should i repitch

i had to transfer 5 gallons of mead (only in the fermenter for about 1 week) because of a problem with the bucket. It was fermenting fine but since I transfered it this morning I have not seen any bubbling in the air lock. should I just repitch the yeast?

What yeast did you use? What was your OG? What temp are you fermenting at?

It may just take a little while for it to start back up.

It sucks to have to throw in more yeast because you cant oxygenate it again.

And if you end up having to add yeast again that could dry your mead out more than you want. Then you would have to back sweeten it.

Check out Red Star Premier Cuvée if you have to restart the fermentation.

Jlewin,
Although not an old timer by an means I will take a stab at your question. I am currently involved in a group brew for a medium show mead and have been carefully listening and taking notes as its progressed. A couple of the senior brewers did talk about what happens when you rack over to secondary early for any one of a thousand possible reasons and all said that anytime you rack you shouldnt expect to see fermentation re-start before an 8-24 hour period due to the degassing from racking and the loss of the CO2 blanket that lays on top of your fermenting must. It will take it a bit of time for the fermentation to generate enough CO2 to rebuild the blanket and cause the pressure to build up sufficiently to make your airlock return to bubbling.

When you racked you should of carried sufficient yeasties over to get it re-started. There are sevaral things to consider though, was the new vessal clean, was there a huge temperature change in the must after you racked it(ie did you change the location of the carboy or leave it where it was), the list can go on and on but most importantly, give it at least 24 hours before you decide its not going to re-start.

I am sure others here can give you a better and more scientific answer but that is the best I can offer with my limited understanding.

Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

OK, did you check your gravity before re-racking? If it was above 1.000 then it's not done by no means. It's still fermenting.

Relax and have a mead...

thanks everyone for the input.

one question. one person said that if i repitch I cannot oxygenate again. why is that? would it harm the must?

the brew is definately not done fermenting. I had a OG of 1.082 and am now at .062 or so after only 1 week. So I know I have plenty of time I was mainly worried that I may have harmed the yeast in transfer and would have to start with a new pack.

thanks again.

Jlewin,
I just went back over my notes and noticed one guy said he had seen a batch re-start 36 hours after racking to secondary so hang in there and like all things mead, give it a bit of time before you do anything. RKBHAHB...........

You dont want to aerate fermented mead (or beer) because it will cause off flavors. I would wait a couple of days, then decide whether or not to repitch. If you still think that you should at that time, I would take a gravity sample to be sure, but that is optional. If you do repitch, use dry champagne yeast. You should be able to get away with out aerating it.

- magno

I think the real question is how much lees did you leave behind... if you got alot of the stuff off the bottom it should start up in a day or so.. maybe add some more nutriant if you didn't before.. give it a jump start.. If not.. it can and most likely will still ferment some more.. just more slowly.. nothing wrong with that and infact some people intentionally slow ferment their meads.. to help it along you can slowly stir (very slowly so as not to airate.. more of a swirl then stir without breaking the liquid surface) this will put any yeast at the bottom back into suspension to work some more..
The other thing is what did you transfer to?? if another bucket you may not have an airtight seal..
Final thoughts... waiting a few days to even a week to see if fermentation starts up again (or gravity drops noticably) won't hurt the mead any.. if it doesn't you can repitch next week and haven't lost anything..

SpamDog

All the replies agree! Wait, don't repitch yet.

What I always see is a wait between 24 and 48 hours for the ferm procees to kick in again. I see what apears like a glass of champagne at first. Tiny bubbles and just a few and then a few more over time. I would say mead needs time and I feel a slow process and ferm. If your Hydrometer is correct you are fine and don't repitch for at least a week and remember it will be slower than other wines.