Hello all. *I have just recently gotten into mead making. *In fact this is my first experience with any sort of homebrewing. *As of this weekend, I've started about 10 batches of varying sizes (64oz up through 5 gallon). *With all but the first batch, I've had vigorous fermentation.
My first batch was started about 2 months ago. *At the time I had done very little research and just decided to wing it. *I used about 10 lbs of a summer blend honey with enough water to make 3 gallons total. *In retrospect, I should have used less honey I think, but from what I've found in my research, this mixture should still be acceptable for fermentation. *I then added liquid Wyeast English Ale yeast (again...winging it). *It took one week for fermentation to start and it has stayed very slow. *I'm averaging about one bubble from my cylindrical bubbler every 20 seconds or so. *This last weekend, I uncorked it and took a smell test and taste test. *Surprisingly, it smells and tastes pretty good, although the alcohol content seems higher than I would have liked. *Unfortunately, I did not have a hydrometer when I first made this batch, so I don't know the OG. *The current SG measured out as 1.019. *The pH is 3.6. *So it seems that SG and pH are both within limits for fermentation.
Concerned that the fermentation would never really get under way (or finish), I added Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast (which should be tolerant of high SG and ABV) to the must and made sure to add some additional yeast nutrient and oxygenate the mixture well. *48 hours later, the bubbling rate hasn't really changed....I was hoping it would speed up significantly.
Please let me know if you can think of something obvious that I'm missing. *I know I made some mistakes when planning this first batch, but I don't want to completely ruin 3 gallons of mead that smell and taste like they have some promise.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Robert Fisher
My first batch was started about 2 months ago. *At the time I had done very little research and just decided to wing it. *I used about 10 lbs of a summer blend honey with enough water to make 3 gallons total. *In retrospect, I should have used less honey I think, but from what I've found in my research, this mixture should still be acceptable for fermentation. *I then added liquid Wyeast English Ale yeast (again...winging it). *It took one week for fermentation to start and it has stayed very slow. *I'm averaging about one bubble from my cylindrical bubbler every 20 seconds or so. *This last weekend, I uncorked it and took a smell test and taste test. *Surprisingly, it smells and tastes pretty good, although the alcohol content seems higher than I would have liked. *Unfortunately, I did not have a hydrometer when I first made this batch, so I don't know the OG. *The current SG measured out as 1.019. *The pH is 3.6. *So it seems that SG and pH are both within limits for fermentation.
Concerned that the fermentation would never really get under way (or finish), I added Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast (which should be tolerant of high SG and ABV) to the must and made sure to add some additional yeast nutrient and oxygenate the mixture well. *48 hours later, the bubbling rate hasn't really changed....I was hoping it would speed up significantly.
Please let me know if you can think of something obvious that I'm missing. *I know I made some mistakes when planning this first batch, but I don't want to completely ruin 3 gallons of mead that smell and taste like they have some promise.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Robert Fisher