slooooow fermentation

[blakelock]

hi all, i have to admit that i'm a beer brewer and this is my first attempt and the sweet honey elixer. so i mixed up a meed kit from "more beer" and sweetened it up a bit.

- 4 gal batch (set aside 5th gal for funky experimentation)
- 12 lbs honey
- bit of yeast nutrient (GO-ferm and fermaid K included in kit)
- did not use any of the acid blend included in kit
- white labs sweet mead yeast (actually used 1.5 tubes of yeast to get things going quickly)

it was a bit slow to start bubbling (couple of days??? maybe). over a month later, it's still bubbling! (~3 bubbles/min). here's my gravities:

OG ~1.099 (actually forgot to write it down but according to Beer Calculus . homebrew recipe calculator, this is what it should be)
gravity after 1 month ~1.072
temp is 64-68 F.

obviously i've got a long way to go. why is it so slow? should i do something? (other than wait)
incidentally, my 5th gal experimental batch (vanilla mead) is also still bubbling although i haven't checked the gravity.

cheers!
blakelock

 

[Revvy]

I would relax considering when you are making meads and wines, you are talking Several MONTHS to a year before you drink it....There's nothing wrong...it's a lot of fermentables to eat through. The yeasts Know what they are doing. So just walk away and brew a beer or something.

 

[hightest]

A wise choice not to add that acid... I know there are those who have not had issues with liquid sweet mead yeast, but I'm not among them. Besides myself, I see more and more people in mead forums who experience slow (or stuck) fermentations and have used that yeast...

One of the essential ingredients (IMO) missing from your kit is DAP. Fermaid-K alone does not supplement honey's YAN deficit sufficiently. DAP is also needed. At 1.072, you have some time to add some DAP now (~2 g).

A low must pH will also manifest itself as a sluggish fermentation. A 4g potassium bicarbonate addition may help - it can't hurt.

Assuming 12 lbs of honey is mixed with water to yield a 4 gallon batch - that solution's OG should be nearer 1.106 vs. 1.099. I know nothing about "Beer Calculus", but I do know my method & calculations are accurate... While only a 7 point difference, it represents an addition error of either 1½ cups of honey, or 13 cups of water.

 

[hightest]

Although I agree that mead may age well for months, I do not agree that the majority fermentation should only drop 27 points after 30 days. The mead FAQs have example fermentation rate charts that illustrate typical effectively managed fermentations...

Even though the ambient area temperature is on the "low side", I would expect after 30 days that the SG should ne nearer to 1.010.

 

[hightest]

...OG ~1.099 (actually forgot to write it down but according to Beer Calculus . homebrew recipe calculator, this is what it should be)..

I found why your calculated OG was low. The calculator you used set the default PPPG for honey at 33 PPPG - it is more like 37 PPPG.

Calculator tools are great, but they are not all created equal. Often those that work best for making beer, do not work well for making other beverages. Which is why I created the Mead Calculator spreadsheet (in the FAQ), even though I use ProMash for making beer...

 

[blakelock]

allright! thank you both for the replies.

hightest,
if i add DAP, should i also add more of the other nutrients (GO-ferm or fermaid K)?

and by the way, thanks for keeping me honest with the beer calculus site. i'm actually a scientist during the day so i'm well aware of the dangers of temptingly simple models that are based flimsy foundations. it's just os easy to plug in a few numbers without knowing what the hell you're doing. do'oh!

 

[blakelock]

wait a minute. the fermaid k i used supposedly has DAP in it already! i don't really know how much though. is there a danger of DAP overloading ?

 

[Moonshae]

Nutrients are very important. Fermaid K has some DAP, but adding a little extra will not cause a problem.

Don't forget to aerate/degas daily until the gravity has dropped by 1/3.

 

[blakelock]

Don't forget to aerate/degas daily until the gravity has dropped by 1/3.

whao!! daily??? i guess i'm stuck in my beery ways. thanks for the meed-ucation. should i oxygenate or just shake it up? for beer you want to avoid oxygen after fermentation starts. is it very different for mead?

i did give it a shake several times but certainly not daily.

thanks!

 

[Tusch]

Well there are generally much more fermentables in mead. It ferments strongly and produces plenty of co2 to blanket it and prevent oxidation. By aerating daily until 1/3 of the sugar is gone, you are giving the yeasts the oxygen they need early on. After this point, you want to avoid any possible oxidation just like with beer.

 

[hightest]

allright! thank you both for the replies.

You are most welcome.

hightest, if i add DAP, should i also add more of the other nutrients (GO-ferm or fermaid K)?

Go-Ferm is designed to be used in the yeast rehydration water rather than as a must nutrient.

...and by the way, thanks for keeping me honest with the beer calculus site. i'm actually a scientist during the day

Then I'm "preaching to the choir..."

In my absence I noted several replies (each have some merit), but based on your situation I would advise against the degassing, and daily nutrient additions. There are presently 4 principal SNA protocals, but mixing them is ill-advised.

Yes, Fermaid-K adds YAN in the form of DAP. My SNA protocol adds a calculated amount of both Fermaid-K & DAP to effectively support a healthy fermentation without burning-out, or starving, the yeast. My calculations are a function of batch size, and the amount of YAN provided by each compound - controlled additions by weight.

 

[shrades]

I also have some mead going, so i should aerate, but not open container? Just shake it up a bit and then let it go again?

 

[blakelock]

hey all,
here's an update to my slow fermenting mead.

OG ~ 1.1
1month G ~ 1.07
2months G ~ 1.055
4months G ~ 1.045

gravity is going down but obviously much slower than it's supposed to. i'm planning on pitching another round of mead yeast. does this sound like a reasonable thing to do?