Burper stopped burping third day

[CMaso]

First time this has happened to me. Fermentation appears to have stalled. Simple recipe, I combined 15 pounds of raw honey (1.25 gallons), 0.625 gallons of chai tea, and 4.375 gallons of purified water, for a total of 6.25 gallons of must.

I added a packet of Lalvin EC-1118 yeast, properly rehydrated, and 1/2 tsp of nutrient, and sealed in my 6+ gallon stainless steel bucket. Next morning it was burping every second or so, and I gave it another 1/2 tsp of nutrient, and it burped through the day. This morning, the burping has stopped. Room temp is 68 degrees F, and burper seal is good. I added 1/2 tsp of nutrient, but still no response. I'm about to add another packet of rehydrated EC-1118.

I did heat my honey (5 glass jars, 3lbs each) in my oven at lowest heat (200 degrees F) just to make it easy to pour. But I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with it, especially since it started off fermenting fine.

Any insight into why it would just stop, and/or advice to get it fermenting again?

 

[Maylar]

Can you measure specific gravity?

 

[CMaso]

Can you measure specific gravity?

1.072, looks like. Liquid temp is 67 deg F. Still tastes like honey water.

 

[CMaso]

All - Okay, I spoke to a friend of mine who brews mead professionally. [Moderator's Edit] His advice was first to tinker with the seal, in case that's why it stopped burping. He says he's has to deal with that himself in the past. What I'm going to do is sanitize a new stainless steel lid, bung, and burper, let them air-dry, and replace, and see if the burper starts bubbling again.

Also, I'm going to get some pH strips and check to make sure the must isn't too acidic. I don't think it is, but this is the first time I've used so much tea, so I'll try to make sure. Also, in 24 hours, I'm going to take another specific gravity reading to see if fermentation has actually stopped. If that reading suggests that it has, then I'm going to add another 5g packet of EC-1118.

An extra bit of info regarding how much yeast to use. My friend tells me that he uses a software program to say how much yeast to use in a given batch, but generally he uses 2g of yeast per gallon. I was curious about how much yeast is too much, that is, what's the upper limit of yeast you want to use, and why. I've read that too much yeast can cause excessive foaming, elevated temperatures, and potential off-flavors as the yeast dies off prematurely. Any case; it certainly seem I could add another 5g packet of yeast without it causing any problems. But I'm down to my last 2 packets of EC-1118, so I'm not using it unless I have to.

 

[Maylar]

One packet of EC1118 for 6 gallons is fine. Your original gravity would have been about 1.084 from the ingredients you quoted, so if it's 1.072 now you have active fermentation. There should be some foam on the top and obvious bubbles now. +1 on the possibility of a fermenter air leak, it's surprising how much pressure gets generated and how restrictive an airlock can be.

 

[CMaso]

One packet of EC1118 for 6 gallons is fine. Your original gravity would have been about 1.084 from the ingredients you quoted, so if it's 1.072 now you have active fermentation. There should be some foam on the top and obvious bubbles now. +1 on the possibility of a fermenter air leak, it's surprising how much pressure gets generated and how restrictive an airlock can be.

Update - I didn't even replace anything. I just unsealed and re-sealed the lid, bung, and burper, and now it's burping again. A useful lesson! Thanks for your help.

 

[Kickass]

@CMaso

https://www.meadmaderight.com/tosna-calculator

I follow TOSNA. It’s been working out for me.

 

[CMaso]

Another update - I've found that I have to keep unsealing and twisting the stainless steel lid a quarter turn every day to see it start burping again. I think that lid is warping out of shape slightly, and that's the disadvantage of using a lid that seals only with four clamps. The stainless steel fermenters are an upgrade from the plastic buckets I've been using, but at the the plastic buckets' lids seal this So I decided to just rack it into another steel fermenter, new lid, bung, and burper. Burping fine, and new sp gr reading is 1.060 (from 1.072 three days ago). I'm going to add another 5g packet of EC-1118 in hopes of speeding the fermentation just a bit, because the batch has to be ready to bottle before May 1.

 

[Maylar]

That won't make it go any faster.

 

[Kickass]

I'm going to add another 5g packet of EC-1118 in hopes of speeding the fermentation just a bit, because the batch has to be ready to bottle before May 1

I get booze deadlines and being behind schedule. That said, more yeast now likely won’t do anything to speed things up. To me, if I can’t let my mead age properly, it’s not even worth making.