Mead has been fermenting 2+ months still sweet.

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Jokester

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I put 3.2lb of honey in 1 gal of total water+honey mix.
No yeast nutrient was added and I used champagne yeast.

It took off in the warm days of summer - Started Aug 25th and it took off nicely. In fact 2 weeks in it tasted almost the same as it does now. Then as the days got cooler, I have been keeping it about 80 degrees.

Its still fermenting but still sweet. Do you think its too much honey for 1 gal of total mead ? Could I dilute it with warm water now basically cutting it in 1/2 strength and hope it ferments dry ?

Thanks.
Srinath.
 
Got a hydrometer? It should be long done by now, only a specific gravity check will tell you for sure. 3.2 lbs in a gallon would be about 14.7% ABV which is well within range of champagne yeasts.
 
Maylar said:
Got a hydrometer? It should be long done by now, only a specific gravity check will tell you for sure. 3.2 lbs in a gallon would be about 14.7% ABV which is well within range of champagne yeasts.
Click to expand...

Yea hydrometer somewhere - but the refractometer is accessible. Let me check. I was thinking it would be a bit higher than 14.7, maybe not. The math I did was this - 3.2lb honey = 2.7lb fermentable sugars. In what would be close to 10lb wash. A 7 to 4 conversion rate leaves me just under 1.6lb alcohol in 9 or so lb. Maybe higher than 16% was my hope. I better weigh the wash as it sits now. Atleast then I'd know if my numbers are even close.

Honey is a lot of fructose, nearly 75%+ and fructose ferments much more slowly than glucose and does not do a "hit the wall" type end like glucose rich juices like apple juice does. I'd expect this to be active a lot longer and never really stop being active, and I guess since fructose is far far sweeter maybe with traces of fructose I'd still taste it - cos I am sensitive to the sweet taste, much more than the average person.

Cool.
Srinath.
 
Honey is completely fermentable, but has no nutrients or ph buffer to it. Without any additional nutrients or fruit, it is more likely to stall, and Will need a long time to age for it to be drinkable.
 
Jokester said:
Yea hydrometer somewhere - but the refractometer is accessible. Let me check. I was thinking it would be a bit higher than 14.7, maybe not. The math I did was this - 3.2lb honey = 2.7lb fermentable sugars. In what would be close to 10lb wash. A 7 to 4 conversion rate leaves me just under 1.6lb alcohol in 9 or so lb. Maybe higher than 16% was my hope. I better weigh the wash as it sits now. Atleast then I'd know if my numbers are even close.
Click to expand...

What's a wash? This is mead - it's must.

Simplistic math is to assume all the sugar will be converted. Typical mead ferments with wine yeasts finish at or below 1.000. Rule of thumb is that honey contributes .035 gravity points per pound per gallon, so 3.2 lbs in one gallon would be about 1.112 to start and if it finishes at 1.000 you get 14.7%.

I've never done a mead without nutrients, but at your temperatures the mead should be dry and done.
 
OK I'll put in nutrients (raisins, orange rind and black tea ok - like the youtube one I saw) - Yes I decided to make mead after watching 1 youtube clip. As an added benefit it will add a little volume and dilute it as well. Hopefully that would help.

Aging isn't a problem, I have plenty to drink, I can let it ferment a year if needed. Age it past that too if needed. I just don't want it to get some off flavors or go bad. This might be my first and only mead.

Cool.
Srinath.
 
Makes sense, I'll look at it through refractometer tonight.
Thanks.
Srinath.
 
I don't think I ever bothered with refractometer or hydrometer on this, but I started this on Aug 25 2019. And its got nice and sour and knock out delishious. The sweetness from 3 months ago has been replaced by a nice lemony sourness. I'll drink this all day, knock out delish and has plenty of alcohol and it warms me up better than anything I have tried. Even brandy cant hold a candle to this.

So now what do I do. Put it in camlock bottles ? I don't have new 12 oz, I could repurpose other 12" after cleaning them. I am simply in love with this. How to condition it from here, and if that's not advised, how to keep it at best stage. Is it refrigerated from now, what if I let it stay out in a 80 degree house for the time I'm drinking it (a month or so), and is it better drunk warm or cool, or cold. I cant say enough about this, I want to impress someone with a bottle of wine, no, I'll do it with home mead.

And can we freeze concentrate this - You knew that was coming.

Cool.
Srinath.
 
Oh I remember, I added a little turbo 24 yeast about a month ago. So ec1118 was used and I used very little at startup.
I will let this go another week atleast, the sediment has been disturbed by my "sampling" Will let it go a bit longer.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
You can freeze concentrate anything. Even beer if you do it right. Take an sg, let it settle for the week, take another ag. If it hasn't changed it's done. Put it in the bottles of your choice and let it age a bit.
 
