Lets unstick my stucked mead together!

[Bradinator]

Hey all,

I have been fighting for the past week to get my mead to unstick. Its been sitting at 1.060 (down from 1.096) since Saturday and I have tried several things to get it going again.

The recipe is pretty simple.

7KG of honey
5G Boiled and cooled water
2tsp of yeast nutrient (yeast hulls)
EC-1118 yeast, rehydrated in 1 cup of must with 1tsp of energizer/nutrient

I stirred this thing vigorously to get the CO2 out daily for a week and added additional nutrients as per the instructions in the mead making FAQ. I noticed it was stuck the last time I added nutrients and found a very minimal amount of CO2 during the stirring.

Here is what I did in order (some were obviously not thought out well) to try and revive it.

1) Add more nutrient, stir the hell out of it (again).
2) Repitched fresh dry yeast.
3) Make a mead re-starter (2 cups of the must, 1tsp of nutrient and 1tsp of yeast, EC-1118 yeast, 12 hours later I pitched it)
4) Warmed the must as its quite cool in the basement (62F)

Now before I make it worse, I was planning to try to aerate the must either by trying to inject it with an auto-siphon. Failing that I am unsure what else I can do... Maybe split the batch into two carboys and rack it onto some juice?

Or did I panic and act too soon? This is the first time I have dealt with a stuck fermentation. Suddenly All-grain beer seems so much easier then mead...

 

[lawpaw]

Do you have a pH meter? Traditional mead is notorious for pH drops. You could try some potassium carbonate to see if that helps.

 

[Insomniac]

That OG looks a little low for the amount of honey, but I should still think that 1118 would be able to get it dry.
Did the starter actually show signs of activity before you pitched it?

 

[Bradinator]

Oh yeah, the starter definitely was fermenting before I pitched it into the mead.

The OG is about right, because that is 5 gallons of water on top of the 7KG of honey. The total volume was around 6 gallons.

Do you think boiling the water may have driven out the oxygen?

 

[GinKings]

I think the yeast are on a hunger strike after all the crap you've been doing to them this week. Either that, or you beat them to death with all that stirring.

When did you start this batch?
What type of nutrients are you using?

I don't think I'd panic just yet. You had an active fermentation and it sounds like you stirred quite a bit, so I wouldn't worry too much about aerating.

I've read that it's not good to rehydrate yeast with nutrient. I believe the DAP in many nutrient mixes can cause problems at that stage.

 

[Flumpy]

Lalvin says don't rehydrate with DAP, it's baaaad.

IMHO best to rehydrate with nothing but warm tap water

But I'm gonna guess it was the constant stirring over a week that messed it up. Guys, people were making this stuff 10,000 years ago before they could even talk in complete sentences. The only way to botch it is to overthink it.

 

[GinKings]

The only way to botch it is to overthink it.

I think there are lots of other ways.

 

[Bradinator]

I am a bit confused now... I thought degassing mead was a good idea to keep the yeast from going toxic from the CO2? I also got the idea for the mead starter from the brewmaster (meadmaster?) at the local meadery which is what he does for all of his meads.

Anyway, that aside, we know what I did wrong, what can I do to wake it up? Or should I just wait it out a bit?

 

[liquiditynerd]

Since your gravity is so high I think you have p.entry of options. I know it's stuck but mead and patience go hand in hand. I am wondering about two things, the degassing and the yeast nutrient. The nutrient you have may not be enough. I usually do melomels and the fruit helps with that. I also use food grade urea and ammonium phosphate. 1 tsp. Per gallon.

If it is possible to rack to another vessel you may be able to introduce some oxygen that will also invigorate the fermentation.

Also the kg to gallon is killing me. we need to go metric and join the world of common sense.

Hope that helps?

 

[GinKings]

I was joking about stirring your yeast to death. You're right, stirring (to remove CO2 and aerate) during the early part of fermentation is good to do.

Many meadmakers, myself included, rehydrate with Go Ferm. That's different than nutrient, which usually has DAP in it. I'm not going to pretend to know why it's bad. Something about DAP being an inorganic form of nitrogen that's tough on yeast prior to fermentation starting. I've done what you did before with no ill effects. So, who knows? After fermentation starts, DAP is great.

