My first Mead attempt and I hardly got 5% alcohol
- Thread starter Armynian
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
DuncB
Well-Known Member
I think we'd need to know the OG and current FG. How long it's been fermenting and did you do any nutrient feeding.
DuncB
Well-Known Member
how are you measuring the gravity?
DuncB
Well-Known Member
To drop from 1.150 and get @5% alcohol the gravity would have dropped to 1.11.
Hardly seems likely after 3 weeks fermenting, assume it has was bubbling fairly fast at first?
Are you using a hydrometer?
Hardly seems likely after 3 weeks fermenting, assume it has was bubbling fairly fast at first?
Are you using a hydrometer?
Kickass
Well-Known Member
Guessing here, but I think you’re looking at the wrong scale on your hydrometer. Use the same specific gravity scale you used to get your original gravity. Then use this:
https://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/
DuncB
Well-Known Member
The campden tablets are going to sterilize the yeast, if anything survives I don't know how long they could take to ferment. What yeast was used and what is your current specific gravity? Also curious why you added the campden tablets?
I was using the triple scale beer & wine hydrometer
Attachments
Hu Kyzaboy89 I used the QA23 and one ounce of magic acid
I used the hydrometer ?
Kickass
Well-Known Member
The alcohol scale on your hydrometer will tell you potential alcohol before fermentation starts. To actually figure out the alcohol you need specific gravity from before fermentation and specific gravity after fermentation. We know you beginning SG was 1.150. What’s your SG now?
I've never used QA23 so can't offer any input on that, what is magic acid? The pic in graduated cylinder looks like ≈8 brix, can't think of sg equivalent, ballpark it at ≈20 maybe, that would be 130 gravity points gone already. 17 abv from that so what's the tolerance of QA23? Sounds like it's drunk out of commission and not stalled
Ok just re-checked my scale on gravity Unit SG: the OG was 1.150 and the current SG is 1.030, so this on brewers friend.com says I got 15.75% ???
added Camden to stop fermenting
DuncB
Well-Known Member
That sounds more like it, make sure you temperature correct your hydrometer reading before plugging numbers into the brewersfriend calculator.
15.75%, I saw that yeast has an alcohol tolerance of 16 so it was almost done and the campden should stop it. 1.030 is sweet, somewhere between soda and sweet ciders but the aging does bring the honey forward more. Over time I've lowered my final gravity to compensate so I don't get too sweet.
Toxxyc
New and loving it
Good lawd. A 1.150 OG, 15.75% mead that was forcibly stopped with Campden tablets is going to taste like jet fuel. Given there's no report on feeding the yeast or providing it with the best care in terms of temperature and stuff, I'm going to assume this mead is going to take years to get drinkable, if at all.
Next time, ask the questions before you start. I, personally, do not enjoy meads made over around 12% ABV. I've done a nice one closer to 18% before but it's a lot of work and takes a long time (step feeding very few gravity points over a long time). I'll do it again, but at a much larger scale to make it worth it.
Good luck with you mead, let us know how it turns out!
That sounds right based on those numbers
Campden in a 15% plus mead that was done anyway? Why? Does not make any sense. The tolerance percentage on the yeast pack is not to be taken literally, it is a rough estimation at best. You should have left it alone for another week, measure the gravity again and if there's no change compared to last week, it's done and safe to bottle.
I will definitely keep you guys updated, thank you so much for all the knowledge you guys have here, I wish I did come here first lol.
Cheers,
Thanks Dan, Im a Army Veteran as well Hooaaah!
Rookie mistake, I did it because it was recommended in some info and blogs, on internet. but thank you will do what you said next time. any yeast you guys recommend for 5gal carboy.
Thank you so much for your time DuncB will keep you posted.
Sweet! I guess have to be patient with this one, I was planning to drink it this weekend, haha but maybe the weekend coming in two years lol. Im using my own honey from my hives, maybe that why its sweet? just guessing.
Davedrinksbeer
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 12, 2017
- Messages
- 118
- Reaction score
- 82
1.030 is sweet but not crazy sweet. I think you did fine all things considering. I normally try to hit 1.020 for FG but I like a sweet mead. I normally use the EC-1116 yeast, ( (think that’s the number) because I like to make high alcohol meads and let them sit a year or 2 with my wines. I ferment out to 1.000, then back sweeten with more honey to 1.020 and then add some fruit. I’d try it at 6 months then a year. Should be tasty at the year mark and awesome in 2 years. If you want quick drinking meads need to make them in the 6-7% range. My friend does this and they are normally good in the 6 month range.
