And....nothing

[Nimrod1193]

Couple of days ago I tried my hand at mead for the first time. I used the basic mead recipe in Papazian's book, but I used a Wyeast 4184 Sweet Mead Yeast smack-pack. I didn't use additional yeast nutrients since they were already in the pack. I got the water to 120 degrees, added the honey and other ingredients, cooled it to 76 degrees and pitched the yeast, which had swelled up in the pack nicely.

After checking on it the next day, I’m seeing no activity in the airlock. I aerate it a couple of times to try and get thing going, but no luck. Yesterday I decide to add nutrients and some yeast energizer. I draw off some of the must, add the nutrients and energizer and add it to the must. Today, I check again and I am still seeing no activity in the airlock. What am I doing wrong here? Have I completely botched it, or is this batch salvageable?

 

[Onihige]

Honey can be hard to ferment, and one packet of yeast is not always enough (they contain a certain amount of yeast cells, I think 100 billion). Making a starter with the yeast is often recommended, although I have yet to go there myself.

And what do you mean by no airlock activity? No bubbles or simply no pressure? The airlock itself isn't meant to see if it's fermenting or not, it's to prevent air from getting in and to help gas escape.

It can still ferment even though there are no bubbles in the airlock. Is there some light foam build up on the surface of the must? It doesn't have to be much.

I recommend you add additional nutrients. And wait.

 

[Devo9]

What is your OG? And check what your SG is. It may be fermenting without you knowing it.

And what is the recipe you used? If it isn't fermenting, maybe we can spot a potential problem.

 

[MedsenFey]

That yeast happens to be particularly finicky and has probably frustrated more new mead crafter than any other strain.

However, I'd suggest opening it and checking the gravity to see if it is dropping. Meads often produce little foam, and airlock are not a reliable indicator. Let us know what your numbers are.

 

[fatbloke]

That yeast happens to be particularly finicky and has probably frustrated more new mead crafter than any other strain.

However, I'd suggest opening it and checking the gravity to see if it is dropping. Meads often produce little foam, and airlock are not a reliable indicator. Let us know what your numbers are.

+1

Medsen knows his onions..... if he hadn't mentioned the problems with this yeast, I'd have put it more bluntly i.e. its a PITA.

If its not doing its thing, get some nutrient/energiser and a pack of K1V-1116 and pitch that.

 

[urbanmyth]

I am currently fermenting a mead that took about four days to get going, and that is with one smack pack in only one gallon. Baby it for the first few days, aerating and such, until it starts to get foamy when you aerate. After that, you know fermentation has started, and it should be good.

I started that mead about three weeks ago, and it is still chugging along. Probably has something to do with the basement being 62* in the wintertime, but once it started, it kept going.

 

[Nimrod1193]

OG was 1.112. Recipe was The Antipodal mead from Papazian's Joy of Homebrewing. I'll check the gravity when I get back from work.

Thanks everyone!

 

[tweake]

15 lbs Honey (Grade A clover)
1 tsp Yeast nutrient
1 Tbs Acid Blend
1 tsp Irish Moss
0.5 tsp Gypsum
Water to 5 Gallons
Packet Pasteur Champagne Yeast

if thats the recipe i can see a few things that are not good.
low in nutrient, massive amount of acid blend (which can cause the yeast to stop) and Irish moss which is not really needed.

 

[Nimrod1193]

Gravity is still at 1.112. Must temperature is at 66 degrees. Didn't realize the acid blend was too much; just going by the recipe. Do I need new yeast? Do I need to move it to a warmer part of the house? Or am I just hosed?

Thanks for the help so far. I really appreciate it.

 

[tweake]

if theres no drop i would repitch with a much better yeast.
the catch may be the acid mix in it. really need a PH test and see how low it is. if its to low it will need to be corrected.
you will also need additional nutrient. i don't really know the wyeast products but from what i see the nutrients in the pack is the minor stuff, it will still need DAP.

 

[dummkauf]

I've made 10 meads so far. All but 1 started fermenting within 2 days of pitching, however that 1 that didn't get going right away took 5 weeks before it started......my advice is to just be patient

That said, you might want to check the PH, if it's too low I hear that can make the yeasties unhappy, otherwise, just aerate the piss out of it and wait.

 

[tweake]

trouble is in the 5 week wait wild yeasts can get going. also if the yeast is really stressed and very slow to start, it can throw really bad flavors.
i prefer just to fix the problems rather than just wait and hope.

 

[CM4OSU]

Gypsum? Just curious... So I can make a short trip out to White Sands, NM and make a nuclear mead?

 

[Nimrod1193]

trouble is in the 5 week wait wild yeasts can get going. also if the yeast is really stressed and very slow to start, it can throw really bad flavors.
i prefer just to fix the problems rather than just wait and hope.

That's what I'm trying to figure out. Do I re-pitch with a different yeast? Is there something I can add to reduce the acidity? Do I just wait, or just write off the batch as a bad idea?

 

[fastenova]

I'd repitch either the KV-1116 or the 71B-1122. Both have worked very well for us in the past with starting gravities from 1.080 to 1.115.

Also the Red Star Cote des Blancs seems to work just fine as well.

I'm working on a batch with an OG of 1.122 now that the 71B-1122 is plugging away at, it's slow but it's kept at about 64 degrees so that's not too surprising.

 

[Nimrod1193]

The local store didn't have the 71B-1122, but they did have the K1-V1116. I give it a try this evening. Thanks.

Do I need to add more nutrients or are the ones I added two days ago sufficient (since there has been no activity)?

