REALLY slow bubbling

At 24 hours in, my mead was bubbling at a rate of about once every 40 seconds. That seems bad. However, it is still bubbling.

What should I do? Yeast multiplies in the fermenter, right? So it should increase with time? Post away and let me know.

I mean, you arent drinking it for a year anyway right? It has plenty of time. Yeast multiplies quickly, you are AOK. It started in 24 hours, that is excellent

Where you live in Indy? I am there too

It started quick and it is fermenting, no worries. Nutrition is a concern, so depending on the recipe you should look into staggered nutrient additions. But you can make good mead without observing those suggestions.

It's probably fine, but just in case:

what yeast did you pitch?
did you aerate? If so, how & how long?
Did you add nutrient?
What temperature is the mead fermenting at?

For Reference, the recipe was a vanilla methaglyn. 1 Gallon of Honey, 4 Gallons of Water, 4 Ounces of Vanilla Extract.

Yeast used was 1 Packet of Premiere Cuvee with 2 teaspoons of Nutrient. Temperature is at about 70 and I did aerate for at least 5 minutes.

Bubbling has slowed to like once a minute.

IMHO, it is time to stop guessing and take a gravity reading. If you do not have a hydrometer, get one. Timing bubble burps is no way to assess fermentation conditions...

FWIW, your OG is ~1.083 (based on your recipe).

I mean you CAN crack it open and check the SG, but why? IMHO, leave any fermentor that is showing signs of fermentation alone for at least 3 weeks for beer, and why not a month for mead?

You start opening things that tell you that they are STILL fermenting and you are asking for trouble, for what? It is fermenting.

I see yeast nutrient...but no yeast energizer. energizer is REALLY what's important because its a source of nitrogen which is crucial to yeast health, and honey is extremely low in nitrogen.

energizer = nitrogen, usually DAP, while most nutrient is literally trace nutrients (vitamins)

check your nutrient, as some will contain DAP but many do not.

The Pol said:

I mean you CAN crack it open and check the SG, but why? IMHO, leave any fermentor that is showing signs of fermentation alone for at least 3 weeks for beer, and why not a month for mead?

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IMO, this is not the best advice especially if something like a pH problem is developing. While eveyone need not sample as often as I might, it is how one begins to answer the questions that are the basis for this topic.

If someone is satisfied not sampling, then fine. But when one starts to ask questions like "is this normal" and only offers information related to airlock bubble rate, then it's time to use the available tools to help provide those answers.

You start opening things that tell you that they are STILL fermenting and you are asking for trouble, for what? It is fermenting.

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By exercising simple sanitation practices, infection should never be a problem - at least that has been my experience for a few decades making beer, wine, mead & cider. And, I do not consider this record lucky...

There's no reason to be satisfied with a slow fermentation if there are things you can do to speed it up, as hightest suggests. Sounds like it's time for a pH check (which IMO you should be doing every day through the first few days of fermentation).

I think the most important piece of information you should know is that mead (honey) ferments very slowly. You may not reach final gravity for several months so just forget about it for a couple months and make something else.

I lost the slip of paper with my OG written on it - I am a bad person. I will use the 1.083 estimation that someone mentioned above and break out my hydrometer tonight.

I did a quick check of the carboy today, and it looks like things inside it are moving along nicely. There is some churning and the rate of bubbles have increased to about once every 30 seconds. I will post the hydrometer reading tonight.

Nurmey said:

I think the most important piece of information you should know is that mead (honey) ferments very slowly. You may not reach final gravity for several months so just forget about it for a couple months and make something else.

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I disagree. With proper nutrient additions, pH management, and temperature control, you can hit your final gravity within a couple of weeks. It's important to make sure the must doesn't get too acidic and that you are fermenting warm enough to keep the yeast active (65-75). Nitrogen is key, as are potassium & phosphorus. Using energizer & nutrient & degassing during fermentation should keep it going strong.

And of course, airlock activity is no indication of fermentation status

New term of the day: Degassing. What does that mean and how do I do it?

KCWortHog said:

I disagree. With proper nutrient additions, pH management, and temperature control, you can hit your final gravity within a couple of weeks. ...And of course, airlock activity is no indication of fermentation status

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I also agree with the general tenets of this comment - mead fermentation does not have to take months, although it certainly can under unfavorable conditions.

I have several historical charts that demonstrate target gravities can be achieved within 1 month - often less than 3 weeks (a couple may be viewed via the Mead FAQ links). Most of these meads dropped 100+ gravity points.

MarcJWaters said:

New term of the day: Degassing. What does that mean and how do I do it?

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The process by which entrained gases are removed from solution - mostly CO2. The action is typically accomplished by violent, mechanical, agitation of the liquid (e.g., a motor driven wisk). However, be aware that this action can also expose the liquid to oxidation.

Personally, I have found no need to degass my meads. I just don't do it.

hightest said:

The process by which entrained gases are removed from solution - mostly CO2. The action is typically accomplished by violent, mechanical, agitation of the liquid (e.g., a motor driven wisk). However, be aware that this action can also expose the liquid to oxidation.

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This has been a topic of discussion lately with my husband (a homebrewer), particularly about meadmakers who insist on aerating must which I've been trying to understand. On GotMead particularly, they insist that degassing by shaking the carboy will be sufficient to introduce oxygen into the mead during the yeast growth phase. But I don't understand how this can work.

Since CO2 is heavier than air, how does oxygen get into the mead? Since you have a blanket of CO2 at the top of the carboy, degassing the mead will push CO2 upward, expelling CO2 from the mead & out of the carboy. But, since CO2 is heavier than ambient air, you still won't get air floating downward into the carboy. So how does degassing expose mead to oxygen?

Degassing and aerating are different tools. Just clarifying for the OP and other newer brewers that may be confused. Degassing is removing co2 from solution post fermentation while aerating is introducing o2 into a brew prior or early on in fermentation to aid the little yeasties.

yeah, sorry I didn't make that more clear.

The Pol said:

Where you live in Indy? I am there too

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I live In McCordsville and work on the circle. Let me know ifyou want to exchange some product some time...