I freeze concentrate beer already, in fact I ferment a beer and then freeze concentrate it. LOL. Does Mead get better if I freeze concentrate it is my main question - should have asked it that way. The beer hyper ferment works very well, but from there on freeze concentrating it has a marginal gain, I am not even sure its needed. Beer to freeze concentrate is a huge gain, because it cuts carbs a lot. Hyper fermenting beer is great, freeze concentrating the "brut" isn't that big a gain.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
I read some of the mead posts. I made every mistake in the book on this one but turned up OK at last taste. Its been a week+ but hoping its fine. Now Its just waster yeast and honey, and I put too much of store bought (elcheapo walmart issue) honey. I didn't use an airlock, I just left the cap loose. What turned out to have helped, I put it in a hot closed up car august through nov, it must have got 120+ on the sunny days and likely never dropped under 80 for 2+ months. Then its ben in an 80F house in likely the warmest room and catching a lot of sunlight through the window. I also added very little ec1118 yeast, it was fermenting rather well in a couple days anyway. About 5 months in I added turbo 24 yeast again very little, but likely finishing it off. I am yet to check gravity though, will do this weekend. I started at 1.12 and hoping its fermented dry.
May try oak chips I've used for vodka - reuse them ? Re-toast ? or without retoasting ?
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Last edited:
I got 516 gram or slightly less for 500ml. Its 1.034 FG, and 1.12 OG. So, I'll let it go a bit longer. But can I add in oak chips now or wait a bit longer.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
I measured 1.048-9 via hydrometer. Its sickly sweet because its all fructose. I can add a more dry fermenting yeast, I can dilute it out more, what would help it get fermented fully. Per Mrgoodbeers carb calculator - .9783 is dry for this, and 17.8% abv, I don't know what would get it there. Any ideas ?
If something were to convert fructose to glucose ?
Yeast that prefers to eat fructose ? This may be an idea. Let me look.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Ec 1118,. K1v 1116( less abv but more flavor in my opinion) any champagne yeast.
I understand what you mean, I just bottled one that is extremely sweet. I have no idea why because I lost my brew log. Lucky for me everyone who has tried it likes it. Even one friend who doesn't drink wine asked for a bottle. This does have enough alchohol to be worth drinking, just not as much as my usual batches.
To me it's like drinking candy. Tastes very much like a cheap moscato.
 
Apparently uvaferm 43 eats fructose, as does some other lavlin ones, let me see what local brew shop carries.
Thanks.
Srinath.
 
Mead needs nutrients.

You can boil some yeast in water then add it to your must. Works real well.

All the Best,
D. White
 
I'll try that with this turbo 28 moonshine yeast I bought from Alaska. The thing awoke a 6 month dead john daly which had K sorb, killing any thing I put it in. I had to extract a quart from the 5 gal, bloom the yeast, till it tripled in volume basically filled a 1 gal bottle and tossed that in and took off like the thing was boiling. This one needs some of that LOL. I asked him what the fructose preference of his yeast was, didn't get an answer yet. But I'm definitely trying it.

Now I would prefer to put 1/2 qt of the mead in a mason jar and sit it in warm water for 10 mins, then put a 1/4 pack of that yeast in it. Wait till it gets to the whole quart volume and then put back in the mead.
Your method of adding warm water and yeast to that has the added benefit of thinning down this mead a bit. Would that be of particular benefit ?

Cool.
Srinath.
 
The problem is there wasn’t any nutrients to go with the sugar, so the yeast couldn’t finish the job. If it’s a stuck ferment, just throwing more yeast in there isn’t always a solution. Check your ph if you can, but adding some nutrients like the boiled bread yeast or Fermaid O can help the yeast that’s already in there get started back up.
 
I wanted a pure pure pure mead (WTH am I saying - I got no clue what I'm doing - Obv's)
Add fruit and its a melomel, add spices and its something else etc etc. So pure mead LOL. Stuck and sickly sweet.
I'll look up boiled bread yeast and fermaid O and see what's to be done, its actually fermented to over 10% just that it has still like 40gm sugar in 12 oz, and its not like me to leave any alcy on the table.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Last edited:
Yes that uvaferm 43 seems to be the ticket. Its fructose that needs to get eaten. I'll get some of that and start back this one.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Jokester said:
I wanted a pure pure pure mead (WTH am I saying - I got no clue what I'm doing - Obv's)
Add fruit and its a melomel, add spices and its something else etc etc. So pure mead LOL. Stuck and sickly sweet.
I'll look up boiled bread yeast and fermaid O and see what's to be done, its actually fermented to over 10% just that it has still like 40gm sugar in 12 oz, and its not like me to leave any alcy on the table.
Cool.
Srinath.
Click to expand...

That's called a"Show Mead". They are undertakings which require a lot of patience.

