My Mead Wont Carbonate

[Jack_0106]

Howdy Folks,

Made up a gallon batch of elderflower mead. It turned out pretty good but I wanted to carbonate it.

Recipe:

• 1800g Irish wildflower honey (I think - I dont have my notes)
• 3 liters of dried elderflower leaf tea and topped up to the gallon
• Mangrove Jacks Mead yeast
• teaspoon of nutrient
• 2 teaspoons of acid blend
• half teaspoon of tannins

Meads OG was 1.110 and finished really dry at .996 so its around 15%ABV. My yeast is capable of 18% so I figured why not carbonate it.

Added 2 carbonation drops to each of my 750ml bottles and bottled away. Its been sitting in my office 3 weeks now. I opened one last night expecting a nice pop but nothing. Its as flat as a pancake.

Caveats:

• Yeast was in the fridge (unopened) for about 7 month before using
• My house can get pretty cold at night or during the day when we are not there the weather is just starting to warm up. (Daily temps around around 5-7 degrees C outside). Otherwise, the house is usually around 20 degrees.

Any ideas why it didn't carb? Should I open the bottles and ad some yeast into them?

 

[D the Catastrophist]

How was the bottle sealed? Cork might have been too porous, or cap might have not sealed fully.
I suspect the issue was temperature though, from what I've read, carb drops like slightly warmer temps then what you have noted.

 

[Jack_0106]

How was the bottle sealed? Cork might have been too porous, or cap might have not sealed fully.
I suspect the issue was temperature though, from what I've read, carb drops like slightly warmer temps then what you have noted.

Its sitting in pretty new swing top bottles.

Yeah I reckon its just been too cold.

 

[CKuhns]

How well did you clarify it? Its possible there are no viable yeast left to chew up the sugar.

As mentioned above take it to a warmer environmant and see if that helps.

 

[Jack_0106]

How well did you clarify it? Its possible there are no viable yeast left to chew up the sugar.

As mentioned above take it to a warmer environmant and see if that helps.

its maybe 60% clear, can see your fingers through it but cant read through it

 

[Johnny2]

It's normal for brews to take a few months without adding fresh yeast to have full carbonation. It being completely flat after 3 weeks means that you don't have any viable yeast. Rehydrate some new M05 or EC-1118 and add a little of it to each bottle. You should make high abv sparkling meads with a keg or brew hydromels.

 

[fluketamer]

as said above warm it up to 70 ish for 3 weeks if no fizz then you got no yeast and willl need to add more (specifically a high tolerance bottling yeast - there prolly is one just not off the top of my head) yeast but 15 percent abv carbonated anything would take my head off.
bubbles make it smoooooth. lol
in college we used to drink alabama slammers with absolute and 7 up slammed on the counter to fizz it up then shot down. god i was stupid.
if i drink beer over 8 percent it gets me too hammered. 15 percent bubbly would kill me.

 

[Deadalus]

Consider adding new yeast. I had two batches of yeast that I had wanted to carbonate and they never did and I think it was most likely the yeast was not viable. I have some bottles left and may try to add some yeast as well myself.