Lumberbrew
Member
5 gal recipe, ~15# clover honey. Boiled water along with 1 tbsp acid blend and 1 tsp yeast nutrient, added honey. Chilled to 80F and oxygenated using sterilized bubbler stone and pure oxygen for ~3 minutes. I pitched 2 packets of Red Star Champagne yeast, rehydrated at 100F and let stand to cool to 80F for pitching. OG 1.122@70F.
The mead fermented in my basement in a 6 gal carboy, temp stabilized at ~64-65F within 24 hours or so. It went on quite strongly - 1 bubble per 2 seconds - for several weeks. After 8 weeks, activity had slowed to perhaps 1 bubble per 8-10 minutes. I took 2 gravity reading a week apart and it was at 1.070, taste was quite good, no off flavors, but of course very sweet still.
On the advice of a friend who's a mead maker, I swirled it a bit to re-suspend the yeast and brought it upstairs to raise the temp to ~70-72F, quite a bit of dissolved CO2 came bubbling out. I got some renewed activity in the airlock for a few days, but even after 3 more weeks the gravity only dropped to 1.068. I racked it into a second 5gal carboy to eliminate headspace and it's sitting there now after 2 weeks, still at 1.068 with no activity.
Well, it should ferment out much lower than this, so I think it's stuck? This is only my 2nd batch -- the first batch was only around 1.080 OG and fermented to .998 or so using the same yeast with a 2 month primary. Thoughts on this batch? I'm considering repitching per the instructions in the FAQ, but I wanted to get some second opinions. I have the yeast on hand to do so, but will need to purchase the other ingredients.
The mead fermented in my basement in a 6 gal carboy, temp stabilized at ~64-65F within 24 hours or so. It went on quite strongly - 1 bubble per 2 seconds - for several weeks. After 8 weeks, activity had slowed to perhaps 1 bubble per 8-10 minutes. I took 2 gravity reading a week apart and it was at 1.070, taste was quite good, no off flavors, but of course very sweet still.
On the advice of a friend who's a mead maker, I swirled it a bit to re-suspend the yeast and brought it upstairs to raise the temp to ~70-72F, quite a bit of dissolved CO2 came bubbling out. I got some renewed activity in the airlock for a few days, but even after 3 more weeks the gravity only dropped to 1.068. I racked it into a second 5gal carboy to eliminate headspace and it's sitting there now after 2 weeks, still at 1.068 with no activity.
Well, it should ferment out much lower than this, so I think it's stuck? This is only my 2nd batch -- the first batch was only around 1.080 OG and fermented to .998 or so using the same yeast with a 2 month primary. Thoughts on this batch? I'm considering repitching per the instructions in the FAQ, but I wanted to get some second opinions. I have the yeast on hand to do so, but will need to purchase the other ingredients.