Help Mead Newbie please...

I brew beer. Only 11th batch of beer. But decided to try a mead.

1st mead ever.

I used 15 lbs of honey and mixed with boiling water. Then added some yeast nutrients and energizers. 5 gallon batch.

Got the liquid down to 74 degrees. Then pitched Wyeast Dry Mead yeast. The activator pack took more than normal to swell. But did swell after 5 hours. Usually the activator packs for beer swell within an hour or two. So I waited 5 hours to pitch.

The fermentation is aweful slow. Usually on beer, I get 2 blips per second from the airlock by now. (now being 24 hours after I pitched the yeast). This blips maybe one time per 10 seconds. Hardly any krausen. I am worried that the yeast is dead and I am going to need to buy some more yeast?

Or does Mean really appear to be dead compared to beer?

You have a mead that is around 12-15%, give or take. Plus, it doesn't sound like you made a starter. It will take a long time for the yeast to get going. Also, honey is a terrible source of yeast nutrients. Don't go by your air lock for gauging fermentation; use your hydrometer. I'd let that batch sit a couple weeks, then rack and check the gravity. Add nutrient at that time too.

avidhomebrewer said:

You have a mead that is around 12-15%, give or take. Plus, it doesn't sound like you made a starter. It will take a long time for the yeast to get going. Also, honey is a terrible source of yeast nutrients. Don't go by your air lock for gauging fermentation; use your hydrometer. I'd let that batch sit a couple weeks, then rack and check the gravity. Add nutrient at that time too.

Click to expand...

Agreed. With patience, meads typically ferment out on their own. I've never had a "vigorous" fermentation with any mead. Your all good to go, but just as with beer, always use a starter to increase your yeast count and health.

I never use a starter for Beer. Just the activator packs as they say on the instructions that it is enough yeast to pitch.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I feel better knowing your answers. I will leave it to ferment a few weeks.

The slow start is a function of pitching a low number of yeast, and pitching into a gravity that is much higher than your typical beer wort. With beer, you can get away without starters, but with a mead, you are starting at a much higher gravity so you really get a benefit from having more yeast. However, its not too late, and you can grow the yeast more in the batch.

To get the yeast growing, it actually helps to aerate them early in the fermentation to help build sterols. During the first couple of days of fermentation, if you will open the container and stir it well (gently so it doesn't erupt) the oxygen will help the yeast grow to maximal potential. I know this sounds like heresy to a beer brewer, but meads behave more like wines than beers in this respect, and oxygen is an essential "nutrient" for success and fast fermentation. It will not cause the mead to be oxidized or damaged or contaminated.

I hope it turns out well.

Medsen

Yeah I have found that watching the air lock with mead is like watching paint dry . It serves a purpose but isn't an indicator of how well it's going. Stirring and nutrients help and hydro readings let you know where you are at

Sweet! That helps me understand better. Thanks again for all the replies. I will shake the carboy a bit without eruption and add a little more nutrients. (light amount of nutrients cause they smell funny to me)