Frozen Yeast

[zonchar]

Hi,
I just brewed my 1st batch of mead

Ok I think i screwed up a bit...

I didnt' realize that i put my yeast (White Labs, Sweet Wine & Mead yeast) in the freezer and not the fridge... I let them defrost slowly on their own... and i saw small bubbles in them so i followed instructions on the bottle of shake well and pour in.

Then i poured vodka into my airlock and left it sit.
Last night i looked at it and the liquid is half dark on the bottom and the top half is significantly lighter and in between them there is stuff floating which I'm assuming is yeast. Also the vodka level in the airlock dropped.

I've added a bit more vodka. My significant other who was helping me, said that as long as i have vodka in there is should be ok. What do u think? I'm worried that i killed my yeast by freezing. My significant other also said that because the top half of liquid i lighter that means the yeast have eaten the sugar so thus it is fermenting. But I"m reluctant to trust him since he's never done this either. Please advise.

Thank you

Eugena

 

[tooomanycolors]

the separation in your carboy is the honey fell out of solution in the bottom(darker) and most of the water is up top(lighter). The stuff in the middle is probably your yeast like you said.

You said you only pitched last night, did you add nutrients and energizer? If not your fermentation may still start but It might take awhile. Worst case order/pick up another pack of yeast, or get a pack of D-47(dry yeast is less expensive) but wait I would say at least 3-4days and see if anything starts. If the fermentation does start then you have extra yeast, if not repitch.

And yes your other is correct just keep liquid in the airlock, beware that alcohol evaporates faster then water, so you may have to top it off more often.

Have fun with it and above all relax, mead is truly idiot proof, point in case I can do it, haha

 

[zonchar]

I did not pitch it or added energizer, just followed instructions on the bottle which said shake well and pour in. It said fermentation should start in 5-15 hrs.
If and when i do re-pitch should I use the same yeast? or go with the D-47 (it seems to be one of the more common ones)
I'm making Green Tea Mead (I added 8 green tea packets at the end of my brewing on the stove) Using 16 lbs of Orange blossom honey. I used lemons for acid and black tea for tannin.

 

[zonchar]

When you pitch multiple packets of yeast, you pitch more yeast cells. Higher gravity musts have more food for the yeast and stress the yeast more resulting in a higher mortality and slower growth. Pitching more yeast is an attempt to keep the fermentation schedule more consistent and with less lag. Nearly all guides to brewing base the ideal pitch rate on the volume and gravity of the must/wort.

Craig

This is from a different thread but my question is:
I used the calculator and figured that my OG is about 1.106 - 1.111
I used OB Honey 16 lbs and 4 gal of water...
WL720 Sweet Wine & Mead Yeast
Now since i FROZE THE YEAST before i used them. Does this mean I killed some of them by freezing and would i need to compensate by adding more?
At the moment everything is bubbling nicely, so do I need to be concerned with not having enough in my carboy to ferment well or enough?

 

[Tusch]

If it's fermenting, you have no concerns.

 

[DragonTail]

Did you take a gravity reading before you pitched. Using the calculator will give you an idea of where it "should" have begun, but you should really take a reading. If you did take a reading, you could take another one now. If the gravity dropped, then it is working. If not, then re-pitch.

 

[zonchar]

No I havent' done a reading. I was shown the none scietific method of brewing...
I used the calculator and that's how i got the numebr sin my prevous post. Now the carboy is airlocked.
on the 3rd day after pitching it foamed up a bit and the airlock started going. Now foam is gone, the overall color is lighter and the airlock bubles every second. I'm not gonna open it untill i rack it off in a month. Also how do i measure gravity when i do rack?
I read the n00b section of the forum and i might be just an idiot but cant' find how to measure current gravity.

 

[Tusch]

Winemaking: Hydrometer

That's some info on using a hydrometer, but check out his whole site, he has TONS of info on everything you need to know.