Mead Fermentation

So, perhaps I should have posted this in the mead forum, but......

I started with a medium sweet mead recipe that included 8 lbs of blueberries. I used the normal yeast addition process and the batch fermented to 1.005.

I racked into a 6.5 gallon carboy and added about 12 lbs of more blueberries.....

Thinking that fermentation was more or less done, i left a little headspace, put on an airlock and left. (can you see where this is going?). I came back in a couple hours to find the airlock full of blueberry mead. I removed the airlock, put on a blow off tube dropping the free end in a bucket of sanitizer. When I got up in a couple hours to check on it, the mead had flowed up the blow off tube and had started running into the bucket....this just isn't blow-off, it's like the pressure in teh carboy is pushing out all my mead. Not good.

Picture after racking, before overflow....


My only thought now, is to pull all the mead out of this carboy and toss it back into a 6.5 gallon bucket so that there is more surface area for it to vent through the blueberries. Then, when the bubbling has stopped, I can rack into the carboy?

I'm desperate for advice, since I'm losing mead by the minute....

Ryan

You can certainly put it back it the bucket until the fermentation settles down. When you add 12 pounds of fruit, you are adding what is the equivalent of nearly 1 gallon of blueberry juice that probably has a gravity of 1.040 (or thereabouts). You can see why this would reactivate the yeast. Once it quiets down, you can rack the liquid back and press the berries and it should behave.

When you do ferment in a carboy, antifoam drops smeared around the inside of the neck of the carboy will prevent many MEAs (Mead Eruption Accidents) and using them can allow you to maximize the volume in the carboy, though they won't stop the kind of blow-off you are experience with that much fruit (and that small amount of space).

Medsen

Ok, that makes sense....i'll blame the fact that I didn't think about the 1.040 addition on the fact that I have a new baby!

So, I could put it back in the bucket, wait until the fermentation settles down and ONLY transfer the liquid? Will I still get the aromatics from the blueberries in there? Should I do something to nuke the yeasties?

Thanks for the input!

It's usually a good idea to check your ABV, and compare that to the alcohol tolerance of the yeast you used, before adding more fermentables. If the yeast hasn't hit its tolerance, chances are that fermentation will kick back in. Actually, even if the yeast IS at tolerance, and you make an addition that affects the ABV by "watering it down", you can get the same effect.

Whenever I add fermentables after primary fermentation, whether it's fruit or honey for back-sweetening, I usually go ahead and add some Potassium Sorbate to deter renewed fermentation. Sure, sometimes this might be unnecessary, but on the other hand, I've never had to clean berries off my ceiling, either.

After the ferment is done again, if you feel like you've lost some of the aromatics, you could add some Sorbate and some more blueberries, and that should get you back to where you want it to be.

Is there a recommended amount of Sorbate to add? Isn't there something else that is recommended to add as well to help with the 'stunning' of the yeasties?

Also, is this something I can (or should) add now and if so, how is that done? Just dump it down the blow off tube?

Moby said:

Is there a recommended amount of Sorbate to add? Isn't there something else that is recommended to add as well to help with the 'stunning' of the yeasties?

Also, is this something I can (or should) add now and if so, how is that done? Just dump it down the blow off tube?

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There should be instructions on the container, telling you how much Sorbate to add. It's usually half a teaspoon per gallon, if memory serves me right. You can add Sulfite, as well, but it's not technically necessary. I usually do, but your mileage may vary. I've been using Campden tablets, and haven't had issues yet. You add one tablet per gallon.

I'm not sure how other people do it, but I usually sanitize a shot glass with some Starsan solution, and use the bottom of it to crush the Sorbate and Campden tablets together. Then I put the powder in the shot glass with a little sterile water to dissolve it.

What I would do, is follow Medsen's instructions to wait for the ferment to finish again, and while you're racking it to your carboy, dump in the dissolved solution so that it mixes in with the mead. The flow should distribute it pretty well, but before I remove the siphon hose from the carboy, I use it to give a gentle stir, just in case.

As to when to add additional blueberries, that's kind of debatable. You can add them to the empty carboy, and rack on top of them. That's probably the cleanest way to go, but has a disadvantage because it's hard to figure out how much space they'll take up, and you could have a bunch of mead left over that won't fit. If you go that route, have another small container or two handy, and you can put the leftovers into those to minimize loss and give yourself something to top off with later, if needed.

On the other hand, if you rack first, then add the blueberries, you risk dragging more oxygen into the mead as the berries drop in. The good side is that you can easily control how full you fill the carboy with mead, and then use the berries to top off. Dumping in the berries can also splash a bit, and aside from adding oxygen, can make a real mess, because blueberry juice stains like crazy.

Soooooo, take your pick. If anybody else has recommendations, feel free to chime in.

So, I decided to wait and let the fermentation run it's course. Then, after it slowed down, I pulled the blow-off tube and reinstalled the airlock.

Tasting it, it was pretty dry, as I expected, so it looks like I'll be back-sweetening. I'll sorbate the mead in a couple days, rack off the berries (squeezing them as necessary) and then back-sweeten to taste.

Anyone think I'm crazy (or just wrong)?

Ryan

Sounds fine to me. 1/2tsp of sorbate and 1 Campden tablet per gallon is the right amount to stabilize.

Saccharomyces said:

Sounds fine to me. 1/2tsp of sorbate and 1 Campden tablet per gallon is the right amount to stabilize.

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Sweet....now I just have to wait for Midwest to ship my stuff!

So question here, I made a blueberry wine at one point and had a dickens of a time filtering out the blueberries (this was also my first attempt at a brew) for the secondary fermentation. You say here that you'll be removing the blueberries and squeezing the juice out as necessary, could someone possibly elaborate on the easiest way to do this or what equipment might be needed?

I apologize for the newb question... :-S