Noob Meadmaker

[petes]

New to mead making; let's face it, new even to wine making - playing catch up tho and have 27 brews down since last New Year.....some are coming up trumps so I'm happy.
First mead was JAOM. Took a good 3 months then behaved exactly like JM said it would. Pity of it all was didn't take another 3 months to scoff. Gave me the taste......
Amongst other meads started since I've done a Malkore's AOM; running it parallel with a second JAOM to compare.
I pitched the wrong yeast with Malkore's, used a beer yeast I'd marked for another mead rather then the generic wine yeast I'd intended. (Scope of available yeasts here isn't quite what you folks are used too.)
Moving on, after some 34 days the airlock ceased and at 40 days after observing some clearing I decided to rack. After OG of 1064 I was somewhat surprised to find I'd got to a whole 1052.
I'd realised early on that I'd pitched the wrong yeast; thought I'd get a reasonable response from the beer yeast, so I was somewhat surprised at the reading.
Must tasted okay, good orange and spice flavours and surprisingly (to me), not as sweet as the SG would indicate. I gave it plenty of aeration then threw some Tronozymol at it and a sachet of the yeast I'd originally intended and soft covered it. Two days later I airlocked it despite it only showing half hearted attempts at restarting.
And that's pretty much been the story since. Looks like it's getting out of bed then doesn't. After 4 days SG has dropped to 1048.
I'm puzzled. Any clues please? Have changed the airlock and closure in case there was any leakage to no effect.

 

[Cugel]

I'm a mead newbie but have some suggestions for ya.

The temperature you were fermenting at may have been outside the optimal temp. range for your yeast.

Did you add nutrients? Honey is notoriously difficult to ferment quickly due to the serious lack of nutrients that yeasts need. I used a staggered nutrient addition at pitching, 24 hrs later and then at the 1/3 sugar point. Fermented down from 1.130 to 1.002 in 15 days at 65oF.

You probably have covered these potential issues in your process.

 

[CBBaron]

Nutrients and ph.
In addition to the nutrient shortage already mentioned, can you take a ph measurement? It is possible that the ferment has caused your must to drop in ph to the point the yeast are no longer happy. If you use very soft water this can be a problem as the must will have very little buffering. I can't remember right now what the limit is but take the measurement and post your results and someone will be along any minute wit the correct answer. Or you could use the search for the answer I was too lazy to look up.

Craig

 

[hightest]

The process of fermentation results in a natural decrease in the must pH - just how much of a drop involves several factors.

As the pH drops it adversely affects the yeast ability ferment, and (if not corrected) can get to the point where the fermentation rate slows to a crawl.

Ken Schramm's book suggests a recommended pH range of 3.7 to 4.6. For those who have the capability to measure their must's pH (not using color strips) you can make pH correction decisions as the must ferments.

For those who can not do this, I find the up-front addition of potassium corbonate (or bicarbonate) will serve as a preventative measure.

 

[petes]

Thanks for the replies.
Temperature may've been a problem, uncertain as first up use for that particular yeast. Other yeasts used under similar conditions haven't made hard work of it. Used nutrient/energiser as Malkore's recipe called for and when I pitched the second yeast it had a second shot of the same nutrient/energiser (Tronozymol).
Don't have the means presently to explore ph and I see colour strips aren't the favoured means anyway so unsure how to proceed. Will be in a main centre next weekend and have put potassium carbonate on the shopping list.
Since original post have given brew a nitrogen injection to same effect as before; some positive fermentation signs that end up in extremely fine bubbles rising that don't excite the airlock - tested that for leaks and satisfied there. Overall SG has dropped another 3 points so guess I'll just shuffle this to the back and forget it for the next year.

 

[CBBaron]

Consider adding a teaspoon of calcium carbonate to the must. If ph is a problem this will help to bring it back up some. Given how little your must has fermented I suspect something like this is the problem.

Temperature could be a problem. Most wine yeasts will work at colder temps than some ale yeasts so your other batches may have been just fine but this one is stuck due to cold. Warm the must up some and raise the ph with calcium carbonate. Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking soda) can also be used to raise the ph but the sodium may produce an off flavor.

Craig

 

[petes]

Thanks CB; unfortunately my local HBS can't help with this ingredient. There're numerous local choices for calcium carbonate I could utilise but don't fancy eventually ingesting any of them, so put it on the shopping list for the south this weekend. Meanwhile I shuffled it to the back where it has started a rather shaky looking airlock action, finally.
Had sodium bicarb to hand but your off flavour comment put me off that.

 

[hightest]

FWIW, I strongly urge mead makers not to use calcium cabonate as a buffering compund.

Here's why (from my Potassium Carbonate FAQ),

Q: Would CaCO3 provide the same buffering effect?
A: The molar weight of CaCO3 is different than that of K2CO3. Second, the balanced chemical equations are not the same. Those differences mean that concentrations of the constituents are not the same - per unit weight.

Moreover, CaCO3 is insoluble in water; whereas K2CO3 has a solubility of 112g/100ml. This means that any CaCO3 added to the must does not dissolve as quickly as the potassium based carbonate, and (because of the slower reaction rate) is likely to lead to over-adding; resulting in a chalky taste contribution to the product.

I have never advocated using CaCO3 because it is simply "chalk", it is slow to react, and can easily contribute off-flavors to a mead. I have always recommended the use of K2CO3.

 

[petes]

Cheers hightest, I'll scratch that from my shopping list then - one down too many to go.

 

[hightest]

You're welcome. BTW, properly portioned potassium based chemicals added to a mead must have a beneficial side-effect (From the same FAQ):

Based on my empirical observations, and supported by scientific findings by Dr. Clayton Cone (Lallemand), Haydak, et al, and Bisson (as summarized in Ken Schramm’s Nov/Dec 2005 Zymurgy article), I believe an “up-front” addition of potassium carbonate will serve to improve mead fermentation, and help mitigate stuck fermentations.

More details are in the FAQ.

 

[petes]

FWIW hightest, followed up with the potassium carbonate.
A spoonful of medicine here really perked up this meads interest in life.

 

[hightest]

You're welcome...