New Brewer, need advice!

[jrgmead]

Hi all, like the title says, I am very new to mead making. I am currently working on a cyser and am worried it’s not progressing as it should. To make it, I used 3 lbs honey, a gallon of unpasteurized apple cider, and a packet of Lalvin k1-V1116. Specific gravity came to 1.144. I also added 1g of fermaido with the yeast and once a day for the following two days.
I noticed very little fermentation activity (bubbling) for the first week and when I checked the SG after the first week, it hadn’t changed at all. I decided to add more yeast to try to jumpstart fermentation (this was three days ago) and have been adding more nutrient daily since. What’s got me concerned is that I’m still seeing little to no bubbling/foaming. Am I missing something here or do I just need to be more patient?

 

[Barzahl]

Did you rehydrate the yeast? If not trying doing that Lalvin should have instructions on rehydrating it on the packet. When the gravity is high like that yeast really struggles to wake up if you dry pitch it into your must

 

[MightyMosin]

Your OG of 1.144, if fermented dry, would result in an 18.5% ABV mead. My guess is that the osmotic pressure killed your yeast as they weren't ready to deal with that high of an OG. Something that high typically needs a yeast starter that is slowly adjusted to the gravity by introducing that sugar content over time to get it used to it.

If you were to blend in ~1/4 gallon of water you would drop that OG down to ~1.115 which is targeting almost a 15% mead and your yeast might be a bit happier.

IMO, I would go almost a half gallon of water added and drop that OG to ~1.096 and you would have a mead that is >12.5% and your aging time is a lot less.

 

[jrgmead]

Did you rehydrate the yeast? If not trying doing that Lalvin should have instructions on rehydrating it on the packet. When the gravity is high like that yeast really struggles to wake up if you dry pitch it into your must

Yep! Followed the instructions on the yeast packet both times I added yeast!

 

[jrgmead]

Your OG of 1.144, if fermented dry, would result in an 18.5% ABV mead. My guess is that the osmotic pressure killed your yeast as they weren't ready to deal with that high of an OG. Something that high typically needs a yeast starter that is slowly adjusted to the gravity by introducing that sugar content over time to get it used to it.

If you were to blend in ~1/4 gallon of water you would drop that OG down to ~1.115 which is targeting almost a 15% mead and your yeast might be a bit happier.

IMO, I would go almost a half gallon of water added and drop that OG to ~1.096 and you would have a mead that is >12.5% and your aging time is a lot less.

I’ll give this a try! In my newbie hubris I was kind of wanting to make it as high ABV as I could, but a lower ABV mead is better than no mead at all! Thanks Mighty!

 

[amber-ale]

I’ll give this a try! In my newbie hubris I was kind of wanting to make it as high ABV as I could, but a lower ABV mead is better than no mead at all! Thanks Mighty!

Not nessisarily true. My family prefers the. Mid range meads I have done over the meads I managed to do at very high ABV or the ones I have freeze distilled.
Good midrange mead is better.

 

[Kickass]

High ABV is tempting. However the challenges, duration it needs to be aged and the overall flavor profile make them less than ideal for me. 11-13% meads are my sweet spot.

 

[MightyMosin]

I’ll give this a try! In my newbie hubris I was kind of wanting to make it as high ABV as I could, but a lower ABV mead is better than no mead at all! Thanks Mighty!

I think we have all done this and shot for that high ABV.

My first 17% mead had to sit for 1.5 years. That was the big thing that convinced me to abandon 1 gallon batches for 5 gallon. If I had to wait that long, I wanted more for my time!

10-12% is ready so much faster.

 

[Dan O]

10-12% is ready so much faster

So true