Very Slow Bubbling Mead

[Nazarene]

Hello Friend Mazers,

I was referred back in her after I submitted this very same question elsewhere,
I have registered and I have been looking for the Mead problem that I think I have to no avail.
My problem is that I have started for the first time to brew Mead. I had the honey the distilled water, the yeast and the food for the bacteria.
I started that on 03//
and until now, I checked it yesterday in my basement, and I noticed no change, the bubbles bubble out once every 4-6 minutes, the bottom is is still dark meaning that the honey is not fully dissolved. I do not know what to do, the 5 gallon carboy is hermetically closed but the airlock.

is there anything that I should be doing?

Thanks so much
Sam - the Nazarene

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Sam - and welcome. The first thing you should do is see if you can buy an inexpensive tool called an hydrometer. This is a weighted glass rod that measures the density of liquids. Water is less dense than water with honey or sugar dissolved in it and as yeast ferment the sugars in a liquid the density drops over time and approaches the density of water (because the sugars are being removed through fermentation) and then since alcohol is less dense than water your mead (or wine or cider) should become less dense than water as the liquid comprises more and more alcohol.

The measure of density used by wine makers is called "specific gravity" and measuring the specific gravity of your mead is really the only way to know what is going on inside the carboy. Counting bubbles is not very informative although it might be entertaining. So... get an hydrometer and check the specific gravity. If you report back what reading it gives you we can perhaps tell you what is happening.

PS I don't know what date you started the mead - 03// is not a date convention I am used to. Could you convert that to the month and day? Thanks because knowing that and the gravity reading will tell us a lot - If you could advise us on the amount of honey you dissolved in what volume of water, we could even tell you what your starting gravity was and so what the potential alcohol content was/is.. and that would help complete the picture that you are giving us.
The other thing is - don't use distilled water. Yeast need minerals and distilled water has all those minerals removed. Spring water or bottled water or even tap water if it is good to drink can all be used (tap water as a last resort as chlorine and fluorine don't play nicely with yeast).

 

[Anon111]

My suggestion is that the distilled water somehow caused the halt. Now you could add a teaspoon of nutrient (available in your local home brew store)(or more, check the manual) OR a chopped-up handful of (yellow organic) raisins.
Normally it's used as a nutrient but it might make up for the distilled water.

Did you really use distilled water, or bottled mineral water?

 

[Nazarene]

Hellow and Thanks Bernardsmith,

since you responded to my question, I bought the meter and received it while I was away in Europe for my University trip of EuroBiz2017 I came back few days ago and only today I had the opportunity to test my Mead.
I tested it with a meter that has three unheaded columns, but my readings were 13% and 92 and 22.5
I do not know that these numbers refer to.
I also tasted the product, i felt a honeyesh test in it, and light alcohol but very sweet.
i looked at the bottom of the carboy it was darker than the rest of it indicating that some honey settled at the bottom and did not ferment.
PLEASE let me know if I an required to do anything else.
And I really appreciate all your help.

Thanks
Sam Geraisy - (Nazarene) That is because I was really born in thee Nazareth

Hi Sam - and welcome. The first thing you should do is see if you can buy an inexpensive tool called an hydrometer. This is a weighted glass rod that measures the density of liquids. Water is less dense than water with honey or sugar dissolved in it and as yeast ferment the sugars in a liquid the density drops over time and approaches the density of water (because the sugars are being removed through fermentation) and then since alcohol is less dense than water your mead (or wine or cider) should become less dense than water as the liquid comprises more and more alcohol.

The measure of density used by wine makers is called "specific gravity" and measuring the specific gravity of your mead is really the only way to know what is going on inside the carboy. Counting bubbles is not very informative although it might be entertaining. So... get an hydrometer and check the specific gravity. If you report back what reading it gives you we can perhaps tell you what is happening.

PS I don't know what date you started the mead - 03// is not a date convention I am used to. Could you convert that to the month and day? Thanks because knowing that and the gravity reading will tell us a lot - If you could advise us on the amount of honey you dissolved in what volume of water, we could even tell you what your starting gravity was and so what the potential alcohol content was/is.. and that would help complete the picture that you are giving us.
The other thing is - don't use distilled water. Yeast need minerals and distilled water has all those minerals removed. Spring water or bottled water or even tap water if it is good to drink can all be used (tap water as a last resort as chlorine and fluorine don't play nicely with yeast).

