Hefty Braggot stalled at 1.040. Suggestions?

[DroneKeeper]

Making Ken Schramm’s Hefty Braggot using D47. Had a massive fermentation for the first 5 days and then it slowed pretty quickly. Checked specific gravity at day 7 and day 16 and both are showing about 1.040. OG should have been 1.120 based on the recipe but I forgot to check the actual after I (I know...I know.) FG should be 1.018. So I either have a stalled ferment or my OG was higher than desired. Should I try adding more yeast? Shake? Just go with what I’ve got?

 

[mwilcox]

The first thing anyone should do before taking any drastic steps is taste their mead. Think about the balance, and whether less residual sweetness would improve it. If it seems only slightly too sweet, would extra acid or tannin help? Oak? Extra flavors?
You can dilute your sample a bit to get better idea if how drier FG might balance, and can fortify your sample with alcohol to test how that will change balance too. There's a good chance drier will balance better, but make sure you know what you've got first.

 

[DroneKeeper]

Forgot to mention that we did taste it on both samples. It does have a mild sweetness but not unpleasantly so. Having never made it before I’m not sure what the finished product should taste like so I think I’m more focused on getting the FG the recipe has stated. I did swirl the yeast back up into suspension last night and had lots of Co2 come out of solution at a friends suggestion but no true new fermention as so far. Any other steps you’d recommend?

 

[bernardsmith]

Think about what might have caused this to stall. Lack of nutrients? Too high a pH? Beyond the tolerance of the yeast for alcohol? Too low a temperature? Inaccurate hydrometer reading? something else?
Should you decide to add another batch of yeast, don't. Add the batch to the yeast in small quantities - if the problem is systemic pitching more yeast into a problem won't alleviate the problem. It will just confirm it. Adding the batch to the yeast MAY resolve a systemic problem step by step by step

 

[mwilcox]

"mild sweetness but not unpleasantly so" does not sound like something that needs to be adjusted FWIW. Are we certain that FG number was correct? i.e. we're not talking about a refractometer FG reading, right? And of course even without having checked OG do a bit of math and see if 1.120 makes sense for your expected efficiency and volumes.

 

[DroneKeeper]

OG math is correct when I put everything in Beersmith so I feel pretty confident I was in the 1.120 ballpark. Reading FG with a hydrometer. Shook the carboy like a mad man when I started the fermentation so I think O2 is okay. The only questionable part might be yeast nutrient. Recipe calls for only 2 tsp for the batch and my yeast nutrient (Urea and DAP) says to add 1sp per gallon. So by that reference I'm 3 tsp's short. Perhaps my nutrient product isn't as potent as the one Ken uses so it needs more? If that is the case should I just add more nutrient or add nutrient and re-pitch?

 

[bernardsmith]

Best not to add nutrient after ABV hits 9% . Yeast cannot assimilate the nutrients when mead is at 10% and your mead is above that mark...

 

[DroneKeeper]

Hmmm. I did have another thought...My honey came from a partially crystallized pail of honey and I poured it from the bottom using a honey gate so I got a larger portion of solids than if had it been completely liquefied. Perhaps this threw off my OG?

 

[mwilcox]

D47 is a nutrient hog but I like it for some things because I can depend on it to use what I give it. Too many residual nutrient-tasting meads out there. So a lack of nutrients is possible culprit but generally this yeast will tell you when it's not happy. D47 works well at low temp or low pH and you were not at its alcohol tolerance given these conditions and OG. So I'd leave it alone; there isn't even a hurry to get the braggot off this yeast.

if it proves to be too sweet in the long run, even with adjustments to acidity, tannin, carbonation, etc, blend it with a drier beer and a drier mead (or a second, drier batch of braggot).

 

[DroneKeeper]

D47 is a nutrient hog but I like it for some things because I can depend on it to use what I give it. Too many residual nutrient-tasting meads out there. So a lack of nutrients is possible culprit but generally this yeast will tell you when it's not happy. D47 works well at low temp or low pH and you were not at its alcohol tolerance given these conditions and OG. So I'd leave it alone; there isn't even a hurry to get the braggot off this yeast.

if it proves to be too sweet in the long run, even with adjustments to acidity, tannin, carbonation, etc, blend it with a drier beer and a drier mead (or a second, drier batch of braggot).

Update:

I tried re pitching with a very active starter of D47 and was able to pull the gravity down another 5 points but nothing substantial and I’m still clocking in about 1.035. Still sweeter tasting than I would like so I think I’m going to try your suggestion of blending with a drier mead. I have plenty I can mix with it but I’m not sure how to do so. Is this an addition I should make now in the carboy while monitoring the gravity a bottle at a time or wait until it is kegged?

 

[mwilcox]

chill a sample and add chilled beer (or whatever you're using) to it until you get something with a balance you like. Carbonation won't be right but get it close. Pay attention to how much of what you've added. Then scale up. The blend can sit in a carboy for a while if you like, lightly sulfited, but I think it's been long enough for this to be blended together in the keg if you prefer.