What type of nutrient are you using? Is it white or tan powder? You mentioned yeast hulls. Is that it or is it a nutrient blend?

When did you start this batch?

 

[Flumpy]

I think there are lots of other ways.

Not really! Maybe using some old dead yeast. That's about it.

 

[GinKings]

Not really! Maybe using some old dead yeast. That's about it.

How about not sanitizing? There are many, many ways to screw up your beer, cider, or mead and I think more come from ignorance than overthinking. You're right that man has been fermenting things for thousands of years, but I bet I wouldn't want to drink a lot of them.

 

[Bradinator]

Okay, phew. I was worried about the stirring.

The energizer is a mixture of dap, vitamin B and minerals, but looks has no brand. Its kind of a tan colour with crystals in it. The yeast nutrient is a grey colour, more like a powder and says "yeast hulls". Looks like the LHBS gets this stuff in bulk and just puts it into containers.

I started the batch on Dec 30th.

7KG is 15.7lbs. I was thinking of racking it to try and shake up the mead. I even considered getting a gallon of apple juice and orange juice, and racking it on top both respectively splitting the batch up. I would like to stick to a traditional mead if possible, but I will be happy with the final product finishing.

 

[tweake]

.....
2tsp of yeast nutrient (yeast hulls)
EC-1118 yeast, rehydrated in 1 cup of must with 1tsp of energizer/nutrient

........added additional nutrients .......

1) Add more nutrient, stir the hell out of it (again).

The energizer is a mixture of dap, vitamin B and minerals,

The yeast nutrient is a grey colour, more like a powder and says "yeast hulls".

it sounds like a simple case of lack of nitrogen.
you fed it nitrogen at the start (from the energizer) and you have been feeding it yeast hulls which have no usable nitrogen.
so you breed a good amount of yeast which ate what little nitrogen there was and they have crashed due to lack of food.

problem is its also about the point where they stop ingesting nitrogen. adding some energizer might be the best thing as the vitamin and minerals will help, with the small amount of dap in it may be enough to get them to get going.

 

[Bradinator]

I will give the dap/vitamin addition a go tonight. Do you think 2-3 tsp may be too much?

 

[liquiditynerd]

I usually do 1tsp per gallon at the beginning and maybe additional tsp depending on the fermentation. That is alot of honey so don,t be afraid of stirring it. It will settle to the bottom and slow down the yeast feast. There was a thread about a carboy stir plate that a couple of us were tinkering with just for this. Now I'm thinking more like the auto wristwatch charger on a gyroscope. Yeah five gallon mead gyrating pod......

 

[tweake]

I will give the dap/vitamin addition a go tonight. Do you think 2-3 tsp may be too much?

try one tsp of energizer and see if it starts. if it gets going then start adding DAP or DAP mixture. how much depends a lot on if its straight DAP or a mixture.

some of the DAP mixtures call for 5-10 tsp for 5 gal. so its important to know whats in the nutrient.

 

[Bradinator]

Well I tossed a tablespoon of the energizer in to the mead last night, stirred it and said a short prayer.

This morning I could see carbonation rising in the mead and decided I would risk a gravity reading. Its dropped 10 points since last night. Hopefully it keeps dropping over the next few days but I am unsure if I need to keep adding the nutrient/energizer to keep it alive. I would rather just leave it alone personally.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[tweake]

i would feed it and quickly, before it gets to the point where it will not feed on any more nitrogen. what you feed now has to last it till the end.

 

[truckjohn]

Way back in your OP - you mention that the basement is pretty cold (62F)... Did you check the actual Must temperature? It could be colder than that... Down on the floor, next to a wall.... EC1118 isn't a lagering yeast.... Most wine yeast slows way down or even stops when it cools off....

Did you ever try warming up your must a bit.... I would try just bringing it upstairs and sit it somewhere near a heating vent....

Try that before you go throwing any more stuff in there...

Or... You could just let it sit till July - when it will not be freezing up there in Alberta....

Thanks

 

[Bradinator]

Not sure if it was warming the must or tossing tons of nutrient at it or maybe a combination of both but this mead is off like a rocket! Already down to 1.010 and still showing vigorous signs of fermentation.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I think this mead is going to reach my desired FG.