NOOB Question about first mead

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BrewMonkster

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I had a friend give me five pounds of honey, so I thought that I would give the art of mead making a try. I didn't really use any recipe really, just winged it. Anyways, I used 5 pounds of honey, mixed it with 1 1/2 gallons spring water, 12 oz of raspberries, some strong black tea(can't remember how much). Stirred all that together for about 5-10 minutes. Pitched the yeast, didn't rehydrate it. I made this on Sunday, I still don't have any air lock activity. I've been stirring it everyday about three times a day but still nothing. It has a layer of foam but nothing going on in the air lock. I used Lavin D47 yeast. Starting gravity was 1.100. I've been looking all over the Internet to answer my own question with no luck!! So, I've turned to HBT. I've been helped so much with my beer brewing here, that hopefully the mead makers will help this NOOB out!!!! Thanks in advance to any & all help!!!
 
MichaelBrock said:
Is your gravity going down? My guess is that fermentation is going along (since you have krausen) but you do not have a tight seal on your fermentation vessel so the CO2 is getting out without going through your airlock.

Check your gravity to be certain.

https://www.google.com/search?q=no%20airlock%20activity&sourceid=firefox#psj=1&q=no+airlock+activity+mead

Does it have anything with the fact that I'm using a 4 gallon bucket for two gallons? I have 5 one gallon jugs that I can use. Ok, I'm going to check gravity right now. I
 
The amount of head space in the bucket isn't an issue at this stage. Later, when the mead is in "long term" storage then you'll want to reduce that considerably to reduce oxidation but during this stage of fermentation it is probably preferable. Buckets are pretty notorious for not sealing very well.
 
MichaelBrock said:
The amount of head space in the bucket isn't an issue at this stage. Later, when the mead is in "long term" storage then you'll want to reduce that considerably to reduce oxidation but during this stage of fermentation it is probably preferable. Buckets are pretty notorious for not sealing very well.

Ok, just checked the gravity, it's 1.080. I guess that means it's fermenting & that my bucket isn't sealing!! Lol!!! Would it hurt to move the must to gallon jugs or should I just let it do its thing?
 
Excellent! It wouldn't hurt to transfer it but I would just leave it in the bucket for fermentation and then transfer to the gallon jugs for storage once fermentation is done.
 
MichaelBrock said:
Excellent! It wouldn't hurt to transfer it but I would just leave it in the bucket for fermentation and then transfer to the gallon jugs for storage once fermentation is done.

Thanks for the quick reply!!!! I was going to throw it out!!! Lol!!! I know that Mead takes longer than beer to ferment, but how long? I was thinking a month to ferment, then transfer to glass jugs for 3-4 months, then bottle. Can I secondary with more raspberries?
 
Well, I am no mead expert (or even moderately experienced). Like you I am actually in the process of fermenting my first mead. It has been in the primary for 4 weeks and is still chugging along, now down to 1.014. Fermentation did get stuck at about 1.040 but a good stirring and some yeast nutrient got it going again. Yours might be done in a month but it all depends on where you expect (or want) it to end up. Unlike with beer, there are quite a few "end scenarios" to consider with mead such as pasteurization, stopping fermentation early with Potassium Sorbate and Potassium metabisulfite, back sweetening, etc. I am aiming for a fairly dry mead and I intend to let mine run its course and then backsweeten if necessary. I don't see why you couldn't secondary with raspberries, it has certainly been done, but I would research that further as I can't comment on the specifics.
 
I just finished 2, 1 gallon batches of mead (first mead ever) one bucket didn't seal well but it fermented just fine. After about 3 weeks I put it in a glass jug. So far so good.
 
MichaelBrock said:
Well, I am no mead expert (or even moderately experienced). Like you I am actually in the process of fermenting my first mead. It has been in the primary for 4 weeks and is still chugging along, now down to 1.014. Fermentation did get stuck at about 1.040 but a good stirring and some yeast nutrient got it going again. Yours might be done in a month but it all depends on where you expect (or want) it to end up. Unlike with beer, there are quite a few "end scenarios" to consider with mead such as pasteurization, stopping fermentation early with Potassium Sorbate and Potassium metabisulfite, back sweetening, etc. I am aiming for a fairly dry mead and I intend to let mine run its course and then backsweeten if necessary. I don't see why you couldn't secondary with raspberries, it has certainly been done, but I would research that further as I can't comment on the specifics.

Ok, guess ill let it go for a month or so to see where I'm at, plus that'll give me time to study up on mead!!! THANKS again for your help!!
 
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