Need Help. What is this?

[Carboi]

Hey friends,

I am currently on my first batch. It’s just a basic dry honey mead. I have stopped fermentation and I have been letting it age. I have racked it twice so far and I even filtered it once.

I issue is there is some kind of setament that keeps forming on the bottom. It’s sort of grey in color. My mead doesn’t taste bad or anything so I figured it not mold, but I don’t know. Can any one help identify? Sorry if I was bad at describing, here is a picture:

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Carboi - and welcome. You say you "stopped fermentation" . How? At what gravity? and you know that fermentation stopped because you measured the gravity and it is rock solid? I ask this because this sediment looks like the sort of sediment that is formed as yeast drop out of suspension and as all kinds of compounds drop out as fermentation proceeds. But truth be told, particles can and do drop out of suspension as a wine ages... even after bottling.

 

[Carboi]

Hi Carboi - and welcome. You say you "stopped fermentation" . How? At what gravity? and you know that fermentation stopped because you measured the gravity and it is rock solid? I ask this because this sediment looks like the sort of sediment that is formed as yeast drop out of suspension and as all kinds of compounds drop out as fermentation proceeds. But truth be told, particles can and do drop out of suspension as a wine ages... even after bottling.

I assume it has since when I test the gravity the meter just sinks to the bottom now, it doesn’t float any more. I also put potassium sorbet in just to make sure it stopped. And as far as I can tell there is no more gas being released.

I just wanted to make sure it’s okay. If it’s a thing that happens then I’m cool with that. I just figured after racking it this many times it wouldn’t have that much setament still. It takes about a week to form.

 

[wildmazer]

until the mead is absolutely crystal clear, it will keep dropping sediment.

 

[theblackwolf]

Keep racking my friend

 

[bernardsmith]

I assume it has since when I test the gravity the meter just sinks to the bottom now, it doesn’t float any more. I also put potassium sorbet in just to make sure it stopped.

Well, in order to know what the current gravity is the hydrometer must be allowed to float. Just because the height of the liquid you want to measure is too low to allow the hydrometer to float does not mean that all the sugar has been fermented. It means only that you have not given the tool enough height to do its job.

That said, adding only sorbate does not stop fermentation. It does stop yeast from reproducing but any active yeast can still ferment. You need to add both sorbate and K-meta in tandem and you need to add these two chemicals when there are very few viable yeast cells in solution (after you have racked several times over time