Hello all!
I think I have encountered a stuck fermentation in my first batch of mead here.
The recipe was 12 pounds of orange blossom honey and four gallons of water. I added some yeast nutrient from my local homebrew store at the rate suggested on the package (which I believe was one teaspoon per gallon but I may be incorrect). The original gravity was 1.098. I cooled the must down to the mid 70s and then pitched my re-hydrated 5g packet of Lalvin K1V-1116 after aerating as best I could with the carboy shake method. Fermentation kicked off pretty quickly and was going strong for a while. I let it sit in primary for about 7 weeks until visible signs of fermentation had slowed to a crawl. Like a fool I didn't think to check the gravity before I racked off of the yeast. The gravity came out to be 1.050! Way too thick and sweet! So...
Would it be advisable to re-pitch another dose of K1V-1116? If so, would I just re-hydrate and dump? Would I make something of a yeast starter with a small amount of fresh must at a quantity of like 1.020? Am I going to need to add some more nutrient? I have heard conflicting pieces of advise from homebrew shop employees and customers on this topic. Any advise from you guys would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
I think I have encountered a stuck fermentation in my first batch of mead here.
The recipe was 12 pounds of orange blossom honey and four gallons of water. I added some yeast nutrient from my local homebrew store at the rate suggested on the package (which I believe was one teaspoon per gallon but I may be incorrect). The original gravity was 1.098. I cooled the must down to the mid 70s and then pitched my re-hydrated 5g packet of Lalvin K1V-1116 after aerating as best I could with the carboy shake method. Fermentation kicked off pretty quickly and was going strong for a while. I let it sit in primary for about 7 weeks until visible signs of fermentation had slowed to a crawl. Like a fool I didn't think to check the gravity before I racked off of the yeast. The gravity came out to be 1.050! Way too thick and sweet! So...
Would it be advisable to re-pitch another dose of K1V-1116? If so, would I just re-hydrate and dump? Would I make something of a yeast starter with a small amount of fresh must at a quantity of like 1.020? Am I going to need to add some more nutrient? I have heard conflicting pieces of advise from homebrew shop employees and customers on this topic. Any advise from you guys would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance!