Mead not fermenting after 1 week

[Eddieg26744]

Hello so I put about 2-2.5 pounds of orange. Blossom honey In a gallon carboy and filled it up added the yeast and the nutrients and put orange slices in it, it overflowed a little after the first 24 hrs so I poured just a little out and it bubbled and fermented just fine for a while , then Day 5 I degassed and added the second half of the nutrients ( per instructions) and it bubbled a little the next day it stopped bubbling and looks like the yeast is starting to collect at the bottom, is my first brew dead, what should I do?

 

[T Murph]

You're good. Sounds like you added nutrients at the beginning and after 5 days. That is good but you need to do it again and swirl it around a little to help wake up the yeast. It will take off again for a few days. After a couple of weeks rack it off into a second carboy to age and mature. After a couple more weeks cold crash it in the fridge for a couple of days and start enjoying it. It will improve until it is gone.

 

[Eddieg26744]

You're good. Sounds like you added nutrients at the beginning and after 5 days. That is good but you need to do it again and swirl it around a little to help wake up the yeast. It will take off again for a few days. After a couple of weeks rack it off into a second carboy to age and mature. After a couple more weeks cold crash it in the fridge for a couple of days and start enjoying it. It will improve until it is gone.

Need to do what again add more yeast, nutrients or shake it? I have a second carboy already for the aging i just don't know what do do in its current state

 

[Eddieg26744]

You're good. Sounds like you added nutrients at the beginning and after 5 days. That is good but you need to do it again and swirl it around a little to help wake up the yeast. It will take off again for a few days. After a couple of weeks rack it off into a second carboy to age and mature. After a couple more weeks cold crash it in the fridge for a couple of days and start enjoying it. It will improve until it is gone.

I don't have anymore yeast or nutrients just what came in the starter pack and it's already in there

 

[T Murph]

OK then let it go for another week then rack it off the fruit and must into your secondary and give it a couple of weeks. After that cold crash it, put it in the fridge for a couple of days then you can begin drinking it. It will improve as it ages. Sample it at least weekly and you will learn the benefits of aging.

 

[Eddieg26744]

OK then let it go for another week then rack it off the fruit and must into your secondary and give it a couple of weeks. After that cold crash it, put it in the fridge for a couple of days then you can begin drinking it. It will improve as it ages. Sample it at least weekly and you will learn the benefits of aging.

So the fruit goes into the second carboy as well?

 

[T Murph]

No, Siphon the mead off the fruit into a second carboy, leaving the spent fruit in the primary, that will be your secondary.

 

[amber-ale]

Need to do what again add more yeast, nutrients or shake it? I have a second carboy already for the aging i just don't know what do do in its current state

Swirl, he said SWIRL, not shake. Unless you like foam all over everything. Start slow to make sure you don’t have lots of dissolved co2. .

And mead is sneaky, it ferments more subtly than beer.

Patience, let the yeast (even the ones on the bottom) continue to do their job.
After the first active fermentation is done you can add your liquid and any flavouring fruit in a net bag to a secondary fermenter. Preferably a wide mouth one, since you are going to have to pick the used fruit OUT again when this is over.
Stir GENTLY with a sanitized long spoon and dunk any fruit bits that may be above the liquid one to two times a day so they don’t get moldy.
Taste a bit of liquid each day until you get the perfect balance of tannins then remove all the fruit chunks .
Leave your mead alone until it is down to the gravity you are aiming for. Ok to leave on the sunken yeast up to a month (yeasts are still working to clean up certain yucky chemicals. Leave them alone to work). Rack off yeast whenever it gets 1-2 centimetres or an inch deep.

 

[Eddieg26744]

Swirl, he said SWIRL, not shake. Unless you like foam all over everything. Start slow to make sure you don’t have lots of dissolved co2. .

And mead is sneaky, it ferments more subtly than beer.

Patience, let the yeast (even the ones on the bottom) continue to do their job.
After the first active fermentation is done you can add your liquid and any flavouring fruit in a net bag to a secondary fermenter. Preferably a wide mouth one, since you are going to have to pick the used fruit OUT again when this is over.
Stir GENTLY with a sanitized long spoon and dunk any fruit bits that may be above the liquid one to two times a day so they don’t get moldy.
Taste a bit of liquid each day until you get the perfect balance of tannins then remove all the fruit chunks .
Leave your mead alone until it is down to the gravity you are aiming for. Ok to leave on the sunken yeast up to a month (yeasts are still working to clean up certain yucky chemicals. Leave them alone to work). Rack off yeast whenever it gets 1-2 centimetres or an inch deep.

I have no idea how to use a hydrometer I'm gonna have to do a little more research while that sits

 

[Eddieg26744]

No, Siphon the mead off the fruit into a second carboy, leaving the spent fruit in the primary, that will be your secondary.

Thanks for the help really appreciate it can't wait to try more recipes

 

[Eddieg26744]

Swirl, he said SWIRL, not shake. Unless you like foam all over everything. Start slow to make sure you don’t have lots of dissolved co2. .

And mead is sneaky, it ferments more subtly than beer.

Patience, let the yeast (even the ones on the bottom) continue to do their job.
After the first active fermentation is done you can add your liquid and any flavouring fruit in a net bag to a secondary fermenter. Preferably a wide mouth one, since you are going to have to pick the used fruit OUT again when this is over.
Stir GENTLY with a sanitized long spoon and dunk any fruit bits that may be above the liquid one to two times a day so they don’t get moldy.
Taste a bit of liquid each day until you get the perfect balance of tannins then remove all the fruit chunks .
Leave your mead alone until it is down to the gravity you are aiming for. Ok to leave on the sunken yeast up to a month (yeasts are still working to clean up certain yucky chemicals. Leave them alone to work). Rack off yeast whenever it gets 1-2 centimetres or an inch deep.

I swirled it a lot and vigorously some slight co2 started to bubble through the airlock for about 39 secs then stopped again not much foam or bubbles

 

[amber-ale]

I have no idea how to use a hydrometer I'm gonna have to do a little more research while that sits

Then let it sit on fruit until it tastes nicely balanced (sweetness vs tannin level)
Pull out fruit(probably a week or two)
Let it sit on the yeast layer until it is 2cm or an inch thick. Or a month from when you started
Rack into clean fermentor (top up with Knutson fruit juice to avoid air layer at top )and wait some more.
Repeat until no more yeast layer forming or a month or two
Stick it in the fridge until very clear
Mead needs to age to tastiness anyway. Don’t rush.
Bottle (bottle at into at least 2 dark coloured pop bottles). Every few days test squeeze to make sure pressure is not building up (bottles getting firm)

 

[Eddieg26744]

Then let it sit on fruit until it tastes nicely balanced (sweetness vs tannin level)
Pull out fruit(probably a week or two)
Let it sit on the yeast layer until it is 2cm or an inch thick. Or a month from when you started
Rack into clean fermentor (top up with Knutson fruit juice to avoid air layer at top )and wait some more.
Repeat until no more yeast layer forming or a month or two
Stick it in the fridge until very clear
Mead needs to age to tastiness anyway. Don’t rush.
Bottle (bottle at into at least 2 dark coloured pop bottles). Every few days test squeeze to make sure pressure is not building up (bottles getting firm)

If I end up backsweeting do I have to neutralize it? After waiting a month or so or should it be good?

 

[amber-ale]

If I end up backsweeting do I have to neutralize it? After waiting a month or so or should it be good?

If you are a beginner, maybe try backsweetening in a future batch, after you have learned how to use you hydrometer. You can always sweeten in the glass. But you may have made something already good to you taste preference. How long it takes to mellow and age to tastiness (instead of paint stripper) depends on your recipe. Taste at bottling so you have something to compare it to.
Did you make a JOAM? Let age 3-4 months then taste every month. It will change a lot
Did you make a BOMM? Start taste testing after a month
Other recipes will probably take 4-6 months. Some recipes are designed to take years to mellow. But then you get an extra special product. I don’t have that much patience. I once had to wait 5 years for a coffee mead to go from ashtray to drinkable.
But taste testing is part of the learning process
Keep notes on every batch so you learn and remember what you did. And can replicate it.
And if you get anxious…rush out to you nearest alcohol store, buy the strangest can of beer you can find. Rush home and bring it very close to your fermenter. Crack it open, pour into a glass, sit down and enjoy. If it’s good, it will teach your brew what to do. If it’s bad, we’ll, your batch must be better, so be patient and wait (sneaking tastes is ok too)

 

[Eddieg26744]

If you are a beginner, maybe try backsweetening in a future batch, after you have learned how to use you hydrometer. You can always sweeten in the glass. But you may have made something already good to you taste preference. How long it takes to mellow and age to tastiness (instead of paint stripper) depends on your recipe. Taste at bottling so you have something to compare it to.
Did you make a JOAM? Let age 3-4 months then taste every month. It will change a lot
Did you make a BOMM? Start taste testing after a month
Other recipes will probably take 4-6 months. Some recipes are designed to take years to mellow. But then you get an extra special product. I don’t have that much patience. I once had to wait 5 years for a coffee mead to go from ashtray to drinkable.
But taste testing is part of the learning process
Keep notes on every batch so you learn and remember what you did. And can replicate it.
And if you get anxious…rush out to you nearest alcohol store, buy the strangest can of beer you can find. Rush home and bring it very close to your fermenter. Crack it open, pour into a glass, sit down and enjoy. If it’s good, it will teach your brew what to do. If it’s bad, we’ll, your batch must be better, so be patient and wait (sneaking tastes is ok too)

I usually get a bottle of mead on the weekends from a wine store on my way home from work Friday but that's all a processed mead from a store and I know I like it a bit on the sweeter end but that tends to get woxsive buying from the store lol , maybe I'll switch up to 5gal later on once I get hang of this really appreciate your help

 

[amber-ale]

I usually get a bottle of mead on the weekends from a wine store on my way home from work Friday but that's all a processed mead from a store and I know I like it a bit on the sweeter end but that tends to get woxsive buying from the store lol , maybe I'll switch up to 5gal later on once I get hang of this really appreciate your help

Start with small batches to find recipes you like . And your mead will be better than you have been buying.

 

[amber-ale]

Start with small batches to find recipes you like . And your mead will be better than you have been buying.

When you figure out your process

 

[T Murph]

OK @Eddieg26744 I think you need to give it more nutrients. If you have a homebrew supply near by, they will have some. If not raisins will work. It is not lost, you are doing right to seek advice. Meads are resilient creatures. But from what you have told us it appears yours has not finished fermenting. @amber-ale is right, get yourself a favorite beverage and enjoy it working your mead.

I said meads are resilient. I'm enjoying a Blackberry Melomel that is over 2 yrs old. Made from not so pleasant Gall Berry Honey. It was tart and as my wife called it , NFT (not f---ing tasty). It is an experiment to see if it would become drinkable. After one year it started getting good. It became a very respectable mead. It is also about 15 percent abv. My point is that meads are fun. Very forgiving and rewarding. I want to age a JAOM (Joe's Ancient Orange Melomel). But every time I make one I drink them up too quick. That is basically what you have made. They are delicious so I warn you to respect the mead. Else you will pay.

Cheers

 

[DBhomebrew]

I wouldn't add more nutrients. Not knowing exactly how much or of what kind are already in there, you could over nutrient. Not knowing original and current gravities, you could be adding nutrient to a mead over ~9%ABV in which case the yeast wouldn't absorb the new nutrients.

The right amount of nutrients could help the mead ferment quick and clean. Too little can make for a slower ferment and requiring longer conditioning/aging to reach peak. Too much can leave a nasty nutrient flavor that has yet to age out of two gallons I've got downstairs.

What's the YAN contribution for an oz of raisins?

ETA: ~34ppm / 50 raisins

 

[Eddieg26744]

I wouldn't add more nutrients. Not knowing exactly how much or of what kind are already in there, you could over nutrient. Not knowing original and current gravities, you could be adding nutrient to a mead over ~9%ABV in which case the yeast wouldn't absorb the new nutrients.

The right amount of nutrients could help the mead ferment quick and clean. Too little can make for a slower ferment and requiring longer conditioning/aging to reach peak. Too much can leave a nasty nutrient flavor that has yet to age out of two gallons I've got downstairs.

What's the YAN contribution for an oz of raisins?

ETA: ~34ppm / 50 raisins

So add a couple raisins?

 

[DBhomebrew]

I wouldn't bother with raisins. 1) I wouldn't add more nutrients. 2) If I wanted to add nutrients, raisins don't.

"For raisins to be a significant source of YAN for yeast fermentation, you'd literally have to add them to your mead by the POUND- and not by the handful."

https://gotmead.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Raisins-are-NOT-nutrients.pdf

 

[Eddieg26744]

I wouldn't bother with raisins. 1) I wouldn't add more nutrients. 2) If I wanted to add nutrients, raisins don't.

Noted it looks a little better today the yeast is collecting at the bottom and the mead is a little cloudy with a top layer a little clear

 

[DBhomebrew]

the mead is a little cloudy with a top layer a little clear

Watch the line between a little cloudy and a little clear. When it meets the yeast cake at the bottom, rack to a new vessel. Watch it again. It'll go from a little clear to pretty clear. Let it sit long enough it'll get crystal clear. It'll taste a whole lot better, too.

 

[Eddieg26744]

Watch the line between a little cloudy and a little clear. When it meets the yeast cake at the bottom, rack to a new vessel. Watch it again. It'll go from a little clear to pretty clear. Let it sit long enough it'll get crystal clear. It'll taste a whole lot better, too.

This is so exciting I can't help but watch it lol