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Cote des blancs yeast for mead

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planker101

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I'm pretty new to mead making, working on my 3rd batch.
First two batches I used EC-1118, been 10 months and still tastes like cough medicine.
This time I'm using Cote des blancs yeast. I've seen a wide variety of ABV tolerances listed for this yeast from 12% up to 16%. Anyone have experience with it and used it for higher alcohol content meads?

Just doing a traditional mead. 42# of honey, 13 gallons total in fermenter after adding water. Fermenting at 70 F. OG 1.124 so potential for ~16%

After 48 hours my gravity is 1.110 and airlock is bubbling nicely.

Not too worried if the yeast craps out early and I get a sweeter mead, just curious where I can expect fermentation to stop. Looking for first hand info on this yeast as I've already scoured the web.

Thanks!
 
You sure picked a big one for your 3rd batch.
Cote des blanc is rated to 14% by Red Star which would finish around 1.020 for you. Most of the yeasts I use ferment 1.5% to 2% beyond the stated tolerance so looks like you'll land somewhere between semi-dry and sweet.

I'd recommend decreasing your temp below 70*, to at least 65*. Take a gravity reading everyday. Aerate and degass 2x per day until at least the 1/2 sugar break or until the foaming decreases significantly, then stir once a day without churning the must until around the 2/3 sugar break, then once every 2 or 3 days until the end. Use an SNA schedule. All these things will reduce fusel production and decrease the time it takes to age your mead into something you'll enjoy.
 
Where did you find that on their website? I searched their website to the best of my ability and could not find anything definitive. If it's not too much trouble coupd you post a link? Also, thanks for the during fermentation instructions. I would not have degassed or taken gravity readings nearly so often.
 
I'm pretty new to mead making, working on my 3rd batch.
First two batches I used EC-1118, been 10 months and still tastes like cough medicine.
This time I'm using Cote des blancs yeast. I've seen a wide variety of ABV tolerances listed for this yeast from 12% up to 16%. Anyone have experience with it and used it for higher alcohol content meads?

Just doing a traditional mead. 42# of honey, 13 gallons total in fermenter after adding water. Fermenting at 70 F. OG 1.124 so potential for ~16%

After 48 hours my gravity is 1.110 and airlock is bubbling nicely.

Not too worried if the yeast craps out early and I get a sweeter mead, just curious where I can expect fermentation to stop. Looking for first hand info on this yeast as I've already scoured the web.

Thanks!

With that OG, it's going to be a very sweet mead. Here's some info on Cote des Blancs:

"Côte des Blancs : Formerly known as Epernay 2, this is another slow fermenting, very low foaming and low flocculating yeast tolerant of low temperatures. It tends to bring out floral and fruity qualities in wines and can be useful in both grape--especially fruity German style whites--and non-grape wines--such as peach or raspberry--where a bouquet is especially desired. This yeast will not push alcohol production over 13% in a cool fermentation but has a range of 12-14%."
Regards, GF.
 
Have any of you actually used cote de blancs? Just like my google search we have a range of 12-16% in the replies here so far. What has your personal experience actually using this yeast been?
 
My brother in law just finished a mead he made with CDB. The mead was overly dry at 1.000 and lacked any depth or character what so ever. I called his mead "one dimensional" as he was terribly disappointed considering his investment.

I shared with him a sachet of US-05 for his next attempt, and I believe this will be a better choice knowing what he is looking for in a final product.
 
Where did you find that on their website? I searched their website to the best of my ability and could not find anything definitive. If it's not too much trouble coupd you post a link? Also, thanks for the during fermentation instructions. I would not have degassed or taken gravity readings nearly so often.

Here's where I got that info on cote des blanc: https://winemakermag.com/yeast-strains-chart

What you're doing when making mead is actually creating an environment in which the yeast will thrive. You're raising a pet, like a dog. If you're a responsible pet owner you wouldn't buy a bag of dog food and let him eat the whole thing at once, you'd look for a product with the best nutritional value and feed him on a schedule - an SNA schedule. He's healthier that way and will give many years of enjoyment - maybe beyond the average stated years for that breed.

The approach to raising yeast is no different. You want to minimize the peaks and valleys of fermentation. Letting fermentation progress unchecked just because it can is like letting your dog consume a whole bag of dog food - he'll get sick and give off fusels and die young. By keeping your temp low and feeding when it needs it, controlling your ferment, helps maintain a steady and predictable environment. Fusel is a term applied to a group of ferment byproducts that collectively describe chemicals that taste nasty. They will most likely age out, but maybe not. The best way to handle them is to limit their production as much as possible.

CO2 and alcohol are byproducts also. Both are toxic waste to yeast and will eventually lead to their death. We want to keep the alcohol or there would be no point, it's the only thing that yeast produce that we find tasty when combined with the other things we've added to the environment. Degassing gets rid of this gaseous waste, extends the life of the yeast and maintains a more pleasing environment for a longer period of time, and encourages clarity after primary.

You pet your dog, he wags his tail, his eyes are bright, his coat is shiny - he's healthy. To determine the health of your yeast, you smell (if it's sulfury, you need to add more nutrient, for example), you watch for unwanted growth (that's why you want to push down your fruit cap, for example), and to see how well you're doing you take gravity readings. Generally speaking, for the first 4 days or so your reading should drop 10-12 points, then tapper off for a period of time to the 8 to 10 range for a period of a week or so, then decline steadily to your final gravity. Every ferment is different but the point is you begin to see a pattern and any variation to that pattern means something is wrong and you need to adjust.

You also need to observe some benchmarks in the life of the yeast to determine your feeding schedule. Key times in the life of the yeast are the lag period, 1/3 sugar break, 1/2 sugar break, 2/3 sugar break. No DAP after 9% alcohol. You don't know where these are unless you take gravity readings.

I'm not an expert by any means, but these are the lessons I've learned from what limited experience I have and they seem to be working. Hopefully, they'll provide a shortcut to your success also.
 
Here's where I got that info on cote des blanc: https://winemakermag.com/yeast-strains-chart

What you're doing when making mead is actually creating an environment in which the yeast will thrive. You're raising a pet, like a dog. If you're a responsible pet owner you wouldn't buy a bag of dog food and let him eat the whole thing at once, you'd look for a product with the best nutritional value and feed him on a schedule - an SNA schedule. He's healthier that way and will give many years of enjoyment - maybe beyond the average stated years for that breed...

Sometime having things put in a different perspective is surprisingly helpful. I have brewed beer for quite some time (only making mead because I was given a comical amount of honey) and I've always known yeast were living things, magical living things that poop out booze! However, I have never really considered "taking care of them". It doesn't seem to matter as much with beer, but reading your post I wonder how much of a difference I could make in my beer brewing if I paid more attention to the yeast. I have always fermented at the lower end of the temperature range for any given yeast strain, I based my 70 F on CDB having a low end of 65 F. I find it frustrating that the manufacturer gives basically zero info on this yeast. When you said you found info on the manufacturer's site I felt like an idiot as I searched it thouroughly. I'm glad you source was not from the manufacturer's site, now I don't feel bad. Thanks for the yeast education. I think I'll do things a bit differently this time (only 36 hours in so definitely not too late to make some adjustments.)
 
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