Primary fermentation fail on mead need advice!

[BFG]

Well this is my first go at this website. Looked at it few times read some cool stuff, funny stories and also read some useful stuff. But this is the first time I'm in real need of some answers and google is just not specific enough.

Here is the scoop I've been brewing mead and simple ciders for 2 years off and on. Up till now I have had zero problems with any of it. Maybe aside from drinking it before it was the best it could be as I'm sure we all have done. I need some straightforward advice.

Now I made a bottle of mead and it did not go as it should have. 5kg of honey for 5gallons of water, i normally do 6kg of honey but this is a 50/50 bottle due to a friend giving me the honey and there was not enough in the pale. Used champagne yeast and am at the 2nd racking (am about to do 2nd rack once i find the answer im looking for).

The yeast must have been dead cuz it did not ferment (maybe 2% content) and just tastes like super good honey water. Now that the bottle has cleared up and the old dumb yeast is ready to be removed. Can i top off with say 1/2 kg of honey and a half pack of yeast or should I use a full one due to the low alcohol %? All this after removing the old yeast obviously. After a little digging i learned how to check the yeast before adding it to the carboid. Lesson learned lol

This mead needs to be strong and dry as both my friend and I do not like high amounts of sugar in our diets. It is currently not drinkable due to being pure honey water but is forsure past the finished date. Will my plan for a 2nd sweetening and redoing the primary ferment work? My logic says it will but might add a bit of a yeasty flavor which is fine. Any advice would help a great deal. Thanks for reading
Cheers

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I wouldn't worry too much about the inactive yeast... As long as you don't have a large amount of lees.. The dead yeast could be nutrient for the new yeast. Pitch new rehydrated yeast. I've made a few meads so certainly not an expert. Would be interested to read other opinions.

 

[BFG]

Never thought of the old yeast being a nutrient for new yeast. Hmmm interesting. I have heard (only from one source) that leaving inactive yeast for too long will give the ferment a off flavor. further research is needed. Or someone with lots of know how on the topic to find my thread.

 

[BFG]

ok so after looking into lees yes the bottle has gone clear and there is a large amount of lees on the bottom. due to it being mead the lees are pretty much 100% yeast and not any sediment from using berries for grains. Would that still act as a possible nutrient for the new pack that will probably be added? like i said above i have heard and could very much see such sediment being a... impurity if its going to sit for another month. But if it could act as a boost for the 2nd attempt at a primary ferment then it would be best to leave it.....

 

[Shawn3997]

Oxygenate the must. I just did that on a grapefruit wine where the EC-1118 wouldn't start and it worked like within an hour or two.

I oxygenated an apple cider just to see what would happen and it formed a yeast krausen that blew out through my airlock. Made a huge mess. I don't if there will be any effect on taste because I haven't bottled it yet.

You can also make a small starter for the yeast with some honey and water. Get 'em all happy and then pitch.

 

[BFG]

"Oxygenate the must"
mead has no must, must refers to a mixture of pressed berries normally still containing the skins. But it could deffs be called must as a generally used term.

As far as my research shows if i oxygenated my mead it would loose a large amount of its flavors. Also i have no such air pump supplies nor do i want to pay any money for it.

Im gonna wait for another 48 hours for more responses, if i dont see anything im just gonna wing it and hope for the best. If that happens i will for sure post my results once a couple days have passed. See if i get full activation this time.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

ok so after looking into lees yes the bottle has gone clear and there is a large amount of lees on the bottom. due to it being mead the lees are pretty much 100% yeast and not any sediment from using berries for grains. Would that still act as a possible nutrient for the new pack that will probably be added? like i said above i have heard and could very much see such sediment being a... impurity if its going to sit for another month. But if it could act as a boost for the 2nd attempt at a primary ferment then it would be best to leave it.....

Okay, you think the yeast wasn't active, yet you have considerable lees. How long has it been going? Did you take brix or SG measurements? You certainly can rack shake and pitch new yeast if no fermentation has taken place.

