My first mead and I have an aerating question...

[devaspawn]

So yesterday I made my first mead. 15 lbs of clover honey, ~3 to 4 teaspoons of yeast nutrient, topped up to about 5.25 gallons with water, and White Labs Sweat Mead Yeast. I used a Lee's Stirrer for ~5 minutes to aerate, pitched the yeast starter, and stirred again with the Lee's stirrer for about a minute. My OG was 1.116.

Here's my dilemma/confusion...

According to gotmead.com they said to use the Stirrer for a couple of minutes 2 or 3 times a day for the first 2 or 3 days so as not to stress the yeast and give them plenty of oxygen. I made the must last night and wasn't able to stir this morning, however I noticed a lot of action in the airlock when I observered it for a few seconds. Tonight I came home and went on gotmead.com just to reread the part about re-aerating before I actually did it. I noticed in addition to the advice about re-aerating that they also said it takes 2 to 3 days before you see activity generally. When you do see it they said you shouldn't need to do anything further at this point. Well, I beat that activity timetable by 36-60 hours.

Now, I know that you can't necessarily rely on timetables for brewing beer but I have never made a beer this big before. Should I aerate again? Should I leave it be as I must have aerated it plenty last night prior to and after pitching? I know that mead is a patience game but I made five gallons and want to try to do it as close to right as possible.

Thanks,

 

[Iordz]

I would vote for not aerating again. Aerating the mead during fermentation may lead to oxidation and off-flavors such as "cardboard" and "sherry". The reason your mead had a short lag time was because you used a good portion of yeast nutrients, which is good for mead. All you have to do is wait, a really long time that is.......
In my experience I have found out that you cannot rush any fewrmented beverage, especially mead, which seems to take at least 6-12 months of aging. Remember age does not always indicate maturity.

 

[GrantLee63]

You can - and should - aerate your must twice a day up to the 1/3 sugar break which typically occurs 3-5 days after pitching your yeast. What is the 1/3 sugar break? A simple example woud be this: Your OG = 1.099 - Your 1/3 sugar break = 1.066 - Your 2/3 sugar break = 1.033

Get it?

-GL63

 

[CBBaron]

Meads take much longer to ferment than do beers. An example my most recent mead is still bubbling after 2 weeks in the fermenter, my scottish ale made at the same time was done in 3 days.

As mentioned meads benefit from the additional O2 early in the ferment. The yeast will use it up quickly and there is little chance of oxidation. Measuring for the 1/3 sugar point is the best way to ensure you are still early in the ferment. Obviously there are a lot of things that influence how quickly that happens.

Craig

 

[Yooper]

All of my wines and meads are aerated in primary, as the others mentioned. I don't even use an airlock for many of them, just cover with a clean towel to keep critters out, if I've used campden tablets.

You don't have to stir hard necessarily- just make sure it's getting plenty of aerating so the yeast can do their work.

 

[devaspawn]

All of my wines and meads are aerated in primary, as the others mentioned. I don't even use an airlock for many of them, just cover with a clean towel to keep critters out, if I've used campden tablets.

You don't have to stir hard necessarily- just make sure it's getting plenty of aerating so the yeast can do their work.

Well I tried to do a light stir with the Lee's Stirrer. Everything was working out well right until I decided it just needed a few more seconds of stirring. Hit the power on the drill just a tad too hard and...foam foam everywhere!

I didn't lose too much so i guess that is okay.

It started with an OG of 1.116 and tonight it was 1.094 so 22 points. 1/3 would be 1.078 so I guess I have at least one more night of slight stirring.

Thanks for the advice guys,

 

[billtzk]

Reawakening this thread...

The book I read by Ken Schramm called The Compleat Meadmaker says to aerate after pitching yeast. Methods he gives are stirring or shaking, and he seems to treat it pretty casually. He does mention power stirrers as an option.

My primary is a 6 gallon glass carboy and I didn't heat my honey in another pot, so stirring was out of the question. I used my aquarium pump and SS stone and aerated immediately after pitching yeast for about an hour.

It's been a week since I pitched. Fermentation has been sort of laid back, with the bubbles in the airlock just plopping along at a steady pace the whole time. I could take a hydro reading and re-aerate, but I'm wondering how necessary that really is. What happens if I don't?

 

[hightest]

Reawakening this thread... It's been a week since I pitched. Fermentation has been sort of laid back, with the bubbles in the airlock just plopping along at a steady pace the whole time. I could take a hydro reading and re-aerate, but I'm wondering how necessary that really is. What happens if I don't?

In order to offer a more effective answer, it would be most helpful to know your recipe details - ingredients, amounts, etc. - and the ambient area temperature.

There could be other issues causing your sluggish fermentation. And by all means do check the SG...

Although must aeration is always helpful, I find it's not essential for low gravity musts. Once the OG gets near 1.130, I always infuse pure oxygen daily for the first 2-3 days after active fermentation begins.

 

[billtzk]

My question is more about technique and best practices. My mead is fermenting, slow by beer standards, but that is all I have to compare it with. It's been fermenting a week, and I wasn't especially concerned about. I just happened to find this thread and some others that suggested re-aerating, so I'm wondering if I should do that.

My recipe is simple, posted in this thread My first mead. And here it is as I described it there:

Sanitized all equipment.
Add 3 gallons filtered tap water to 6 gallon carboy.
Add 5 teaspoons Fermax yeast nutrient.
Hydrate two 5 gram packets of Lalvin D-47 yeast in 1.5 cups of 107F water for 15 minutes.
Add 10 pounds of wild flower honey (it was a little grainy, but still free-flowing).
Shake carboy to mix well.
Top off with additional filtered tap water to five gallons.
Pitch hydrated yeast.
Aerate for 45 minutes with aquarium pump and SS stone.

Measured OG was 1.076 at 60F.


I don't think I have a problem. Just wondering if re-aerating or adding more yeast nutrient (the Fermax) is recommended.

 

[hightest]

Based on what you've noted, and the fact that the mead has been in the primary for at least a week, I would think the yeast is well past its growth phase. As such, adding oxygen at this point will serve little purpose except to degas the must - which, in itself, is not a bad idea.

 

[billtzk]

It won't oxidize it?

 

[beer_guy_dave]

My first experience with a mead was pitched with Safe ale yeast (2 packs).
I aerated initially, but did not follow up on the aeration regimen. Fermentation
stalled out at about 1.034 (OG 1.086). This was after about 3 1/2 weeks.
After some consultation, I re-pitched a pack of d47. Now it's a week later and fermentation is going well. Not sure what the gravity is now, but will
check tomorrow. I did NOT re-aerate at this time as I was warned about
contamination. This mead looks and smells great!!

I started a new mead this AM and will use a three day aeration schedule, but will check the gravity and stop at the 1/3 sugar break because that makes a lot of sense.

Hope this info will lend some guidance.

Dave

 

[billtzk]

Yes, thanks. I wonder why Schramm doesn't mention this repeated aeration in his book? It's supposed to be "Compleat".

 

[hightest]

... I wonder why Schramm doesn't mention this repeated aeration in his book? It's supposed to be "Compleat".

Considering it was published in 2003, I would speculate that techniques like repeated aeration, and staggered nutrient addtions, were being studied and tested at (or after) the publication date.

I do know that Ken was working with staggered nutrient additions after his book was published as we discussed (via email) both of our nutrient addition protocols and the fact that they typically pushed the yeast past its stated EtOH tolerance by ~1%.