Mead beyond saving?

[rurouni82]

My mead isn't bubbling anymore. It should only be about half done, and I'm worried I messed it up somewhere. It's my first attempt at mead, so it's not hard to imagine.

I did a variation of a recipe I found here. This is the original recipe.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/knoopsters-first-mead-29640/

This is what I did.

March 13, 2011
Started Mead
12# Honey
32oz Maple Syrup (pure)
2# frozen berries, (purree)
64oz Apple Cider
Boiled Water to 5 gallon mark
5 Campden tabs (crushed)
3t yeast energizer
6t yeast nutrient
Mixed everything together.
OG: 1.072 @ 70 degrees
Waiting to add yeast until it cools

March 14, 2011
Added the yeast to the mead. Added 5 tsp of Yeast Nutrient to Mead

There were bubbles after I first started, slow but steady. However, the bubbles had stopped when I checked it a week or so ago. I added in another 5 tsp of Nutrient a week ago, and some yeast energizer a couple days ago. However, there's still no bubbles. Can I repitch it, or is it a loss at this point? Another problem is that I don't remember what yeast I used. If I followed the recipe it was red star champagne. However, I don't have anymore of that on hand. I could order some, but it'd take a few days, or I could use some lalvin d47. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[bob1852]

What's your current gravity?

It's possible that it's "done" fermenting after a month. You used a good amount of nutrient and energizer which helps with a faster ferment...

 

[rurouni82]

I just took it .996 @ 70 degrees O.O You might be right. I don't know why I didn't just take the gravity to start with. The recipe said 2 months, so I assumed something was wrong. So....should I just rack off the sediment and bottle it? Is...carbonated mead any good?

 

[bob1852]

fermentation timing is way different with mead than with beer. Beer is often usually "done" in ~4-10 days. Mead can be weeks to months...

If I were you, I'd rack it off the lees (sediment) into a carboy, top off with water if needed to cut down on headspace, and bulk age until it's 1) clear, or 2) there's more than 1/4" of lees (if that's the case rack again).

I like my meads carbonated if possible. Becasue you're likely under the ABV tolerance of most wine/mead yeasts you should be able to carbonate when you bottle by adding ~4.5oz priming sugar.

 

[rurouni82]

How clear does it need to be? Aside from the sentiment floating around, leftovers from the fruit and what not, it seems about as clear as the cider I normally make. Bulk aging never hurt anything though.

I don't have a lot of beer bottles at the moment, so I'll probably carbonate a little bit by priming the bottles with apple juice or maybe just sugar or something. Thank you for all of your help. I feel much better about this batch. Mead's a lot more expensive than cider to make, so I'm very glad I didn't have to scrap the whole thing.

 

[malkore]

I'm a little concerned about the 10 teaspoons of nutrient you've added.

What brand are you using? Because my nutrient says 1/2 tsp per 5 gallons or something...

 

[rurouni82]

The 6 tsp of nutrient in the recipe may have been a typo, honestly I can't remember. Other than that, I added the initial 5 tsp of nutrient a day in to it, and another 5 tsp. around two weeks ago when it wasn't doing anything, because I read a lot of things about how finicky mead is when it comes to slowing or stopping fermentation.

Is giving the yeast too much nutrient a problem?

To answer your question, I'm using a nutrient I got from a store called High Gravity. It's their store brand nutrient, and it says "Fermax Yeast Nutrient - 1 tsp per gallon" and that's about it. The yeast energize I got from the same place says "1/2 tsp per gallon."

 

[AnonyBrew]

I had someone tell me at last night's club meeting "don't ever throw away your mead, give it to me & I'll distill it".

lol

 

[MedsenFey]

Is giving the yeast too much nutrient a problem?

It can be in some cases.
If you give too much, it can lead to sulfur odors (more commonly too little is the cause for sulfur).
It can cause reduced aroma.
It can create salty/metallic flavors.
It can provide food for spoilage organisms.

 

[rurouni82]

Lol, is distilled mead any good?

MedsenFey, ouch I didn't realize that. My original reason for putting the second batch of nutrient in was because I was worried that the fermentation had stopped from a lack of nutrients. This is my first batch of mead (everything else I've tried was cider which is easier for me), and I had a lot of information from different sources bouncing around, some of which said that fermentation sometimes stops in mead. I should have just checked the gravity, because it was probably just finished, but I assumed it couldn't possibly be done a month in advance. I racked it a couple of days ago though. It smelled/tasted a little dry, but overall good. Hopefully that doesn't change too much while I let it age a little more.

On a side note, there's still some sentiment that made it to the secondary, and I thought I saw a fly get in while I was transferring it. >.< I was considering using a sieve to see if I could find anything, but I'm worried that a stainless steel sieve might interact with the mead in some unpleasant way. Any thoughts?

 

[malkore]

stainless steel is perfectly fine as long as it is really stainless steel.

flies can carry acetobacter bacteria, which can turn alcohol into vinegar.

Mead is a slow moving beast so don't ever feel like you've "got to do something right away" if it appears to not be fermenting. And of course, trust hydrometer readings, not visual inspection of primary, to gauge fermentation.

 

[K5MOW]

I just took it .996 @ 70 degrees O.O You might be right. I don't know why I didn't just take the gravity to start with. The recipe said 2 months, so I assumed something was wrong. So....should I just rack off the sediment and bottle it? Is...carbonated mead any good?

Yes it is done.

Roger

 

[K5MOW]

Yes rack off the sediment and let it sit for some more aging. Carbonated mead is very good.

Roger