First Mead question

[Ungoliant]

Ok so I have been traveling abroad, and some carrefours outside the US have honey stands. So I've got 1 gallon batches of Yemeni Sumar, Yemeni Sidr, and Kyrgyzstani White Mountain honeys going.

I added 1/2 tsp of DAP and Wyeast Yeast Nutrient to each, and split a sachet of lalvin k1v-1116 between the three of them.

All these meads clocked in between 1.122-1.125, which is a little higher than I was shooting for, so hopefully I didn't underpitch too heavily. I used 3.3 lbs honey/gal. I mixed it by warming the honey and water to between 90-100 degrees, just enough to get it to dissolve the additives and honey.

So what should I do for degassing these babies?
What sort of things can I do to avoid killing the yeast, considering how high the starting gravity was for these? I'm looking at a staggered nutrient/degas schedule so far

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[mikerlynch26]

You've already got the basics down for the staggered nutrient additions, just give them a shake in the first couple weeks of fermentation to blow off any sulfur. K1V in my experience produces a lot of sulfur at higher ferment temps, so try to keep it in the low 60's at least. The starting gravity is a little high, but my real concern is if you split the yeast evenly among the three vessels. One might have gotten more than the others, so don't expect these to ferment at the same rate as each other. Let us know the results!

 

[porterpounder]

Be very careful with the shaking to de-gas, espicially in a small container. It will foam up a lot as it gets going and you will lose a whole lot of good mead. Take it slow or use a large container. You're not going to kill the yeast. It will go dormant when it reaches it alcohol tolerance, but with that concentration of honey, it's not likely to be too sweet.

 

[Ungoliant]

K1V in my experience produces a lot of sulfur at higher ferment temps, so try to keep it in the low 60's at least. The starting gravity is a little high, but my real concern is if you split the yeast evenly among the three vessels. One might have gotten more than the others, so don't expect these to ferment at the same rate

Due to the current weather situation, and the lack of a dual stage ferm chamber, they're just rolling at ambient temps. They've been sitting around 66/67 so far. Yeah, they're all fermenting at different rates, too, but I'm not in a hurry.

Be very careful with the shaking to de-gas, espicially in a small container...You're not going to kill the yeast. It will go dormant when it reaches it alcohol tolerance, but with that concentration of honey, it's not likely to be too sweet.

I was degassing by gently stirring with a sanitized spoon, but today, I picked up a handheld food saver to degas with (it was only $15). I'm still trying to figure out where the stopping point should be, though. Creating a vacuum in the container will always draw some bubbles, and these meads are also fermenting fairly vigorously, so I'm not sure how to tell when it's properly degassed.

I'm hoping to end up with a semi-sweet mead in the end. I don't think I'm going to go much out of my way to backsweeten after it's done. As long as the flavor is there, I'm just going to package the final product, as is, once it's ready.

 

[bernardsmith]

Not sure the idea of using a vacuum to degas while the fermentation is still active. The advantages of stirring include the fact that you are a) incorporating air into the mead- and the yeast like that and b) ensuring that the yeast are not being allowed to flocculate and drop towards the bottom too soon - you are keeping the yeast fully suspended and that is good.

You might pull a vacuum to draw out the CO2 after the mead has been aging for months and months and after you have racked the mead off the lees several times and while racking have allowed the mead to run down the inside wall of the target carboy. That action forces out the CO2.

 

[Ungoliant]

Ok, back to stirring it is. That makes more sense.

 

[Ungoliant]

So, I've just finished my last staggered nutrient addition and have a couple days of degassing left. I used the 8 day protocol in the link below.

Do you only need to do 8 days of degassing while it's fermenting, or do I keep this staggered schedule until it finishes?

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/improve-mead-staggered-nutrient-additions/

 

[bernardsmith]

I don''t know the protocol you are using. When I make a mead I feed the yeast 1/2 the nutrient load very soon after the yeast has begun actively fermenting the sugars (just after the lag time has eneded); feed the yeast again 1/4 the total load when the SG has dropped to half the starting SG and and a third time (1/4 of the nutrient load) when the SG has dropped again by half . So if I begin with a gravity of say , 1.100, I feed then, and again at 1.050 and a last time at 1.025. There are other protocols (TOSNA and TiOSNA ) but I am not familiar with a daily feeding regimen.