Massive MEA.....

So as I was attempting to de-gasses my latest mead,

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/sourwood-dry-medium-dry-show-mead-188662/

I was a little aggressive and well lets say the kids were excited, the wife not so....

My question is, do I run a risk of a stuck fermentation due to yeast loss during the eruption?

If so is there anything I can do to help ward it off.....I think I will throw my next step of nutrients in now.

Thanks,

Tim

I think there was a Dewalt involved.....

I never knew mead must would be so hard to get off bamboo flooring!!

You should probably be fine. I would replace what was lost by topping off.
Something you'll all remember.
There was a time when my father exploded a 5 gallon carboy full of fresly musted wine. you'd be amazed what one grape seed in an airlock can do to a kitchen, bathroom, dining room, living room.

Good luck cleaning up your mess. you know she'll find sticky floor for weeks.

GTG

Well, I know airlock activity is not a sure fire sign of fermentation, but I feel confidant that the little buggers are still chomping away in there.

What is the reason for topping off?

I would be diluting the must at this point no, I lost between 1/4-1/2 gal.

Tim

It looks like there was a 3 gallon batch right? Right now its not a big deal if its fermenting but when it stops from what I understand, you want as little open headspace as possible to prevent oxidation.

GTG

GTG said:

It looks like there was a 3 gallon batch right? Right now its not a big deal if its fermenting but when it stops from what I understand, you want as little open headspace as possible to prevent oxidation.

GTG

Click to expand...

Funny you should mention the batch size.....I was a full 5 gal. batch. Which is a whole different discussion.

As far as oxidation, as soon as fermentation is done, I will rack and reduce head space.

I would love to get some more input and clarity on the conflicting gravity reading I had with what people think it should have been.

Thanks,
Tim

BillyGHusk said:

Funny you should mention the batch size.....I was a full 5 gal. batch. Which is a whole different discussion.

As far as oxidation, as soon as fermentation is done, I will rack and reduce head space.

I would love to get some more input and clarity on the conflicting gravity reading I had with what people think it should have been.

Thanks,
Tim

Click to expand...

You don't even consider degassing a mead until it's finished, so I'm very confused as to why you think it should be fermenting? If it's still fermenting, leave it alone. If it's finished, then top up. You degas before you bottle if necessary if the mead is "gassy". I never have to degas meads, and rarely wines.

Edit- it looks like you just started the mead, and were simply mixing it?

Tim, you have my condolences for the Mead Eruption Accident. The single best way to prevent them in the future is use a larger primary fermenter. I typically use a 10 gallon primary to hold a 5-6 gallon batch and I've not had an MEA using this approach. I currently have a 10 gallon batch in a 20 gallon container and I have no worries about spillovers. Since headspace (and air exposure in general) isn't really an issue during primary fermentation, I find big primaries take the worry out of mead making. For those who need excitement in their lives, using small buckets and carboys for primary can certainly add some adrenaline as they watch old faithful spewing to the ceiling, but I'm too old (and my back too tired) to appreciate it.

If you are going to use small primaries, I encourage the use of anti-foam drops. They can be very effective in stopping (or at least minimizing) MEAs.

After an MEA, there will still be plenty of active yeast so no worries there.

The gotmead calculator is a useful tool. Hightest's calculator (see the sticky thread at the top of the forum) is also a useful tool. Using 12.25 pound of honey in a 5-gallon batch would give an estimated gravity of 1.088. The key word there is estimated. Honey can vary quite a bit in moisture content and ash content and so these numbers can vary quite a bit which is why most folks would advise you to go by gravity and not by weight/volume numbers when preparing a recipe. You reading of 1.096 is certainly within the range of error for calculations like this.

YB -- Wellllllll, there's some debate about that. The concentration of CO2 can get so high in fermenting mead, that it can significantly prolong fermentation time. The St Paul HBC seems to have great success with short primary ferm time (7-10 days) and include degassing during fermentation. I've done the same with 2 batches now and it does seem to help quite a bit. Plus, it prevents "eruptions" when you add your nutrients since you don't really have to worry about the CO2 anymore (or loss of the nutrients you just added as well as a gigantic mess on your floor). That said, it does introduce yet another potential point of contamination...

To answer your question, I highly doubt you will run into a stuck fermentation due to the quantity loss. There should still be plenty of yeast remaining, especially if you only lost a quart or so.

KCWortHog said:

YB -- Wellllllll, there's some debate about that. The concentration of CO2 can get so high in fermenting mead, that it can significantly prolong fermentation time. The St Paul HBC seems to have great success with short primary ferm time (7-10 days) and include degassing during fermentation. I've done the same with 2 batches now and it does seem to help quite a bit. Plus, it prevents "eruptions" when you add your nutrients since you don't really have to worry about the CO2 anymore (or loss of the nutrients you just added as well as a gigantic mess on your floor). That said, it does introduce yet another potential point of contamination...

To answer your question, I highly doubt you will run into a stuck fermentation due to the quantity loss. There should still be plenty of yeast remaining, especially if you only lost a quart or so.

Click to expand...

Good point, KC. I have never had the co2 concentration get that high, but I generally use an "open" primary for the first week or so, simply covering with a towel. As a result, just with some stirring, I've never had any issues at all with too much co2. Within a week, I've racked to secondary and fermentation is winding down. When I add nutrients, I dissolve the nutrients in a little of the mead, and have never had an issue with nucleation points (although I know others have!).

I was confused here by some of the terminology with degassing, and a possible stuck fermentation. Thanks for setting me straight!

KCWortHog said:

YB -- Wellllllll, there's some debate about that. The concentration of CO2 can get so high in fermenting mead, that it can significantly prolong fermentation time.

Click to expand...

At one atm of pressure, you won't have enough CO2 dissolved into solution to make a big difference in yeast function. To put it into perspective, I've tried "pressure crashing" a fermentation in a keg. The yeast kept right on fermenting until the the pressure reached over 7 atmospheres and in fact, started leaking out pressure through the pressure relief valve on the lid. Even at that level of pressure the yeast were able to continue fermenting at a brisk rate for quite some time.

Having some CO2 dissolved in solution at atmospheric pressure might have a minimal impact that can be measured in minutes or hours at most, certainly not days. Stirring the yeast to keep them up in suspension probably has a greater impact on the fermentation rate than the release of CO2 from solution.

So yes, there can be debate.

Medsen

Thanks to everyone for their replies.

I am using a carboy as the primary here so I thought helping the CO2 out would better in the term(obviously short term not so.).

From some of the reading I've done, I thought it would not only help with fermentation time but I thought it(degassing during fermentation) would help keep the yeast less stressed.

I realize there are many things about brewing anything that are up for debate.

Heck, something like staggered nutrient schedule still seems to bring a lot of difference of view point to a thread.

That's what I love about forums like this, the exchange of information and personal experiences.

Thanks again.

Tim