Hey all,
I'm kind of stumbling around in my blessed ignorance and could really use some guidance on where I'm at with my mead and where I ought to go next. I'm making a small batch of mead - a gallon, in theory - and followed the instructions of a YouTube video to the best of my ability.
I'm in the UK, so used Allinson's Easy Bake Yeast. I wanted to keep costs as low as possible for a first brew, so used Lidl's own brand honey. The brew got started on 05/02 and bubbled away happily for a while. I discovered that I ought to be shaking the carboy after maybe four weeks, so shook it vigorously each day for a week or two. Last Friday (26/03) I moved the carboy to a higher shelf in prep for potentially racking into a smaller bottle and haven't touched it since, to let it settle. Today, I took the first reading since everything got going and had a taste - it wasn't unpleasant, but there was a relatively sharp flavour of alcohol that felt separate from the rest of the flavours. There was also an odd combination of quite a heavy sweetness, but also tasting watery. There were a lot of fine bubbles in the sample.
O.G.: 1.082
F.G.: 1.040
ABV: 5.5%
I had planned to leave it a week and take a further reading, but honestly I feel like the F.G. ought to be a lot lower. Have I done something wrong, or is there anything I should be doing to help the fermentation restart? Do I just need to be more patient? Will the fermentation continue in a second carboy?
Advice appreciated, thanks!
I'm kind of stumbling around in my blessed ignorance and could really use some guidance on where I'm at with my mead and where I ought to go next. I'm making a small batch of mead - a gallon, in theory - and followed the instructions of a YouTube video to the best of my ability.
I'm in the UK, so used Allinson's Easy Bake Yeast. I wanted to keep costs as low as possible for a first brew, so used Lidl's own brand honey. The brew got started on 05/02 and bubbled away happily for a while. I discovered that I ought to be shaking the carboy after maybe four weeks, so shook it vigorously each day for a week or two. Last Friday (26/03) I moved the carboy to a higher shelf in prep for potentially racking into a smaller bottle and haven't touched it since, to let it settle. Today, I took the first reading since everything got going and had a taste - it wasn't unpleasant, but there was a relatively sharp flavour of alcohol that felt separate from the rest of the flavours. There was also an odd combination of quite a heavy sweetness, but also tasting watery. There were a lot of fine bubbles in the sample.
O.G.: 1.082
F.G.: 1.040
ABV: 5.5%
I had planned to leave it a week and take a further reading, but honestly I feel like the F.G. ought to be a lot lower. Have I done something wrong, or is there anything I should be doing to help the fermentation restart? Do I just need to be more patient? Will the fermentation continue in a second carboy?
Advice appreciated, thanks!