Gravity 1.040 after 8 weeks - now what?

[DonBon]

Hey all,

I'm kind of stumbling around in my blessed ignorance and could really use some guidance on where I'm at with my mead and where I ought to go next. I'm making a small batch of mead - a gallon, in theory - and followed the instructions of a YouTube video to the best of my ability.

I'm in the UK, so used Allinson's Easy Bake Yeast. I wanted to keep costs as low as possible for a first brew, so used Lidl's own brand honey. The brew got started on 05/02 and bubbled away happily for a while. I discovered that I ought to be shaking the carboy after maybe four weeks, so shook it vigorously each day for a week or two. Last Friday (26/03) I moved the carboy to a higher shelf in prep for potentially racking into a smaller bottle and haven't touched it since, to let it settle. Today, I took the first reading since everything got going and had a taste - it wasn't unpleasant, but there was a relatively sharp flavour of alcohol that felt separate from the rest of the flavours. There was also an odd combination of quite a heavy sweetness, but also tasting watery. There were a lot of fine bubbles in the sample.

O.G.: 1.082
F.G.: 1.040
ABV: 5.5%

I had planned to leave it a week and take a further reading, but honestly I feel like the F.G. ought to be a lot lower. Have I done something wrong, or is there anything I should be doing to help the fermentation restart? Do I just need to be more patient? Will the fermentation continue in a second carboy?

Advice appreciated, thanks!

 

[Ty520]

Did you take a starting gravity reading?

Probably a combination of issues. The first i is probably your use of baking yeast - it has a lower alcohol tolerance than yeast specifically bred for wine and mead fermentation.

So it likely hit its alcohol tolerance and went dormant.

Another potential issue is that it didn't have enough nutrients. Honey has natural anti bacterial properties, so it inhibits the yeast.

Also,a month isn't long enough for things to mellow out. I don't consider drinking a mead until at least 6 months.

You should be able to restart the fermentation by adding yeast and nutrients (proper yeast this time though )

 

[DonBon]

Thanks for the response.

Did you take a starting gravity reading?

1.082

Probably a combination of issues. The first i is probably your use of baking yeast - it has a lower alcohol tolerance than yeast specifically bred for wine and mead fermentation.

So it likely hit its alcohol tolerance and went dormant.

Is that likely to be the case even as low as 5.5% ABV?

Another potential issue is that it didn't have enough nutrients. Honey has natural anti bacterial properties, so it inhibits the yeast.

I had wondered if honey might do that. The recipe has black tea, chopped raisins and orange peel. Is there anything that's generally recommended for nutrients?

Also,a month isn't long enough for things to mellow out. I don't consider drinking a mead until at least 6 months.

Yup, I follow that. I wouldn't expect it to be properly drinkable at the moment - I'm more concerned about the gravity of 1.040 at 8 weeks - should that not have come down further?

You should be able to restart the fermentation by adding yeast and nutrients (proper yeast this time though )

I can do that, though I'm a little confused about how everything interacts - yeast ferments by consuming sugar, right? So what nutrients does it need? There are an awful lot of sugars in there already with the honey. Assuming the yeast has such a low alcohol tolerance that it bottomed out at 5.5%, I understand that adding in more tolerant yeast would allow it to ferment further - is there a standard level of gravity I should be aiming for if I add further yeast?

 

[marc1]

Looks like this recipe is similar to Joe's Ancient Orange Mead, which breaks some good practices rules but works well for a beginner:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/joes-ancient-orange-mead.49106/
The raisins are there for nutrients. Bread yeast should be OK for this recipe.***

How are you measuring gravity? If with a refractometer, that's your problem - they don't provide accurate readings once alcohol is in solution.

Compare your recipe to the link above and see if there are any glaring differences.

*** I looked and see that your bread yeast also contains citric acid, I'm not sure how much - this could be a problem if it dropped the pH too low.

 

[DonBon]

Looks like this recipe is similar to Joe's Ancient Orange Mead, which breaks some good practices rules but works well for a beginner:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/joes-ancient-orange-mead.49106/
Compare your recipe to the link above and see if there are any glaring differences.

This looks broadly like what I did, yup. I put the mix into an oversize carboy because I didn't have anything smaller, so I didn't add water to 3" below the neck, but essentially, yes, this is very similar to what I did.

The raisins are there for nutrients. Bread yeast should be OK for this recipe.***

*** I looked and see that your bread yeast also contains citric acid, I'm not sure how much - this could be a problem if it dropped the pH too low.

Oh, interesting. I hadn't considered the citric acid. Is there a way to adjust for that, if it turns out it's a problem? Also, there doesn't seem to be any definitive information about what the alcohol tolerance is for bread yeast - what is it about this recipe that makes you say bread yeast should be ok?

How are you measuring gravity? If with a refractometer, that's your problem - they don't provide accurate readings once alcohol is in solution.

I have a hydrometer. I make sure to give it a slight spin in the tube to check it doesn't stick.

I certainly have no problem with leaving the carboy to sit for however long if it just needs more time, but I was concerned that I may have missed something or done something wrong.

 

[Phoenix7801]

Oh hey you did the Brian and Derica recipe. They actually did this recipe earlier in their videos but used Lallemand Nottingham Yeast. In fact, I just finished that recipe last week. I didn’t have to use Go Ferm or Fermaid and it finished at 1.021.

 

[marc1]

Oh, interesting. I hadn't considered the citric acid. Is there a way to adjust for that, if it turns out it's a problem? Also, there doesn't seem to be any definitive information about what the alcohol tolerance is for bread yeast - what is it about this recipe that makes you say bread yeast should be ok?

People in the JAOM thread used bread yeast and it fermented out well (search that thread for "gravity"). Not super consistent, but shouldn't stall out at 1.040.

I'm not sure what to do about the citric acid in the yeast, if in fact it is the problem.

 

[dvi]

I'm kind of stumbling around in my blessed ignorance and could really use some guidance on where I'm at with my mead and where I ought to go next. I'm making a small batch of mead - a gallon, in theory - and followed the instructions of a YouTube video to the best of my ability.

Ugh, that youtube channel...

It's not your bad by any means, but CS Meads has a controversial rep among meadmakers. Their recipes and advice are often outdated, questionable, or just flat-out wrong, and unfortunately this video is a prime example of all three. Black tea and raisins aren't nutrients and will do almost nothing for your mead. Likewise, bread yeast should only really be used in JAOM - in almost every other recipe, a wine or ale yeast will be much more reliable.

This batch looks like it has stalled out due to a combo of the bread yeast not being right for the job and the lack of nutrients. Not much you can do here, unfortunately, but I'd strongly recommend picking up some wine nutrients (Fermaid O and K, DAP) and using the TOSNA nutrient protocol for future batches. It'll help your yeast stay healthy and hearty, and that'll let them ferment through.

Two decent youtube channels you might want to look at for recipes are Doin The Most or Man Made Mead. Both have a good grasp of the process and are fairly approachable for people new to the hobby, so they could be a good resource.

 

[Phoenix7801]

Everyone loves to hate on bread yeast but I just made a pyment from Grape juice, Black Cherry juice and honey and it went to 14.85%. If the fix works, then it’s not crazy.

 

[dvi]

The issue with bread yeast is that it isn't reliable. It was developed for baking, not for producing alcohol, and while it can be used in that capacity it won't be nearly as consistent as yeasts that were cultivated specifically for that purpose. A bread yeast could hit 15%, like yours did, or it could only hit 5%. It might clear fast or take six months or never even start fermenting. Its outcomes are unpredictable.

 

[dwhite60]

Somewhere else to go for knowledge

gotmead.com