High Mead Ferment Temp??

Pitched two packs of Lalvin EC1118 on about 4.5 gals of cyer @ 1.110 gravity. Initial temp was mid 70's and it hasn't coole down in two days. It started active fermenation in the blow off (never did a big mead batch so I wasn't sure if I would need it) within 3 hours. It's in a room that is 69-71 degrees mostly and I've got wet towels and a fan on it. The yeast says it works up to even higher temps, but I wonder if this is bad for the mead. Most threads I read mentions weeks and weeks of slow active fermentation, and I worry this will be done too quickly.

I pitched at 92F and let it fall to about 78ish, the sample I tasted is pretty hot, I have no idea how my mead will turn out.

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NNatic said:

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Yeah, I thought about that but I'm already 2 days into fermentation, and I'm actually trying to get my brew room cleaned up as I'm running out of space completely. So it's more a matter of, unless it's really going to trash the mead at 75 as a max temp, I'm making due with what I have. Just curious what might happen from higher temp or fast fermentation.

Ok, decided to do the swamp cooler thing since it was pretty much maxing out my carboy stick on thermometer at like 76. Towel, bucket and fan and I was down to 72 degrees by this morning. I'm just not very familiar with wine making yet, and with beer it's ester control or beware of fruity flavors, which I wouldn't really mind in this case.

Wine yeasts generally do better at higher temps, compared to beer yeasts. Some won't fully attenuate unless they're in the 70s or higher. That said, 1118 is a monster yeast, and I'd be surprised if you get any attenuation problems. I wouldn't worry much about temps unless they get over 90. Try not to let them fluctuate too much, either.

I don't know what you're making exactly, but I've used 1118 in meads before (just a couple of times) and they've turned out well. I usually shoot for somewhere in the 75-85F mark for fermentation temps. That seems to work best.

Your fine. I make wine also and usually ferment in the upper 70's to low 80's without any issues. As already mentioned wine yeasts in general tolerate and work fine at higher temperatures without throwing off hot alcohols or noticeable esters.

GT

Thanks for the info, getting more comfortable with the wine/mead making and some of beer vs. wine methods. First time using the 1118 and it seems like a great yeast, started within 3 hours, almost no foam or need for blow off tube (not sure if that's usual with wine), and it seems to be trucking right along. I'll probably take a gravity reading in another few days to see how it's progressing, but it seems to have slowed down quite a bit this morning.


4 Gal Apple Cider
1 quart water
7 lbs Honey
1 Cup of Molasses
1 Tbl Pectic Enzyme
1 Tbl Acid Blend
1 tsp Tannin
1/8 tsp Grains of Paradise
1/3 Cinnamon Stick
.75 oz Sweet Orange Peel
2 Whole Cloves

Lalvin EC1118