how much is too much?

[goodbyebluesky82]

I started a mead tonight with 3 pounds clover honey, and 48 oz of red grape juice, and pitched Lalvin 1118 yeast.

Could the yeast poop out and leave it sweet, ferment it to dry, or ferment to 18% and leave me with sweet rocket fuel?

Could I get a stuck fermentation?

3 pounds didn't sound like a ton when I was throwing it together but now realize this is gonna be a big mead.

 

[jblaschke]

Well, a bit of context would help--how big is the batch you're making, what type of yeast, hydrometer reading, etc.

Three pounds of honey is generally fine if you're making a gallon of mead. If you're making a pint, then yeah, that's probably gonna knock your yeast into a stupor. :cross:

 

[goodbyebluesky82]

Well, a bit of context would help--how big is the batch you're making, what type of yeast, hydrometer reading, etc.

Three pounds of honey is generally fine if you're making a gallon of mead. If you're making a pint, then yeah, that's probably gonna knock your yeast into a stupor. :cross:

Sorry, it's 1 gallon recipe. It's about 4/5 of a gallon right now but was planning on topping the gallon jug on up. Just leaving some space for krausen right now.

It's Lalvin 1118. And the hydrometer is lost.

 

[funkapottomous]

from what I've heard, 3 or 4 pounds of honey for each gallon of water is good for making a straight mead, but you've added in the grape juice, which is extra fermentables. Do you have a larger fermenter available? you could maybe bump it up to one and a half gallons or even two and see what happens.

 

[Yan]

3 lbs per American gallon with 1118 should make a semi sweet to sweet mead. Imperial less so.

So since you've got grape juice in there, you might hit something in the sweet range. But if you're feeding your yeast and keeping it at a steady temperature, you shouldn't have to worry about it getting stuck or anything. 1118 is a very tough yeast. An atomic bomb could go off and it would still be bubbling!

 

[MedsenFey]

In a one gallon batch, with 48 oz of grape juice, and 3 pounds of honey, you may get a starting gravity around 1.125-1.135. It is easy enough to check it - pour some into your hydrometer test jar, measure it, and pour it back (using good sanitation of course). Knowing your starting gravity you can predict better where it will go. EC-1118 can take 1.135 dry if you give it enough nutrients to support it, and aerate it, otherwise it will probably stop a bit short.

Good luck!

Medsen

 

[goodbyebluesky82]

This will be an experiment. If it stops short of dry, I will stabilize and not backsweeten at all. (I wanted it a bit sweet).

I will upDate a few months from now I suppose on how it is coming along.

 

[goodbyebluesky82]

*update* This has been going strong, constant bubbles from the airlock every 1-2 seconds for its first week in primary, and 1/2 inch of steady krausen. Smells awesome with the red grape juice!

 

[goodbyebluesky82]

3 weeks later this recipe is still bubbling but much less frequently, and is around 1.020. I sampled the hydrometer, and it is *hot* and sweet. The flavor itself was not terrible, but it was undrinkable. 3 pounds was a ton of honey considering the juice I added as well.

I am thinking of watering down the batch at bottling. Should I calculate it enough to end up as a 15% ABV mead? (as opposed to the 18% or so it will be) Then maybe it will smooth out in 1 years time? I would of course, be stabilizing at that point and backsweetening a tad depending on what the FG ends up being.

Any opinions?

 

[MedsenFey]

It is not easy to stabilize an active fermentation and with EC-1118 it is likely to be frustrating. If you cold crash it now by putting it in a fridge, you can stop it and rack it with sulfite/sorbate and keep it at the current ABV which is probably around 15%. The flavor of a new, cloudy, yeasty, 15% ABV mead is expected to be crappy. Aging will allow it to develop.

Medsen