fridge broke, came back to must @ 100.4F, maybe up to 2 weeks

[David H]

OG was off my hydrometer (1.06+),
current Gravity: 1.04, very sweet, no bizarre off-flavors.
Yeast: Mangrove Jack M05 Mead yeast
batch size: 19L (5gal)
max temp: 38c (100.4F)
honey added: 6kg (13.2lbs)
preboil: 22L (5.8gal)

I brew beer on a little island called xiaoliuqiu off the south-west coast of Taiwan, so I don't have access to all the resources i'd like.

This is my first batch of mead & i was pretty excited coming back to check out how my new 'honey' was doing. So, i got back after a two week stint on the Taiwan mainland and made a bee-line for the fridge only to find out it was at 38 degrees -- Celcius! The gravity is at 1.04 and quite sweet, nothing i'd call an off-flavor, tastes pretty good, but way to sweet.

I've been back for a couple hours & have to take off again in another couple hours. So i am wondering whether anyone might chime in with some suggestions in the meanwhile.

i squeezed out a little bit of air through the fermentation lock to raise the level of the solution in the fermentation lock so i could see if anything was happening and it seems that the fermentation may be stuck or over. I guessed that the yeast was dead, but supplier says the yeast is not that easily killed and to just let it ride. I have my doubts.

It'll be a couple of months before i am back on the island, so i am thinking i may be best to take the must back and leave it with a friend and ask them to pitch some more yeast if nothing happens．This will be a bit of a pain, but i'd love to see this batch through.

I'd appreciate your advice!

Thanks

Dave

 

[gnor]

So you are on Lambai Island. What is your expected FG?

 

[madscientist451]

If you can't get the fridge running again, its pointless to pitch more of the same yeast.
Options:
Don't do anything, deal with it when you get back.
Pitch some Omega "Hothead" yeast and see what happens.
(I realize you probably can't get this before you leave, but I figured I'd mention it)
Move the fermenter to a cooler location, like someone's house that has A/C, a cooler basement, cave and pitch more yeast.
Depending what your OG was, the mead might be done fermenting?
How much honey in what size batch was used?

 

[David H]

Update:

i brought the carboy back with me & put it in storage until my friend picks it up on Monday & transfers to a cool place for the summer.

I've got a sample w/ me too see if it's fermenting. I imagine if it is, then i can just let it do it's thing. If not, then maybe we repitch next week (depending on what you folks suggest). Other than mangrove jack, i'm not sure there is much else available in Taiwan, but if needed, i might be able to mail something in (though i'm not sure how easy new brands of yeast are to get through customs).

Thanks!

 

[David H]

So you are on Lambai Island. What is your expected FG?

Yes, Lambay indeed!

This is the first round for me making mead & i figured i'd just let it go & see where the yeast and time took the mead, but then the busted fridge kind of changed things, so I didn't give much thought to what the FG should be, although i am really hoping something drier (tastes quite a bit like pineapple juice now @ 1.04).

(just for fun -- Here's a pic of the must getting ready for the journey back to the mainland today.)
Thx!

 

[David H]

Depending what your OG was, the mead might be done fermenting?
How much honey in what size batch was used?

OG: over 1.06 (not sure how much over)
Batch size 19L (5gal)

Thanks for taking the time!

 

[Maylar]

6.6 lbs of honey in 5 gallons would only be about 1.042 starting gravity. Are you sure you read that 1.06 correctly?

 

[David H]

6.6 lbs of honey in 5 gallons would only be about 1.042 starting gravity. Are you sure you read that 1.06 correctly?

Edited:
I was wrong, the bottles were 3kg each. I put 6 kg (13.2lbs) honey in.

Thanks!

 

[David H]

After all the advice, i want to give everyone an update:
I sent the mead home with my friend & waited for 10 days while getting some more of the same yeast. When nothing happened after that, she repitched a packet & things started happening again.

Interestingly, I had a little 300ml plastic bottle of the original that stiffened up & carbonated about 5 days later.

We've been sampling a bit here and there. It's really drying out and tasting quite nice (i'm sure it'll taste better in a couple months if we can restrain ourselves.)

I'm curious what the og would have been with 19L H2O & KG of honey...

Thanks to all of you!