mead stopped bubbling after 1 week

[rjconway]

I'm oh so new to mead, I started a half gallon tester about a week ago. Added 1# honey and added water. Pitched a white wine yeast and let it go. Did great for about 4-5 days and then poof no more action. I really don't know the theory behind how mead acts. Can someone give some information to a newb? I'm not looking to go nuts on creating the best mead in the world, just something I can enjoy. I also did a half gallon of the ancient orange mead the following day and that's still bubbling away ~ 1 bubble ever 2-3 seconds. Thanks

 

[jezter6]

Depends on quite a few things. Gravity, nutrients, yeast strain, etc.

1# of honey in 1/2g of water is really a very weak mead...probably only 5% ABV or so. As with beer at that percentage...doesn't take long to ferment out. Moreso, IMHO, when using wine yeast as that stuff seems to be quite aggressive.

 

[RandallT]

Jez,
I am new to this also. I currently have six "experiments" going. Each one reacts differently. Patience is the thing here. I would suggest using a bit more honey in your mixes. I am having good results with one gallon jugs-40 oz. of honey, fruit of your choice. You can use Fleishcmann's yeast-one teaspoon, or some other kind. My first batch of Joe's Ancient Orange bubbled for five weeks on 24 oz. of honey. My second batch quit bubbling after three weeks with almost twice the honey. ??? Keep experimenting...there's the fun. Best of brewing.

 

[JoshuaWhite5522]

Glad the two of you are enjoying the new hobby. Just remember to rely on gravity readings not how much activity there is in your airlock

 

[Pivovar_Koucky]

1 lb. of honey in a half gallon sounds pretty weak to me too. I'm not terribly surprised that it didn't take very long to ferment out, especially considering that those packets are designed to be pitched into 5 gallons of wine must.

 

[malkore]

gravity readings are a must. the airlock doesn't really mean that much in the long run.

 

[Revvy]

gravity readings are a must. the airlock doesn't really mean that much in the long run.

Especially in the long run, with something that is going to take a LONG time to ferment out.

Malkore hit the nail on the head. Remember an airlock is NOT a magic fermentation guage, it is a vent, a valve to bleed off EXCESS co2, and to keep from blowing the lid off the fermenter and painting your ceiling with precious nectar. If an airlock is no longer bubbling it doesn't mean it is no longer fermenting, it just means that the yeast are probably not producing any excess co2 any longer, becasue the big rush of fermentation has wound down...now they are working slowly, and therefore not generating a lot of excess co2.

 

[pimento]

I think a few people in this thread need to get a hydrometer and learn how to calculate ABV.

1 lb of honey in 1/2 gallon of water will get you an OG of 1.072
the likely FG is 0.998 giving us an ABV of right around 10%

Not terribly low even by mead standards.

 

[jezter6]

1# of honey in a 1/2 gallon total MUST (6.5c water 1.36c honey) is 1.072.

1# of honey + 1/2 gallon water = total must of 0.58g (8c water 1.36c honey) is 1.060. Assuming it fermented all the way to 0.998 is only ~8%. I'm guessing this isn't the case though.