advise with high gravity mead

[mdindy]

So I am coming off of a successful first mead not too long ago (traditional orange blossom 2 gallon) I used 6lbs of honey and ended up with a 1.090 to 1.018.
This time around I wanted to make a cyser. I added the same amount of honey but this time diluted it with 1.5 gallons of preservative free apple juice, aerated and added 1/2 ts superfood nutrient and 1/4 DAP, and pitched a single packet of red star champagne yeast.
I know the gravity was obviously going to be higher with the apple juice but what I did not expect was a SG of 1.138!
I believe the alcohol tolerance of the yeast is about 17% but I could be wrong. I also plan to do staggered nutrient additions for the first few days.
So my question is should I worry about getting a stuck fermentation or will I be ok, and should I consider buying a second yeast packet to pitch?

 

[buzzerj]

My concern with the problem you have is the Red Star Champagne Yeast will stop fermenting at about 15% ABV leaving you with a sweeter result than you probably intended. Personally such a strong cyser will likely take a long time to age out for you. I usually target a 12% ABV result as you initially intended with your 13% target at 1.090.

Here is a suggestion - blending. I've done this a lot when one batch overshoots my O.G. target. Make a second batch of equal (or greater) volume at say 9% ABV and let it ferment out. It'll cost you some more honey of course along with more apple juice and maybe water. But this time pay more attention to the Specific Gravity while adding your honey to the apple juice and water solution. Your target O.G. will be say 1.063. You can use the same Pasteur Champagne yeast if you prefer in the second batch. But your new target for the full volume blended mead is 13% (your original). Then blend half of each of the meads together. Allow the blended meads to sit and re-ferment any residual sugars (from the first batch). Rack each as needed, allow to clear, stabilize if desired and sweeten with additional apple juice if necessary before bottling. Age, drink and enjoy.

The best thing about this is you will have twice the volume of the final result (and no one will ever know).

 

[bernardsmith]

You could also add more apple juice to "dilute" the sugar concentration.. This will reduce the overall concentration of sugar as apple juice will have about 1 lb of sugar per gallon of juice and your honey can have the same amount of sugar of you dilute 1 lb of honey in 1 lb of water. Diluting 1 lb of honey in 1 lb of apple juice to make cyser will give you a gravity of about 1.090 or a potential ABV of about 12% which is really where you want a cyser to be...

 

[loveofrose]

What you've got is a big ol' sack cyser. You can push it through, but it needs lots of TLC. Do the following:

1. Add 2 TBSP potassium carbonate. This is a bit more than normal to buffer pH and counter the high acidic of the apple juice and massive ferment.

2. Stir the crap out of it everyday (3x daily preferred). Sanitize a spoon or whisk and go to work for a good 5 minutes. Beware of MEAs!

3. SNA at 1.08 and 1.04. I suggest either 1/2 tsp DAP + 1 tsp Fermaid K OR 1 TBSP Fermaid O per addition.

It still will not go dry. With your FG, 15% ABV would be 1.02ish. Maybe less, maybe more. With a bit of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg, it will be quite tasty!

If you want it dry, I can give you the nuclear option. It's not easy or cheap, but it works.

 

[Paul_F]

OK... Just a bystander here, but I have to ask; what's the "Nuclear Option" ?

 

[loveofrose]

I am about to put the nuclear option on my site. Here it is:

Stuck Fermentation Nuclear Option

It is inevitable that a mazer will run into a stuck fermentation. Sometimes it's due to extremely high SG, sometimes your postal service left your yeast in 105 degree heat for too long. It happens. A lot.

So, your stuck. "What now?" you ask. There are a few easy things to try before the nuclear option. This is for when the easy things didn't work.

1. Go over to www.morewinemaking.com and pick up some Uvaferm 43 yeast. This yeast is the king of unsticking ferments. Tolerance is 18% ABV, so beware. Also get yeast hulls, GoFerm, and anything else you need.

2. Add yeast hulls (aka ghosts; 20-30 gram per 5 gallons of must) to soak up toxins and stir. After a few days, rack off sediment. If necessary, dilute a bit with water to get your gravity is a reasonable range of <1.12.

3. Make a starter as follows:
-Sanitize everything.
-Rehydrate 20 grams of Uvaferm 43 in equal weight of GoFerm.
-Add 6 oz of honey, water to slightly shy of 1 liter and the rehydrated yeast.
-Add one cross shaped magnetic stir bar.
-Stir on stir plates for 2-3 days.

4. Acclimate starter.
-Now add a cup of your stuck must to the starter and give it a few hours.
-Repeat until you have 2 liters. This process may take a day or two.

5. Pitch starter into stuck must. You should see the gravity drop a bit in the first few days, then really take off.

6. Pray. Because if this doesn't work, nothing else will.