strange..

hello, well I started a 5 gallon batch of mead about 2 and a half weeks ago. and I dont think anybody could have messed it up like I did. I started by boiling some water and adding about 2lbs of honey, and poured it into the bucket. I then added one pound of surger, a container of juice consentrate, about 5 apples and 5 plums. I had a sweet yeast that was liquid in the pakage when I got it, I didnt read the dir. right and didnt break the small pack inside the liquid. so I cut it open and stirred it with the liquid yeast.
I then pitched it into the musk, I think my musk was too hot. I had let it sit for about 2-4 days and no fermenting had started. I had read that yeast will die instantly at above 80ish. so I then reopend the bucket and pitched 3 dry packets of "baking" yeast (its all I had at the time) that I let sit in water 15 minutes prior to activate it.
I now have it in the closet its fermenting, but nothings coming out of the airlock.

my question is, is this normal? and will baking yeast work with this?
also its at at realativly lower heat, about 68-70 will this effect it in anyway?

thanks.

I have successfully used baking yeast in mead...But I keep it above 70.
Did you take a OG Reading. It seems to me that it would be VERY low with 1 Pound of sugar and 2 Pounds of Honey in 5 gallons of water. I made a cyser with 1# honey, 1# Sugar and apple juice in 1 gallon and ended up with an OG of 1.098 Chances are, you missed your fermentation. It would not take very long to ferment that small of an amount of sugar.

yeast wont die above 80, maybe above 100, probably more though. You'll shock the hell out of them though and might get some off tastes.

the more I think of it...The more I think you just missed it.
Take a gravity reading and post back.

temperature is ok. can you SEE it fermenting? (bubbles up the side of the carboy/jug?) sometimes the airlock won't bubble if you don't have a perfect seal on the cap.

Also, its called "must" not "musk". Musk is a smell from certain animals.

malkore said:

. Musk is a smell from certain animals.

Click to expand...

and the REALLY cheap cologne I wore in High School.

and the REALLY cheap cologne I wore in High School.

Click to expand...

I think everyone has fond memories of English Leather musk. It must be a funny joke for dads to give that to their sons, its like a right of passage. In a weird strange smelling kind of way.

I was once gored ny a must ox

haha I have a small bottle of English Leather that my dad got me about 5 years ago...Its still sitting in my glove box in my truck...

hey there, thanks for the replys. well I dont have anything to take an "og" reading, when I started it I didnt know what I know now about mead. also I noticed today that the small jugs of honey I used was = to 2 gallons each(I think). anyway its in a semi clear bucket, so I opened it up and there were no fermentation going on. it was kinda foamie, so I tried a glass. and I have to say its a bit surgery, but has a real fruity plum taste. I got a small buzz off a small glass of it. im not sure if this is from the yeast or what.
so I bottled half of it and will let it sit and age. and the rest I will leave in the bucket to see if it ferments anymore. Is this normal? I know I dont have readings for you guys ot go off of, but its only ben maybe 2 months at the most. I thought it was about 2 and a half weeks, but my buddy says its ben around 2 months.
also its got a real......yeasty taste I wana say, kinda an off taste.its also got a realy alchoholic/yeast smell. its hazy and yeast sets at the bottom of the bottles I bottled... Is there a proper way to take a gravity reading? Do I have to buy a device of some sort?

Thanks again for all the help!

I can only learn from this try, with help from you guys and lots of reading hopefully my next batch will be better..

you bottled way to early. Mead takes a good long time. It sounds like most of the fermentation is over, but I bet those bottles blow their corks within a few months if you didn't stabilize it. The cloudyness/yeast on the bottom of the bottle and alcoholic bit are all from it being to young. You could probably have transfered it all to a second carboy for clearing. As it sits for months, the yeast will drop out and it will go clear. After a year or so in the bottle, the alcoholic taste will probably subside.

Notice the timetable with mead is measured in months and years.

I see, is it ok to retransfer the mead from the bottles to a carboy?

Since we have no readings and it's probably not completely done since it's so hazy still, I would personally.

Did you use beer bottles or wine bottles with corks? The wine bottles would probably just pop their cork when the pressure got to high, but beer bottles tend to explode.

lol, my lucks against me then because I used beer bottles. I picked up a carboy today, im just waiting my buddy to bring it. Ill transfer the mead from the bucket and the bottles into the carboy, and use an air lock. now will this upp the risk of the mead becoming stale or does that not matter at this point? also would It be ok to add some more fruit/honey when transfering to secondary to add more food for the yeast?
thanks.

don't add more yeast or sugar. Avoid splashing, you don't want to introduce oxygen to it. It will probably all turn out fine in the end, but next time lots o' patience.

it'll only taste stale if you splash when you pour them back in...that's gonna be the tricky part...
pouring beer bottles back into a carboy.

a word of advice...don't jump into brewing without some research. if you know how to make beer, it doesn't mean you know how to make mead or wine. they are different beasts, so it pays to have all your ducks in a row before you get started.

thanks for the help guys, and I agree with you mal I jump the gun just a bit. But ive learned some, and with a little more research I have a good feeling about my next batch.