Help! Help!

[Nomadic_Joel]

Hey everyone...


Here is my mini emergency.

I originally started this Ginger Mead (recipe below) as my first ever mead. I had a very very hard time getting an accurate reading as it was my first time....and there was a ton of bubbles. (so no OG reading really)

Now after 5 weeks, I have taken a same and it sinks directly to the bottom....I tried taking a reading straight from the carboy AND from the test tube...and both just sink straight to the bottom. (WHY?)

**I am assuming I have a stuck fermentation...as there must be must more sugar in there then I thought.

I tasted a bit and its tastes super sweet...must be sugar in there..

WHAT DO I DO????

1) and some yeast nutrient and re pinch some yeast...to see if I get some fermentation?

HELP!


----

Recipe:

OG=1.115

**1.6 KG wild flower honey
**60 Grams peeled and grated ginger root -(boiled for 5 mins) and placed right in the primary...water and all.
**10 Chopped raisins
**1 tsp Yeast energizer-(DAP, B1...)
**1.5 cups Dextrose.
**Lalvin 1118 Yeasty

 

[Brandon O]

if your hydrometer sinks straight to the bottom of the carboy, you have a broken hydrometer. it doesn't float at all?

 

[Nomadic_Joel]

That's what I thought as well....but my two other meads and apfelvein took proper samples.....

 

[Nomadic_Joel]

I just tried in water, and it reads 1.000 as normal....should I try another sample and report back?

 

[Nomadic_Joel]

OK! good and bad news.

Good news is...I got a reading (I think there was too much star san in the sample jar?)

so: the OG was 1.115

NOW it reads 1.030

Which would give me a ABV of 11.3%.

But I am a stupid head and already racked.....

****Will it continue to ferment even though it has been in there for 5 weeks...AND I racked off all the sediment?? (down to a dry 1.000..or so)????

****Or should I add a bit of yeast energiser and repinch some lalvin 1118 yeast to get it down that far? ( to about a mead 15%ishy?)

THANKS SO much for all for all of this...i am VERY new.

J.

 

[Brandon O]

OK! good and bad news.

Good news is...I got a reading (I think there was too much star san in the sample jar?)

so: the OG was 1.115

NOW it reads 1.030

Which would give me a ABV of 11.3%.

But I am a stupid head and already racked.....

****Will it continue to ferment even though it has been in there for 5 weeks...AND I racked off all the sediment?? (down to a dry 1.000..or so)????

****Or should I add a bit of yeast energiser and repinch some lalvin 1118 yeast to get it down that far? ( to about a mead 15%ishy?)

THANKS SO much for all for all of this...i am VERY new.

J.

Actually, that is a perfect time to rack. There is still plenty of yeast in suspension, if there wasn't it would be as clear as water.

Now you can let it clear and not worry about yeast autolysis, which tastes bad.

once it is as clear as water, you can siphon it out and bottle. if you are storing it someplace different then where you bottle, move it to the bottling area a few day before you bottle. This will ensure the yeast has time to settle again after moving the carboy around.

 

[Nomadic_Joel]

Thank you so much for this!

**So what you are saying is that it will continue to ferment in the secondary (because there is still yeast) and let it go until it 1.000ishy... (still has a way to go)

Then I can backsweeten as needed?

Thank you very very much.

 

[fatbloke]

Thank you so much for this!

**So what you are saying is that it will continue to ferment in the secondary (because there is still yeast) and let it go until it 1.000ishy... (still has a way to go)

Then I can backsweeten as needed?

Thank you very very much.

If the gravity is still "heading south" then it's still fermenting, hell you could even try a small quantity of nutrient/energiser (1/4 teaspoon....) to encourage it a bit more. If you've used EC-1118 in it, then it should ferment dry. Don't be too impatient with it.

Then once you've got it finished and are at the "back-sweetening" stage, make sure you sorbate it, or use a non-fermentable sweetener, otherwise if you use honey there's a possibility of a restart to the ferment.

EC-1118 has a tolerance of about 18%, and there's also the possibility that when it's finished it will taste hideous and have a distinct "medicinal" taste to it (or Listerine is the analogy that Ken Schramm uses in his book). That just means that it will need to age for longer for the alcohol hot taste to mellow.

regards

fatbloke

 

[Nomadic_Joel]

Thanks everyone, I will take a gravity ready soon...which will tell me if she is still going.

J