Even More Newbie Questions

[landsknechte]

Hello,

I started my first batch of pear melomel on October 21st. So it's been 10-11 days and we still have activity. I know I need a hydrometer to be absolutely safe. I'm planning on taking a sample into work to use our store's tester. We're mainly vino there, but we do sell small amounts of juice and homebrew stuff.

I have a few questions as to why the fermentation seems to still be going relatively strong.

Okay so the ingredients and process:

3ish litres of spring water
~2.2 lbs of clover-alfalfa honey (Burke's raw, from Bulk Barn)
25 Raisins (suggested as cheap nutrient)
1 Bartlett pear, chopped up with core removed but skins on
5g package of Lalvin RC-212 (Burgovin) prepared according to package directions

I sanitized everything, added half the water then the honey which I'd warmed to loosen it up (didn't boil). I added the raisins then the yeast. I put in the stopper and fermentation lock.

Like a dummy, I forgot the fruit until about a day later when I saw the pear sitting in the fridge. I noticed a bit of bubbling about 36-40 hours later. It got up to about every 3-4 seconds but has settled back down to 5-7 seconds now.

As for temperature, my apartment unfortunately isn't sealed like it should be thanks to cheap supers. However, it's probably been 15-18 c in here on average.

The raisins are bloated and floating like dead bodies on the Volga. The pears are beginning to fall apart but aren't rotting near as I can see. There's a bit of a sediment cake on the bottom of the gallon jug. The mead-in-training is still cloudy but clearer than a week ago.

My question is: Being that I have read the Bourgovin is finicky and the temperature around here hasn't been 20 all the time, could that have slowed things down?

Second, the pear coming apart is normal, right?

Third, if I get myself a turkey baster and clean/sanitize, I should be able to use that for a wine thief...am I correct in assuming this?

Thank you.

 

[valverij]

RC-212 is a nutrient hog. If things slowed down, it's likely it's just nutrient starved. With a lot of yeasts, this is also accompanied by a distinct sulfur smell. pH could also be an issue, but is not as likely, based on your recipe. Remember this, however: airlock activity is not necessarily indicative of fermentation. If your seal is not as tight as you think, then you will not see much activity. Only a gravity reading will tell you for sure.

As for the pear, the yeast probably just demolished it. Fruit going in never looks like the fruit coming out.

And yeah, turkey basters are great alternatives to wine thieves. I have both, but I usually use my baster.

 

[landsknechte]

RC-212 is a nutrient hog. If things slowed down, it's likely it's just nutrient starved. With a lot of yeasts, this is also accompanied by a distinct sulfur smell. pH could also be an issue, but is not as likely, based on your recipe. Remember this, however: airlock activity is not necessarily indicative of fermentation. If your seal is not as tight as you think, then you will not see much activity. Only a gravity reading will tell you for sure.

As for the pear, the yeast probably just demolished it. Fruit going in never looks like the fruit coming out.

And yeah, turkey basters are great alternatives to wine thieves. I have both, but I usually use my baster.

Do I add more nutrients at this point? I know it may not indicate anything but the smell through the airlock is bready, raisiny and with a bit of a baked pear. No sulphur so far as I can detect.

 

[valverij]

The lack of sulfury off-odors is definitely a good thing. If it was there, you'd know it. As for the breadiness, it's probably just because of all the yeast is still in your mead. This should taper off after racking as it clears.

It also looks like RC-212's ideal temperature range is ~20C-28C, so you're right that 15C - 18C could slow it down. Again, though, a gravity reading should let you know how far along it is (or if it's fermenting at all). Others may disagree with this, but at this point, if it doesn't smell, I wouldn't add any nutrient until you get a good reading, on the off-chance that it's done. Typically, though you would add nutrient multiple times through some kind of SNA protocol, much like you would in wine making.

For future reference, here is a list of common mead faults, along with some common causes and fixes from the BJCP: http://www.bjcp.org/meadfaults.php

 

[landsknechte]

Okay so, I took a gravity reading at work today. It's coming up at 1.042 and it still tasted sweet but no weird or off flavours. Is there any way to take an educated guess as to what my original gravity was based off of my ingredients? That way I can tell if any fermentation has occurred at all.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

It looks to me that the yeast has stalled (probably due to the nutrient deficiency). I would try to rouse the yeast back up by placing the jug in a place that is about 24-26C and also swirling the yeast cake back into solution. You could toss a handful of raisins in for additional nutrients too. Using this calculator http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/ from the honey alone you would have an SG of 1.117 which puts you currently at 9.8% ABV which is far below the yeasts tolerance (16%). Yeast can stall way below their tolerance level should they not have enough nutrients and correct temperature.

 

[landsknechte]

It looks to me that the yeast has stalled (probably due to the nutrient deficiency). I would try to rouse the yeast back up by placing the jug in a place that is about 24-26C and also swirling the yeast cake back into solution. You could toss a handful of raisins in for additional nutrients too. Using this calculator http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/calculator/ from the honey alone you would have an SG of 1.117 which puts you currently at 9.8% ABV which is far below the yeasts tolerance (16%). Yeast can stall way below their tolerance level should they not have enough nutrients and correct temperature.

Thank you for the assistance. I added another handful of raisins and swirled it up pretty hard. I also have it sitting by the radiator, probably the warmest place in my apartment.

Good to know it's fermented at least a bit.

 

[landsknechte]

Let me tell you something, brothers: yeast-a-mania is running wild through my melomel!

I think it was a lack of nutrients in there. There's a good amount of activity now.

 

[valverij]

I'm not sure that 1.117 is an accurate estimate. Based on the recipe, it looks like 3L of water was added to 2.2 lbs of honey, which brings the volume up to ~3.7L (0.98 gal), as opposed to it being 3L altogether.

Based on the GotMead calculator (http://gotmead.com/blog/the-mead-calculator/), 2.2 lbs of honey + 3L of water (3.7L total volume) is ~1.081 (~10.86% ABV potential).

Even if it were 3L total, 2.2 lbs of honey would only be about 1.102 (~13.4% potential).

I know there are a lot of calculators, but I've used the GotMead calculator to estimate my expected starting gravity for well over 10 batches, and it's usually pretty accurate. It's also one of the only calculators specifically designed for making mead.

 

[landsknechte]

Okay, so it's been three weeks. Still a little airlock activity but it's settled down after the surge of activity. Time to rack it off the pears, raisins and so on into secondary? Or should I wait longer.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

Yes definitely rack it off. I usually rack when the gravity is around 1.0 (usually 7 days or less). Continue to rack off of the lees whenever you have 1/4-1/2 inch of sediment until your carboy is clear enough to read a newspaper through.

 

[landsknechte]

Yes definitely rack it off. I usually rack when the gravity is around 1.0 (usually 7 days or less). Continue to rack off of the lees whenever you have 1/4-1/2 inch of sediment until your carboy is clear enough to read a newspaper through.

Well my gravity was stalled at 1.042 over a week ago, but I figure it's definitely gone down by a fair bit. It has that strong mouthwash smell of alcohol. It's had 11.5 days to go down to 1.005 or less. Besides, I accidentally got a little extra sediment than I'd wanted and I'm sure any extra sugar will be disposed of.

 

[landsknechte]

Got some floaties kicking around, some pulp possibly. I was thinking of bottling not this Friday but next friday. That would be the 25th of November. Then I'm gonna let those sit until about Xmas. Basically 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks secondary and about a month of bottle aging.

Does that sound okay?

 

[landsknechte]

Great news, for anyone that may be reading: My hydrometer reads 1.004 today. Awesome. Now we bottle and age tomorrow.