 

[bernardsmith]

You need to learn how to read an hydrometer. One column informs you of the specific gravity of the solution in relation to the specific gravity of water (which is 1.000). The presence of sugars in a water solution makes the water more dense and that density is what is called specific gravity.
A second column on most hydrometers informs you of the potential total alcohol by volume: if we know how much sugar is in a solution then we know how much alcohol the yeast can produce if we assume 100% of the sugar is fermentable. The third column is typically a measure known as brix which is the way that professional wine makers measure the sugar content of grapes to determine how ripe they are for harvesting.
Not sure if you know how to use an hydrometer so that it gives you a correct reading but if the specific gravity is .920 (readings are always to three decimal places) then the wine has no sugar left to ferment.

 

[Anon111]

Hellow and Thanks Bernardsmith,

since you responded to my question, I bought the meter and received it while I was away in Europe for my University trip of EuroBiz2017 I came back few days ago and only today I had the opportunity to test my Mead.
I tested it with a meter that has three unheaded columns, but my readings were 13% and 92 and 22.5
I do not know that these numbers refer to.
I also tasted the product, i felt a honeyesh test in it, and light alcohol but very sweet.
i looked at the bottom of the carboy it was darker than the rest of it indicating that some honey settled at the bottom and did not ferment.
PLEASE let me know if I an required to do anything else.
And I really appreciate all your help.

Thanks
Sam Geraisy - (Nazarene) That is because I was really born in thee Nazareth

A BRIX of 22.5 would equal a gravity of 1092! You read it well on the hydrometer. It's indeed very very sweet. I think you'd prefer to land around 1020: sweet but not obnoxious.

But nothing is lost: you just have a 'stuck' batch. And you can restart it.
What yeast do you have? Could be that your regular yeast gave up, because of lack of nutrients, oxygen or water. Could be pH. Could be the alcohol that choked the yeast too soon.
What to do? Magnesium sulfate if it's to acidic, repitching with a tougher yeast (might make a starter), add nutrients.

But: I only made 2 batches of mead yet, and one of them got stuck at 1070 so I rebooted it. And it's bubbling away slowly but surely now. So I'm not a veteran. I just did stuff that seemed to work.

Oh and you're going to love the hydrometer

 

[BeeDeeEff]

What was your recipe?

Specially, how much honey did you add?

What type of yeast, and how much of that yest did you add?

What type of nutrient("food for bacteria") did you add, and how much of that nutrient did you add?

You mentioned that there was undissolved honey at the bottom of your container, was it even mixed and dissolved when you started?

What is the air temperature in your basement? Is the carboy sitting directly on cold stone / concrete?

 

[Nazarene]

Bernardsmith, GerritT, BeeDeeEff,
Thanks guys for trying to help me out.
This is my very first batch of mead.
I have used RED STAR MONTRACHET as yeast and OLD CARSON YEAST NUTRIENT
I used initially, five quarts of honey for my five-gallon carboy (five distilled water per a recipe I read on some website- out of many).
I sealed it with airlock and put it in the basement on 02/27/2017
Three weeks later there was no bubbling at all so only then I used the nutrient per reading online. The must started to bubble but now, (at the end of May), the bubbling was so weak that it was hardly noticed.
I contacted you guys and went off to Europe in a study trip. Now that I came back, I did the measurements per your recommendation.
I understood from bernatdsmith that my must is not lost and can be repaired. Thanks, bernardsmith.
Should I start all over with the same must? I mean adding yeast and nutrient? And then see what happens? If ok to continue if not!!! To start a new batch?
Thanks so much

 

[BeeDeeEff]

What temperature was it fermenting at? The colder the temp the slower the ferment.

You want to aim for between 65°F to 75°F, or 18°C to 24°C.

Also I found a few threads of people no recommending using LD Carson Yeast Nutrient for mead, you might want to do a similar search and read through the threads.

 

[Nazarene]

As the basement is cooler than the rest of the house, the house is set at 75 F.
As for the yeast I read in many reccommendations this yeast (and to refrain from using the bread yeast though it might do the job but will leave breadesh taste in the mead)

Thanks BeeDeeEff