can end up oxidyzing your braggot and that would be a shame...
Unfortunately, pH can easily be masked by sweetness and we eat/drink stuff with ph lower than that, not feeling any sourness. Our tongue is not reliable as a phmeter. You need ph strips or a phmeter to check it.
And don't bottle now... It is fermenting, slowly, but it is and its enough to send shards of glass all over your house. Wives tend to get aggressive when it happens...

OK.. so a PH test and possibly some nutrients for the yeast..?

BTW did open it up and check.. nothing funky so not infected. If anything looks liek I am told a mead will look.. just some bubbles coming up from the bottom. No Krausen, no floaters, nothing.

The real question is this started as a Octoberfest with 3.5 lbs of honey added to the boil.. (that went well) .. then 2 lbs of honey added to the secondary. Last time I did this (Without the extra in the secondary) FG was 1.016.. adding the extra 2 lbs into the secondary what can I expect as a FG..? A more braggot/mead dry sub 1.010 or more like a beer in the 1.010-1.018 range.. ?

I believe it's too late for nutrients, too... People say that the yeast can only use them before the 1/2 break, so it's not useful now.

Well, I never made any braggots, so I will wait with you as the experts answer this one.
In order to estimate your FG, you could play with the mead calculator (http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=745&Itemid=16). Just remember that it gives you an estimate. Different honey have different specific gravities and will, therefore, give different results.

Oh, by the way, be careful with boiling honey. It's not wrong, but most people say that it takes away some flavor and aromatics. It's not necessary as a sanitary measure as pure honey is kinda infection-proof.

Yep.. thats why adding it in the front (For ABV and it still provides a flavor just not as much) and then the secondary 2 lbs for more flavor.

Honestly it tastes the same to me in both.. I think it depends on when you put it in and how much. When I put my honey in I add it in the last 5-10 minutes. Purely to dissolve it and get it in for the primary fermentation.

Thanks for the link.. thats super helpful.