All the Best,
D. White
 
Yea patience I got, just don't want to be patient when I should have been fast. This "show me"ad is getting some yeast now. The monster 28% er will get a run at it.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Jokester said:
Apparently uvaferm 43 eats fructose, as does some other lavlin ones
Click to expand...
While it is true that fructose is fermented more slowly than glucose (at least when separate), ALL wine and beer strains of Saccharomyces fully ferment fructose.

You've received great advice on this thread.
You should listen to the regulars here. They've been doing this a long time and generally they know what they're talking about.

Jokester said:
glucose rich juices like apple juice does.
Click to expand...
No, apple juice has mostly fructose.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00217-002-0505-2

Some people add a buttload of table sugar (half fructose) to apple juice and it ferments fast. Fructose is NOT the problem.

Jokester said:
I should have been fast.
Click to expand...
Your fermentation stalled because of the lack of yeast nutrient.
It's not difficult to make a high gravity mead ferment in maybe 1-2 weeks when you use proper nutrients (NOT "raisins, oranges, and black tea").
The higher temperature probably isn't helpful.

Jokester said:
May try oak chips I've used for vodka - reuse them ? Re-toast ? or without retoasting ?
Click to expand...
Reused oak chips will very likely provide zero flavor.
 
I have to get that nutrient+yeast and bloom it in a separate jar and add to the mead right. I have a 28% moonshine yeast but its in my other house.

I've reused those oak chips in vodka sometimes after re-toasting it and sometimes I add new chips to the collection. So Its not all used and even if used its retoasted. But for now, I will stay with the mead that's pure LOL.

Cool.
Srinath.
 
Its still fermenting. I will add more yeast and nutrient to it and hope it goes faster.
I was of the belief that slow fermentation is better, but now I know better.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
OK I added a lot of dead/undead yeast from lots of flocculated bottles, then added boiled raisin water, then added pineapples and some of that water and an airlock. Now its bubbling every 30 seconds. In a day or so, I'll put it in a bottle that has a bit more head space if it starts to get into the airlock.
Hope for .98 or so in 30 days LOL. Thanks.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Its bubbling away, not sure if it is just eating pineapple and raisin sugar or the honey, anyway the bottle is near full, but not air locking it yet to avoid possibility of getting it in the airlock. Its got cap on loose. I'll wait till it slows the bubbling rate, check gravity and then airlock it I'm thinking.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
The fruit is floating, should they sink when they're fermented through ? Should I have mashed and cooked the pineapple chunks too. They were pretty small wedges from those cans.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
The entire thing looks like mud now, likely fermentation is happening everywhere making me think the honey is getting eaten.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Yes, solids and particles usually float or get mixed up during fermentation since there lots of bubbles being produced. The key is to push the top down or swirl it to make sure the top of the cap doesn’t dry out. Usually you remove the fruit after 7-10 days. If you have to rack it out, make sure to stir it first so you get all the yeast into your next carboy so it can finish the fermentation and help clear the product.
 
Next time freeze the fruit, thaw it out and mash it, the use pectin enzyme to get all the juice and sugars out that you can.
And yeast don't care where the sugar comes from. They eat it if it is a fermentable sugar. So they are feasting on both fruit and honey at this point.
 
Pectin enzyme ? Isn't that going to make more methanol ?
Anyway I crushed and boiled the raisins and took out the pulp after squeezing it to a tight little ball.
Then found some more headspace I didn't like so I added pineapples I had easy to add.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Keep your updates here instead of the BOMM thread. This batch of yours doesn’t make much sense. Have you taken a reading on the gravity recently? Don’t go by bubbles to say it’s still fermenting. If it’s stuck, diluting with more water to lower abv so any yeast still there can absorb some nutrients and maybe kick it back off. Not sure if turbo yeast was the right thing, as they are meant for wash for distilling.
 
I'll post here - yes I was thinking I was posting here when I posted in the BOMM 42 page thread. Yea its got a mish mosh of yeasts and it was haphazard to say the least.
I'll stop just short of calling it a total loss, I'll toast up my oak or hickory I don't remember and fill the bottle back up and let it run a few months till it goes clear.
It did read slightly under 1.00 yesterday, I'll let it run a week, then oak it for 2-3 months and go from there. I had some oak chips I had put in bourbon - I want to find that and reuse it.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Oh yea its still fermenting alright - the bottle swelled up cos I had left the cap on too tight. And I left it tight again, it swelled up almost as much again. I need to make up the volume and let it run to .99 now.
Cool.
Srinath.
 
Blacksmith1 said:
Next time freeze the fruit, thaw it out and mash it, the use pectin enzyme to get all the juice and sugars out that you can.
And yeast don't care where the sugar comes from. They eat it if it is a fermentable sugar. So they are feasting on both fruit and honey at this point.
Click to expand...


Mash in this context means just smush the fruit to mush or boil it etc ?
Thanks.
Srinath.
 

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