 

[madscientist451]

You need to get a hydrometer and take a gravity reading. You can pitch more yeast, but without a gravity reading you are flying blind and other than tasting the mead, you won't know if you are accomplishing anything.

 

[BFG]

Ive been going by flavor, i have a hydrometer but no tall glass for it. Im quite good at knowing how strong a brew is and i know for certain that the alcohol is almost non existent. When you can drink a pint glass of what should be at least 8% and get more of a sugar buzz then anything its pretty obvious that little to no fermentation happened.

When i first bottled it it didnt have any c02 release. I had to add a bit more honey from a different pale and add a half pack of yeast to get it going. I started it on nov2. Its winter where i live and my brew cabinet is around 15 to 18c so fermentation is a bit slower. I left the primary ferment for a month and a half and have since just been letting the yeast settle and have done one racking.

the friend that gave me the awesome honey is traveling and i need to store his half for quite a while. which is why im taking the time to let the yeast clear right out. Id like to avoid any chance of carbonation.

And im not sure what a brix measurement is.

i think the worst that will happen if i just go with my plan is more time and a possible addition of flavor from aging as well the excess yeast that has been added. so long as everything is kept clean (which im very very particular about) i cant see anything going "wrong"

 

[BFG]

So long over due to finalize this thread. Here is what happened and what i learned from other local home brewers. No idea if anyone is going to see this final post but for the ones that chimed in and helped thanks and this is what went down.

The honey i was using was super high quality, there are compounds in higher end honey that is unpasteurized that can kill the yeast. The solution to this was a pack of yeast nutrient. Very cheap and easy to use and acquire. I added another pack of yeast and a cup of honey. This in combination with my new bottle heat belt and a towel got the drink fermenting right away. HooRa! Once what was basically the primary ferment even tho i had added 3 packs of yeast and racked 6 times was done it did not taste good. So i racked it again so it was very very clear and back sweetened it. My half of the 5 gallons was all right definitely drinkable and strong. My friends half that sat for 2 months+ was simply amazing. Lesson is age age age your brew and always make sure your bottle is at least 22C and if making mead from good honey give it something to eat so it can populate.

Also yes using old yeast as food for a new batch is a good method. Played around with it a few times with great success and little to no flavor alteration so long as it was allowed to age for at least a month. Brewing skill level up for sure.

Well there it is. Till next time home brewers

 

[GrimBrewer]

Ive never heard of anything in honey that can kill yeast. Its more of a case that there is not enought nutrition in honey for the yeast. So unlike wth beer u need to add extra "stuff".
Other things to do to increase speed and reliability of fermenting is to degass through primary fermentation and airate/oxydise the must while...cant remember if 1/3 or 2/3 fermenting is done. And thats why u need a hydrometer. See where sugar is at so u can add extra nutrition and airate till u get to specific gravity point. You should not lose any extra flavours that u will already lose from primary fermentation. Aromatics gets lost wth the c02 being released. Degassing u are just speeding up the process of c02 being released. Co2 would anyways at some point be released wth aromatics.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I've been going by flavor, i have a hydrometer but...I'm quite good at knowing how strong a brew is and i know for certain....

Dad?

 

[BFG]

Ya the "killing" of the yeast was just word of mouth, made sense to my brain due to the anti fungal, anti bacterial properties of honey. Due to the amount of sugar honey has I would lean more toward the extra properties of honey inhibiting the growth of the yeast rather then there not being enough food. But either way the same step is needed, more "stuff" needs to present.

But ya I'm just a casual home brewer with simple tools. Ive looked into degassing and see that it is a very helpful step but that requires extra things to buy, which like i said I must work with what i have at this point. One day ill be able to buy me some of the finer things thanks for the info and advice. Always appreciated.

 

[GrimBrewer]

So Im only busy with my third mead. Started with beer, brewing a braggot and onto mead! Beer is a gateway brewing

I degass with a fork or a jug. Airate and degass wth jug. "Degass" wth a fork. Ok....im only fermenting a galon so easy still wth a fork