stuck ferment?

I made my first batch of mead on aug 4
I racked it to a secondary the other day and stole a sip, it was tasty but really sweet
visibly it seems to have quit fermenting, no airlock activity, no noticeable bubbles
I thought about mixing up some yeast nutrient and tossing it in there
good idea/bad idea??
it was made with 15# raw honey enough water for 5-1/2 gallons of must and a D-47/nutrient starter
should I just be patient?

Dave

Check the gravity. #3/gal. should ferment out dry. I suspect it isn't done & more yeast would be a good idea. I would have left it in the primary and roused the yeast.

what yeast did you use?

He used d-47. I had a 3 lb to 1 gal mead a little while ago and I used champagne yeast to start out with, but after a month my ferment stopped at 1.03, and I wanted it dry, so I repitched some d-47 (dry, just shook it in and mixed). It restarted and fermented out to nicely dry .991.

Just shake in a little d-47 (like half a packet) and some nutrient, and it should be fine.

mike

I'm a rookie and don't have a hydrometer but I'm going to the LHBS today to pick one up
I'll grab some D-47 too
there's no downside to re-pitching, right?

Dave

Relax, mead can take a long time. You may not be seeing any activity in the airlock, but it could still be working. Get yourself that hydrometer and check the SG. Then wait a few days and check it again. If you can take several readings, several days apart and your SG is not moving, then you may have a stuck fermentation. That baby is only a month old! Is it still cloudy? If it is, you should have enough yeast there to do the job. It might just need a bit more nutrient.

HA

SG reads 1.000 :rockin:
guess I'll just RDWHAHB
thanks for the advice

Dave

it can go lower, so just give it more time...I've had mead finish at 0.996.