Mead speed

[Jimmygu3]

Hi all! I am making my first batch of mead in my 3 gallon stainless fermenter. I used 5 lbs of honey and topped up to a little over 2 gallons. SG on my refractometer was 1.081. I added 1/4 teaspoon DAP, aerated with an immersion blender, then pitched 2.5 grams Red Star Côte de Blancs yeast when the must was at room temp, 73° F. I probably should have hydrated the yeast first but I pitched it dry.

After 12 hours there was little to no activity, and I started to wonder if I bought dead yeast. I took the other 2.5g remaining in the packet and made a starter with a little warm water and a cup of the mead must. It immediately started bubbling and moving air through an airlock. Rather than pitch too much yeast, I put that starter in the fridge and waited another 24 hours. The airlock on the fermenter was not moving and there was no foam on the must. I took a reading and, to my surprise, it had begun to ferment, reading 1.078. I aerated it by stirring vigorously, and it fizzed and released a lot of dissolved gases. I also added another 1/4 tsp of DAP.

From that point on, the airlock has been moving, and the readings have been coming down .004 every 24 hours for 4 days. However, the rate of bubbles through the airlock has been slowing down a bit and I’m wondering if this thing will make it to the finish line.

Should I aerate it again? Pitch the additional yeast starter? Put it in a warmer location? Or just wait and see? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[CKuhns]

My recommendation would ve to...

Aerate or shake it 2Xs daily to 1/3 sugar break your yeast is in the aerobic phase and a bit of air will help. 1.081 OG to 1.054 is your 1/3.

After 1/3 sugar break your yeast go anaerobic and air is their enemy. After 1/3 break swirl daily to suspend the yeast / lees To 2/3 sugar break.

Alternately. If its fermenting just leave it alone. Cote Des Blanc should chew through those sugars with no problem.

 

[Jimmygu3]

Thanks, @CKuhns! The depletion of the sugars has slowed from .004 per day to .002 per day, and I'm really close to the 1/3 break. The advice I got from someone else was to add 1/4 tsp yeast energizer and 1/2 tsp Fermaid K, then re-pitch more Cote de Blancs, properly rehydrated and acclimated to the must this time. Any thoughts on that?

 

[CKuhns]

Couple of thoughts.

If its still fermenting but slow. Let it go. See if it stalls. Sometimes you just get a slow one. Patience in Mead making is your friend.

Yes you could add a bit of nutrient and repitch yeast. But there is some risk. Too much nutrient can add off flavors. The suggested amounts should be okay. But. If above 9% ABV yeast cant take advantage of it. Your not close to that. Unless it just stalls you really shouldnt need to pitch more yeast.

Prior to doing so I would:
1. Gently swirl 1 or 2Xs a day to get the lees / yeast back in suspension.
2. Bring it to a slightly warmer location in your house. (5 Deg F or so)
3. Rack from the lees. (Sometimes racking just wakes those little buggers up.)

Do 1 - 3 first. Then if still slow.
Check the pH. If < 3.0 add some potasium bicarbonate to between 3.5 and 4.0.

If it stalls.
- Repitch as you suggested.

Good luck. Let us know how it comes along.

 

[Jimmygu3]

Couple of thoughts.

If its still fermenting but slow. Let it go. See if it stalls. Sometimes you just get a slow one. Patience in Mead making is your friend.

Yes you could add a bit of nutrient and repitch yeast. But there is some risk. Too much nutrient can add off flavors. The suggested amounts should be okay. But. If above 9% ABV yeast cant take advantage of it. Your not close to that. Unless it just stalls you really shouldnt need to pitch more yeast.

Prior to doing so I would:
1. Gently swirl 1 or 2Xs a day to get the lees / yeast back in suspension.
2. Bring it to a slightly warmer location in your house. (5 Deg F or so)
3. Rack from the lees. (Sometimes racking just wakes those little buggers up.)

Do 1 - 3 first. Then if still slow.
Check the pH. If < 3.0 add some potasium bicarbonate to between 3.5 and 4.0.

If it stalls.
- Repitch as you suggested.

Good luck. Let us know how it comes along.

Thanks again. I’ll let you know!

 

[Miraculix]

And just to add, there's no such thing as "adding too much yeast" (within reasonable borders, of course). So you could have added your starter with no ill effect or you could have used the whole pack from the get go.

 

[Jimmygu3]

That’s great to know. For whatever reason the recipes are very specific about the amount of yeast, but I suppose that’s more of a minimum.

FYI, I did add the extra yeast and nutrients (prior to ckuhns’ warning about potential off flavors). It’s now bubbling away like a mofo.

 

[Jimmygu3]

Update: this mead has been fermenting for 24 days and has slowed way down. It’s at 1.009, and 3 days ago it was at 1.010. I get a bubble through the airlock once every 45 seconds. Having never made a mead, I was expecting it to finish at 1.000, but I’m now reading online that dry meads can finish anywhere below 1.010. If it stays at 1.009 for another few days, can I assume it’s safe to bottle?

 

[MightyMosin]

I added 1/4 teaspoon DAP, aerated with an immersion blender, then pitched 2.5 grams Red Star Côte de Blancs yeast when the must was at room temp, 73° F. I probably should have hydrated the yeast first but I pitched it dry.

This was a poor choice. While yeast generally use DAP incredibly well for nutrition, it is toxic to the yeast prior to the cell walls being fully rehydrated. The hydrating yeast couldn't regulate its cell wall and what passes through at that point.

Hydrating in Go-Ferm would have been ideal, though plain water would have been fine. Never hydrate in distilled water or water that had DAP. This has likely been going very slow because you don't have much of a colony to get through it all. I am going to guess that your mead will taste off, possibly with unwanted fusels from stressed yeast.

 

[Jimmygu3]

Well, I guess I got lucky because it tastes AWESOME, even before aging. We made a few infusions that I plan to strain off and rebottle in a few days. Thanks to everyone for the help.

 

[Ren06]

This was a poor choice. While yeast generally use DAP incredibly well for nutrition, it is toxic to the yeast prior to the cell walls being fully rehydrated. The hydrating yeast couldn't regulate its cell wall and what passes through at that point.

Hydrating in Go-Ferm would have been ideal, though plain water would have been fine. Never hydrate in distilled water or water that had DAP. This has likely been going very slow because you don't have much of a colony to get through it all. I am going to guess that your mead will taste off, possibly with unwanted fusels from stressed yeast.

I agree with all but also sometimes it's better to learn from our decisions, sometimes they are good ones and sometimes bad. Overall that experience can help with brewing in the future especially if you're really enjoying the hobby and plan on sharing but getting honest feedback.