Making my first batch sweet mead, have questions

[benebob]

I'm new and a week into my first batch a sweet mead kit from Northern brewer with a 1/2 gallon of cider added to it. Everything seemed good and the bubbling started within 12 hours however, it is only bubbling at maybe 1 bubble every 6 seconds. The gravity doesn't seem to be changing much, is a little above 1.3 about the same it was on Saturday. I airated 2x a day for the first 3 days then have left it alone aside from sat and today's gravity measurements. Stirred both times. No foaming until it is stirred then I get about a 1/2 inch of foam which quickly disappears. Northern Brewery says to move to the secondary at 2 weeks but didn't give a s.g. reading for then. or even a final gravity at the end. Thoughts?

Thanks
Ben

 

[Chris_The_Rogue]

First off how large of a batch have you made? 1 gallon? How many pounds of honey did you use?

You will not see much if any foam at the top of your mead. The general rule for primary is when fermentation slows to one bubble every 60 seconds, but at least 2 weeks.

As for your hydrometer readings. My advice is to take a reading before you add the yeast, when your rack to secondary, and when you finish secondary and go to bottle. Extra readings really aren't necessary with mead.

 

[benebob]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry it is a 1.03 s.g. reading. Initial reading was around 1.04 at 80 degrees. I'm using 12lbs of wildflower honey in 4 gallons of water and 1/2 gallon of cider. Total is around 5.5 gallons. So you wouldn't say that it is bubbling is too limited. It just doesn't smell all that yeasty.

Thanks
Ben

 

[Chris_The_Rogue]

Ok so 3lbs per gallon plus a little extra sugar from the cider. That should come out as a nice dry to semi-sweet mead. You are not going to get much flavor from the 1/2 gallon of cider but it doesn't hurt.
I wouldn't expect ANY foam to form on the top. Its also not likely to smell yeasty at all, if you get any weird smells coming off of it don't worry about it. Ive had everything from rhino farts to sour soapy smells.

You might want to consider adding a can or two of apple concentrate when you rack to secondary, or at the end to back sweeten.

 

[benebob]

Ok so 3lbs per gallon plus a little extra sugar from the cider. That should come out as a nice dry to semi-sweet mead. You are not going to get much flavor from the 1/2 gallon of cider but it doesn't hurt.
I wouldn't expect ANY foam to form on the top. Its also not likely to smell yeasty at all, if you get any weird smells coming off of it don't worry about it. Ive had everything from rhino farts to sour soapy smells.

You might want to consider adding a can or two of apple concentrate when you rack to secondary, or at the end to back sweeten.

Cool wan't expecting much from the cider. Just wanted to get it closer to full when I move it to my cartboy which is 6 gallons and that was what I had in the fridge.

 

[bernardsmith]

You say that this is a "sweet mead kit". What makes the kit "sweet mead"? - The choice of yeast? If the yeast would be able to tolerate an ABV of about 11 or 12 percent then consider the following:
Your initial reading with 3 lbs of honey per gallon (ie total volume is 1 gallon with the honey) should be around 1.120 and not 1.040 as I think you suggest.(I am ignoring the cider as that might have added about .010 per gallon or less). If the current gravity is 1.030 then you have dropped .090 and .090 is about 12 percent alcohol. If it is the yeast that was designed to make for a "sweet mead" then you are indeed there (or thereabouts). If the yeast was a good wine yeast 71B or K1V or QA23 or D47 (not to mention any of the "champagne" yeasts ) then all of these can belly flop above a 12 percent bar without blinking.... So...
My question: what yeast did the "kit" include? The answer to that question may be the answer to your concern about activity in your airlock (although from my perch counting bubbles in an airlock is a total waste of time. You know when your fermentation is done by measuring the density of the wine and you measure the density using your trusty hydrometer)

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry it is a 1.03 s.g. reading. Initial reading was around 1.04 at 80 degrees. I'm using 12lbs of wildflower honey in 4 gallons of water and 1/2 gallon of cider. Total is around 5.5 gallons. So you wouldn't say that it is bubbling is too limited. It just doesn't smell all that yeasty.

Thanks
Ben

Your initial reading is incorrect. It couldn't possibly be 1.040 with 12 pounds of honey. It just couldn't. The honey alone, without the cider, would give you at least 1.080.

Anyway, it's fermenting just fine. Give it a stir if you want, add some nutrients (dissolved in a little water first) to encourage the yeast to stay healthy, and don't worry!

 

[benebob]

Thanks for the help. I used Wyeast 4184 for the yeast. Today was 2 weeks so following the directions I moved it over to the secondary. Had a SG of 1.015 and made a batch of Braggot to put in the primary. The Braggot had 6lbs of malt and 6lbs of wildflower honey with a l-47 yeast. 5 gallons on the dot. It too had a fairly low SG 1.05 at 90 degrees so I wonder if my hydrometer just sucks.

 

[bernardsmith]

Thanks for the help. I used Wyeast 4184 for the yeast. Today was 2 weeks so following the directions I moved it over to the secondary. Had a SG of 1.015 and made a batch of Braggot to put in the primary. The Braggot had 6lbs of malt and 6lbs of wildflower honey with a l-47 yeast. 5 gallons on the dot. It too had a fairly low SG 1.05 at 90 degrees so I wonder if my hydrometer just sucks.

You can easily check on whether your hydrometer is working OK (the scale on inexpensive models is attached and it is possible that it has slipped). Fill the cylinder you use with the hydrometer with cold tap water and see how close to 1.000 your hydrometer reads this. **If it is close enough (given that you are using tap water and given the fact that the temperature of the water may be below (or above) the temperature at which your hydrometer is calibrated, I would say that the problem is not the hydrometer. If the reading is way off, then you may want to buy another (or two, one being a spare) hydrometer.
If your hydrometer is OK (ie it reads tap water as 1.000) then the problem may simply be that when you dissolved the honey the honey was not equally dispersed in the must and you took a reading from an area where there was less honey than might be expected if all the honey was well mixed.

** to be more scientific, you might ALSO dissolve two ounces of table sugar in a pint of water and measure the gravity of that. I would expect it to be close enough to 1.040 that if you were playing horseshoes that would be a winner. Measuring two different points (plain water and water with the equivalent of 1 lb of sugar dissolved in 1 gallon of water) provides more confidence that your hydrometer is either good enough to measure the specific gravity of your musts and wines whether it should be relegated to be used (carefully ) as a stirring rod.

 

[On-target]

The low OG reading may just be from the honey not being fully disolved. It can take a lot of stirring. Its a pretty common cause of low OG readings.

 

[benebob]

Stirred for 10-15 minutes on that batch. Interestingly enough the secondary fermenter airlock is bubbling about every 2 seconds since moving over. The primary with the now braggot in it is at that same 5-6 seconds that I got with the sweet mead. Should I have the glass cartboy in a dark place? If so does it still need to be kept at the same temp 65-75 degrees that the yeast needed in the primary. We keep our house in the 66 degree range and any place dark will be around 60 degrees or less.

 

[Yooper]

Stirred for 10-15 minutes on that batch. Interestingly enough the secondary fermenter airlock is bubbling about every 2 seconds since moving over. The primary with the now braggot in it is at that same 5-6 seconds that I got with the sweet mead. Should I have the glass cartboy in a dark place? If so does it still need to be kept at the same temp 65-75 degrees that the yeast needed in the primary. We keep our house in the 66 degree range and any place dark will be around 60 degrees or less.

Yes, it should be kept at 65-75 degrees, and in the dark (or covered with a blanket or towel).