 

[fastenova]

Oops, yeah, K1-V1116! Was going from memory and only used that one a few times.

I would hold off on the nutrients for now - you don't need a ton immediately, it's better if they're staggered - I've never added nutrients and am just getting into that, and our mead has always finished... Just takes longer.

I'd really recommend rehydrating the yeast this way since you've already had a late starting mead:

Add yeast to 8oz of 105 degree water (or whatever your package specifies), let set for 10 minutes (you should see most all of the yeast fall from the surface down to the bottom by this time), stir, wait another 10 minutes. If you want to you can add just a bit of nutrient to your water before you add the yeast here, but it's not necessary.

Then add about a 1/4 cup of your must to the same container and give it 10 minutes more.

Finally, in a larger container add an equal amount of must to your existing yeast starter, and give that 15 minutes before you pitch the whole thing into your must.

Stir for several minutes to mix and aerate, put on your airlock, and give it 24 hours and you should see activity.

 

[Nimrod1193]

Oops, yeah, K1-V1116! Was going from memory and only used that one a few times.

I would hold off on the nutrients for now - you don't need a ton immediately, it's better if they're staggered - I've never added nutrients and am just getting into that, and our mead has always finished... Just takes longer.

I'd really recommend rehydrating the yeast this way since you've already had a late starting mead:

Add yeast to 8oz of 105 degree water (or whatever your package specifies), let set for 10 minutes (you should see most all of the yeast fall from the surface down to the bottom by this time), stir, wait another 10 minutes. If you want to you can add just a bit of nutrient to your water before you add the yeast here, but it's not necessary.

Then add about a 1/4 cup of your must to the same container and give it 10 minutes more.

Finally, in a larger container add an equal amount of must to your existing yeast starter, and give that 15 minutes before you pitch the whole thing into your must.

Stir for several minutes to mix and aerate, put on your airlock, and give it 24 hours and you should see activity.

Thanks, I will take your advice. I really appreciate all the help. I've been away from homebrewing for a while (my electric range just wasn't getting the job done) so my skills have gotten rusty, and this is my first attempt at mead. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

[fastenova]

Did you get this to pick back up? How'd the 1116 do for you?

 

[Nimrod1193]

Okay, we seem to be making progress. Gravity is at 1.071, and when I strirred the must, I got a lot of bubbles, so the yeast is working. Should I be adding more nutrients at this point?

 

[Nimrod1193]

Checked on the fermentation bucket and there are steady, happy bubbles coming out of the airlock. Looks like it's well on its way. Thanks for all the advice everyone!

 

[tweake]

Okay, we seem to be making progress. Gravity is at 1.071, and when I strirred the must, I got a lot of bubbles, so the yeast is working. Should I be adding more nutrients at this point?

if its still around 1.070 then i would add some. how much depends on which one you use.

 

[Nimrod1193]

if its still around 1.070 then i would add some. how much depends on which one you use.

I'll check the gravity again in a few days. The airlock is still bubbling steadily, so I'm inclined to leave it alone. Thanks.

 

[tweake]

I'll check the gravity again in a few days. The airlock is still bubbling steadily, so I'm inclined to leave it alone. Thanks.

the odds are it will stall or throw some really bad flavors.
they do need to be well fed. 1 tsp at the start was ok but they typically need another 5 tsp (depending on the nutrient mix used).

 

[Nimrod1193]

the odds are it will stall or throw some really bad flavors.
they do need to be well fed. 1 tsp at the start was ok but they typically need another 5 tsp (depending on the nutrient mix used).

Ok. Thanks.

 

[Nimrod1193]

Checked the gravity today. It was at 1.052, and I added the nutrients as tweake suggested. It does smell good, though.

 

[Penguinetti]

Sorry, new to brewing...

Why is Irish Moss not needed when making mead?


For that matter, why IS it needed when brewing other mediums?

 

[tweake]

Irish moss is a fining agent. ie it makes the brew clearer.
i don't know much on it as it seams to be a beer thing and not really used in wine.
fining agents really need to added at the final stages. they can clear out proteins and yeasts.

 

[Penguinetti]

Irish moss is a fining agent. ie it makes the brew clearer.
i don't know much on it as it seams to be a beer thing and not really used in wine.
fining agents really need to added at the final stages. they can clear out proteins and yeasts.

Can they be used in place of sulfites?

 

[truckjohn]

no - totally different reason for using them.... Sulphites are to sterilize the must - so you don't end up with stinky infections resulting in Sweat socks or Vinegar mead....

Mead clears to crystal clear by itself without any trouble usually... There's not a whole lot of protein in honey...

Thanks

 

[tweake]

as above.

suphites are for killing bacteria and help inhibit yeasts.
while meads do clear on there own, some are better if yeasts are removed reasonably quickly and i've had drop out problems after backsweetning. i hate having a clear mead drop out a smear on the side of the bottle 3 months after you bottled it.

 

[Penguinetti]

Ah hah... Okay, I'm pickin up what you're puttin down now.

 

[Nimrod1193]

Gravity is at 1.021, which should put the current ABV at 12.1% It has been in primary for one month now. About how much more time should it be in primary, and should I give it another dose of nutrients?

 

[Nimrod1193]

Racked to secondary today. Gravity is at 1.011, which puts ABV at 13.48%. Tasted a sample, and it was great, with very nice citrus notes. Now for the hard part; leaving it alone for about six months. Thank you to everyone who helped me out on my first mead.

 

[tweake]

enjoy and let us know how it tastes in 6 months time