Have i overheated my Mead please ?

Hi all. Im new here and doing my first cherry mead.
Im doing 3 pound of clover honey with 2 pound of fresh cherrys and a glass of pure orange juice in a gallon demijohn with a pack of champaigne yeast and thats it.
All was going well with it bubbling away in the dark in the wardrobe at room tempreture of about 70f
My wife thought that it may be too cold for it as the bubbling was slowing down after about 10 days with only a short burst of bubbles every 30 seconds ish instead of the busy bubbles we saw at the first few days or so.
I found an old heater plate that i thought would only generate a tiny amount of warmth and decided it may help if i used that underneath the demijohn wraped in a blanket inside the wardrobe.
I done this and after about 18 hours i went to inspect and found that the demijohn was rather warm and the bubbles had stopped all together.
I have now taken the plate away and have the demijohn cooling and have noticed the cherrys have now all sunk to the bottom.Can anyone please advise me of will the fermentation begin again and if so have i ruined the mead? Also if it will not referment can i restart it please?
Any help or advise would be most greatfully recieved as the ingredients are very expensive.
Many thanks, Daz [email protected]

If you overheated, you can pitch the yeast again. You may have pasteurized inadvertantly. It could also be that primary ferm was coming to an end at the same time. Wait a coupe days and see.

Many thanks for your swift reply. What does it meen to pasteurized please?
If it doesnt restart in a couple of days is there any hope for it please? How do i repitch the yeast please?
Many thanks, Daz

Pasteurized means that you have killed all the bacteria and yeast in the liquid by heating it.

After a few days if you don't see fermentation add more yeast. (This is also known as pitching.)

70 degrees (between 50 and 70) tend to be optimal temperatures for mead, depending on the yeast you're using. Take a hydrometer reading and see what the gravity is and if you need to add more yeast and/or nutrients.

Many thanks again all. Its still not moving again today so if i look tomorrow, what hydrometer reading should i see please? Has it maybe just finished fermenting please?

A question before giving you an answer. What do you want your mead to taste like? Would you like it really sweet? Just a little sweet? Or would you like it to taste dry (not sweet at all)?

If you want it sweet, the accidental pasteurization could be a good thing.

Well i supose sweet is nice as long as it got a kick as well

I would think you probably want an SG around 1.006-1.015 as per the following scale:

"Scale
Dry: 0.990 – 1.006
Medium: 1.006 – 1.015
Sweet: 1.012 – 1.020
Dessert: 1.020+"

Which I stole from another thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/what-good-fg-sweet-mead-215467/

But I think the best way to check it is to taste it. See if you are happy with the sweetness and the kick. (The amount of alcohol really depends on the OG you had)

Doesn't pasteurization occur at or above 160º F (71ºC?) I would think the demijohn would have been HOT...not just warm. I doubt you would be able to pick up a glass demijohn with your hands if it was at pasteurization temps. Maybe I'm wrong.

I dunno, but maybe the warmth just finished up the fermentation quickly. I'd take a reading and see where it stands. It might be that it's just done fermenting and the yeast went dormant. How thick are the lees on the bottom? (aside from the cherries being down there)

Pickled_Pepper said:

Doesn't pasteurization occur at or above 160º F (71ºC?) I would think the demijohn would have been HOT...not just warm. I doubt you would be able to pick up a glass demijohn with your hands if it was at pasteurization temps. Maybe I'm wrong.

I dunno, but maybe the warmth just finished up the fermentation quickly. I'd take a reading and see where it stands. It might be that it's just done fermenting and the yeast went dormant. How thick are the lees on the bottom? (aside from the cherries being down there)

Click to expand...

The reading and taste will ultimately decide but yeast can be stressed/killed at temperatures exceeding 90F.

Mrbrownfolks said:

The reading and taste will ultimately decide but yeast can be stressed/killed at temperatures exceeding 90F.

Click to expand...

The Nottingham Ale yeast I use in my ciders says to rehydrate in water between 86º and 95º*F (30º-35ºC) Does that mean that I am killing my yeast when I rehydrate?

I thought the yeasties start dying at around 120º+ and it's an apocalypse at 160ºF?

Many thanks to you all for your kind help.
It was very warm but not what i would call hot. I think ill taste it and try to get a hydromiter reading tomorow and let you good people know and ill be guided by you from there.
The sediment is about 1.5 inch thick at the bottom of the demijohn with the cherries on top of that also on the bottom. It had been bubbling away with some vigor for 10 days before it stopped.

So i tried to use my Boots wine and beer tester today but it confused me and iv decided im going to get a new hydrometer but i did have a taste and its lovely! quite strong and not to dry so do you think i should just leave it alone and continue with it as it is please?
Its been 2 weeks now since starting it so maybe another 2 weeks and syphon it into another demijohn with a little more cherries and leave for another month and do again?
Am i on the right track please?

I think you may have to check it first to see if it actually fermented during the time you said it had been fermenting taste it to see if it is done and rack it then try again next time try to keep a constant temp.

Oh I forgot your must should ferment at temps best about 75 to 80 degrees

daz, I'm glad to hear you were happy with the taste. Obviously you can tell from this thread you are going to get a myriad of answers and ways that people chose to execute their 'brew'. It ultimately depends on what "you" like.

I usually rack my ciders off the lees at 2 weeks so that I can slow the yeast a little. I also use an ale yeast, ferment and age around 62ºF (16-17ºC ?) and I usually end up at a gravity about 1.004 or 1.005. (after about 1.5 months from pitch) You can let it sit in the primary or secondary for as long as you want. It's all about experimenting and figuring out what taste you like best.

My suggestion would be to go ahead and rack to a secondary with new cherries. you'll take some stock in your first batch by actually doing something with it. Then on the next batch you can let it sit for longer before racking to figure out what works best. (Don't forget to always sanitize everything VERY well)

This is the method I use to produce the cider that I personally like. There really is no right and wrong way if you produce something you are happy with.

Happy Holidays to you and your family! Cheers

~Pepper

So, Its been 2 weeks since the 1st rack and its still bubbling about once every 3 minutes . Is this normal or should i be doing something to it please? if so or not then what next please ?

Probably just degassing, I wouldn't worry.

So how many times do i rerack before bottling please ?

Depends. Bottle when it's clear and not dropping anymore sediment.

Shine a flash light into it, it should go through clear and you shouldn't see the beam in the mead. Certainly no tiny particles should be distinguishable.

How soon that happens depends on a lot of things. The kind of mead, whether it has been degassed (that helps it clear), whether you used tanin or a clearing agent, temperature.

You can always bottle a little early if it is fully degassed, stabilized, and you don't mind a little sediment in your bottle. I'd wait.

ok ill just wait then

Pickled_Pepper said:

I would think the demijohn would have been HOT...not just warm. I doubt you would be able to pick up a glass demijohn with your hands if it was at pasteurization temps. Maybe I'm wrong.

Click to expand...

You are totally right. Skin burns at around 130F, (or 54.44C). Pain is triggered before that.

YMMV, as I usually can stand 140 for a couple of seconds.

Don't ask why I know that stuff, haha.

If you can still hold it, you haven't killed any yeasties yet.

lol ok thanks for that.
Im just waiting for it to claer and age now but it dont seem to be altering at all. At least it looks the same but I supose it will take all year ? I am hoping it will be ok for next Christmas.
Any thought or advise please ?

Update- It does look clear now and i had a little taste. It tastes very strong and warming but with a slight smell of plasticy something though. Can i do anything about that or will it go please ?