question about mead

im doing my first mead and i started out with an OG of 1.100. I just finished racking it after about a month and the reading was 1.085. I was wondering is that about normal for a traditional five gallon mead?

I'm not sure if the gravity for that timeframe is normal, but you are a LONG way from being done. Your mead should end up with a FG at or below 1.000 probably around .998 My mead took over 2 months in primary to finish fermenting.

I hope your secondary is a glass carboy. It takes several months to get down to the 1.000-1.014 range, depending on if it's sweet or dry.

Maybe a little on the slow side, but reasonable. It probably has another 6-8 months to go at that rate. I've seen meads ferment for 15-18 months.

I made another mead (cyser) yesterday.

Heated 1 gal water, added 5 lbs honey, boiled 15 mins removed from heat.
Added 6 cans of apple juice concentrate to must. Dissolved. Poured into primary. Topped off to 3 gals gravity 1.090, topped off to 3.5 gals 1.080, topped off again to 4 gals 1.070...temp 77F.

Pitched yeast starter: 1/2 C honey w/2 C water boiled 5 mins and cooled...added 1/2 vial of WLP 720 Sweet mead yeast and 1 packet of Red Star Monstracht...if memory serves me.

It had a great apple flavor with a hint of honey. I was purposely aiming for a more dominant apple flavor.

Why such slow ferments?

By no means am I an expert meadmaker, but my last batch started at 1.108 and was down to 1.022 in six days and finished at 1.002 in under two weeks.

yeah its in a glass carboy, I know its gonna be awhile. When i first brewed it i put it in a plastic fermenter for two weeks then racked it into a secondary for a month. I thought it was fermenting kinda slow. but Im going to leave it alone for a few months then check on it. I was wondering if I need to add more nutrient or something. Or is better to just leave it alone?

ALPS said:

Why such slow ferments?

By no means am I an expert meadmaker, but my last batch started at 1.108 and was down to 1.022 in six days and finished at 1.002 in under two weeks.

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Just like wine...it gets better with age...

homebrewer_99 said:

I made another mead (cyser) yesterday.

Heated 1 gal water, added 5 lbs honey, boiled 15 mins removed from heat.
Added 6 cans of apple juice concentrate to must. Dissolved. Poured into primary. Topped off to 3 gals gravity 1.090, topped off to 3.5 gals 1.080, topped off again to 4 gals 1.070...temp 77F.

Pitched yeast starter: 1/2 C honey w/2 C water boiled 5 mins and cooled...added 1/2 vial of WLP 720 Sweet mead yeast and 1 packet of Red Star Monstracht...if memory serves me.

It had a great apple flavor with a hint of honey. I was purposely aiming for a more dominant apple flavor.

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That sounds really good. I have a packet of Monstract in the fridge, you think I could get by with just using that, or do you think I need to get a true mead yeast?

the_bird said:

That sounds really good. I have a packet of Monstract in the fridge, you think I could get by with just using that, or do you think I need to get a true mead yeast?

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From the net:

Red Star Montrachet (Davis 522), a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been derived from the collection of the University of California. This strain has been widely used in the U.S. since 1963. It is a strong fermenter with good ethanol tolerance, and will readily ferment grape musts and fruit juices to dryness. This strain also has good tolerance to free sulfur dioxide. This strain is recommended for full bodied reds and whites. It is not recommended for grapes that have recently been dusted with sulfur, because of a tendency to produce hydrogen sulfide in the presence of higher concentrations of sulfur compounds. Montrachet is noted for low volatile acidity, good flavor complexity, and intense color.

Hmmm...

A strong fermenter with good alcohol tolerance that is useful in producing dry, full bodied red and white wines. Will leave a wine with intense color and excellent flavor complexity while preserving tannin content. This yeast will produce hydrogen sulfide gas in the presence of excess sulfur compounds and therefore should not be used to ferment grapes that contain residual sulfur dust. Dry, full bodied reds and whites.

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Sounds like it'll finish out really dry. I'm heading to the HBS this weekend, I'll see what they have for mead yeasts that'll finish a little sweeter before proceeding.

the_bird said:

Hmmm...



Sounds like it'll finish out really dry. I'm heading to the HBS this weekend, I'll see what they have for mead yeasts that'll finish a little sweeter before proceeding.

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well if you want it a little sweeter you could let the fermentation finish completely with a dry yeast. and then add K sorb and some more honey. That is what I did with my mead.

homebrewer_99 said:

Just like wine...it gets better with age...

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Sure it does, and it will improve for several years in the bottle. After two weeks from pitching, my mead may have finished fermenting, but it was nowhere near ready to drink.

My question was why it's taking months (or a year and a half!) to ferment.

mjm76 said:

well if you want it a little sweeter you could let the fermentation finish completely with a dry yeast. and then add K sorb and some more honey. That is what I did with my mead.

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I was going to say that...