Blueberry's working away, but the mead...

[springmom]

...is just sitting there.

Now, mind you, I just put the yeast in today, so I'm being a "helicopter mom" to my primaries, I know. But the blueberry is doing well, and the mead just sitting there has me worrying. Mead recipe:

3 lb local honey
3 qt water
acid and yeast nutrient
and a packet of champagne yeast, added today.

The honey was well mixed, it smells heavenly (the honey is awesome just to taste) but it just sits. I'll stir it tomorrow as per instructions in the recipe. At what point is my worry actually founded?

 

[Arpolis]

Don't get worried till after 60 hours or so. Meads have a much more subtle fermentation compared to fruit wines or beer. It may be going just slowly and surly.

Is the mead must cloudy or clear? It should get all cloudy and real hard to see through if the yeast is working.

 

[springmom]

I'll check when I stir it in the morning. Thanks for the encouragement

 

[springmom]

Boo ya! The mead is moving the water in the airlock. I'll be taking the lid off to stir in a bit.

Question: did I read on here that it's fine to simply cover the primary fermenter with a clean towel? For my RA-screwed fingers, it would be a GREAT blessing not to have to pry those lids off daily for the next week or two...!

 

[Arpolis]

For the first week of fermentation when there is a lot of CO2 being produced that is fine. Once the CO2 slows down though you need an airlock.

 

[springmom]

Much to my delight, my lids have become more supple and easy to remove. Good thing. The daily routine was killing my hands.

The mead got a very healthy stirring again today and clearly appreciated it, as it fizzed up all its CO2. I gave it a tiny dose of DAP with a tsp of Fermax nutrient. It foamed and got another stir. Put the lid back on and hoping this'll do it.

The blueberry is actually slowing down a bit. I'll take a SG reading tomorrow and see where it's at.

This. Is. FUN

 

[Arpolis]

It sure is fun. I am trying to drink down my meads to give me a reason to do a new batch I still have two 5 gallon wines that I have yet to bottle though just bulk aging now and my wife doesn't drink. I got a lot a work ahead if me before I can do my next project.

 

[david_42]

High gravity = slow start. Meads can be a real pain to get going and can take months to finish.

 

[springmom]

Feeding=happy, happy yeast. My mead woke up and decided that yes, it would like to turn into wine, thank you very much. All is well.