Stuck ferment on first 5 gal. batch

[munselln8]

Hey all,
After brewing MANY batches in 1 gal. carboys I upgraded to a five gallon brew bucket. First effort seems to be failing. Here was my process and here is what is happening (or not):
15lbs. cheap store bought honey (Same brand I have used a dozen times before)
Water to balance at 5 gals. (I bought distilled because my filtered water supply was out of order / Out of Stock.)
SG @ 1.110
1 tsp. yeast nutrient (per package instruction)
12.5 grams (2.5 packets) Lalvin Ec-1118 champagne yeast.
All blended with a drill attachment ensuring to incorporate some air into the must.
Sitting in my living room at 71f.

After a day or so I was getting a slow release through the airlock...maybe 1 bubble per 3 seconds. It never got any more aggressive than that and it only seemed to bubble for a couple days.
Fast forward 3 weeks and SG is at 1.01
So....I re-pitched an additional tsp. of nutrient and 7.5 grams yeast (1.5 packets).
re-stirred and aerated with the same drill attachment.
A day later....no activity.

In my mind, the only difference between this batch and all my previous is the quantity. I have used distilled before in a pinch and while it seemed less aggressive, it still fermented to about 8% ABV.
Thoughts?

 

[CKuhns]

Couple ideas
- Rack it off the gross lees. ( Not entirely sure why but it has helped me in the past.)
- Give it a stir (Same as above)
- Check pH if < 3.0 adjust to 3.5 or so with potasium bicarbonate.

Edited - Re-read your post you stated 1.010. Thats where i rack to secondary and let it finish for 2 to 4 weeks.

 

[pdhirsch]

1.110 to 1.010 in 3 weeks isn't unreasonable, especially if you initially gave it only 1 teaspoon of nutrient for 5 gallons. My math says that works out to about 13% ABV. If the seal on your bucket isn't perfect, then some of the CO2 could be leaking out, hence less visible activity in the airlock. I'd give it another few weeks -- rack to secondary if you can, but don't worry if you can't. I wouldn't aerate anymore at this point though.

 

[Dan O]

Hey all,
After brewing MANY batches in 1 gal. carboys I upgraded to a five gallon brew bucket. First effort seems to be failing. Here was my process and here is what is happening (or not):
15lbs. cheap store bought honey (Same brand I have used a dozen times before)
Water to balance at 5 gals. (I bought distilled because my filtered water supply was out of order / Out of Stock.)
SG @ 1.110
1 tsp. yeast nutrient (per package instruction)
12.5 grams (2.5 packets) Lalvin Ec-1118 champagne yeast.
All blended with a drill attachment ensuring to incorporate some air into the must.
Sitting in my living room at 71f.

After a day or so I was getting a slow release through the airlock...maybe 1 bubble per 3 seconds. It never got any more aggressive than that and it only seemed to bubble for a couple days.
Fast forward 3 weeks and SG is at 1.01
So....I re-pitched an additional tsp. of nutrient and 7.5 grams yeast (1.5 packets).
re-stirred and aerated with the same drill attachment.
A day later....no activity.

In my mind, the only difference between this batch and all my previous is the quantity. I have used distilled before in a pinch and while it seemed less aggressive, it still fermented to about 8% ABV.
Thoughts?

Everything I have read about mead making has said to stay clear of distilled water. I have never used it, so I have no technical data or experience on the mineral content it has to contribute to yeast happiness.
Another thought is temperature control. I have none in my mead room/office, other than room temperature, which is usually around 66°-68°F, so, my meads take more time than a lot of other people, which I don't really mind, as I have built up a little surplus.
I have also read that nutrients don't really get used by the yeast below 1.020. (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong on this).
Yeast hulls may help unstuck your must, if you're convinced that it's stuck. Yeast are cannibals, they eat their dead.
I hope this helps you.
Happy meading

 

[munselln8]

Thanks all! For whatever dumb reason, after I took the SG reading I didn't even run it through the calculator...I was just thinking that it hadn't dropped much. 13% is a good healthy ferment in my mind. I suspect that PDhirsch may be right that CO2 may be leaking through the lid seal. I'm gonna go ahead and let it sit for a couple more weeks and then see where it is at. Thanks all!

 

[Raptor99]

1 tsp. yeast nutrient (per package instruction)
12.5 grams (2.5 packets) Lalvin Ec-1118 champagne yeast.

I use Fermaid-O/K for mead nutrients, but if you use generic yeast nutrient, then 1 tsp. sounds like not nearly enough for 5 gallons. OTOH one 5g packet of yeast should be enough for 5 gallons.

Everything I have read about mead making has said to stay clear of distilled water.

Yeast need the minerals in water, so distilled water isn't the best choice. Some mead recipes add minerals to bring up the mineral level in the water. I think that the yeast will struggle w/o minerals. A well-rounded nutrient like Fermaid-K includes some of the minerals that yeast need. Since you said that you are already at 1.010 SG I would not add any more nutrients at this time.

 

[munselln8]

Just as a FYI. This batch ended up fermenting pretty dry at 15% ABV. So, I am guessing that everything was fine and that the lid seal wasn't perfect. Thanks for all your insights!