Question about the 1/3 sugar break.

[Dustin Adams]

I started my first batch of mead on 11/25/18. I started with 13 lbs of honey and 4.5 gallons of filtered water. I used one packet of D-47 for the yeast and added nutrients, bentonite, tannin, and pectic enzyme. Temp in my house stays right around 70 degrees F. The OG was 1.090. There was little activity on the airlock for two days. I took another specific gravity and it was still at 1.090 so I worked some oxygen into the must. There was better activity on the airlock(about a bubble every 4-5 seconds) for the following two, but it slowed quite a bit yesterday and today(about a bubble every 15-20 seconds). I just checked the gravity and it is now at 1.060 tonight. Is it normal to hit the 1/3 sugar break in a week for a big batch like this? Also curious at what point I should rack it over for secondary ferment. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[piojo]

1/3 sugar break in a week is on the slow side of normal. You under-pitched your yeast. 2+ grams per gallon is more typical, but 1.090 OG isn't considered big for a mead. Under-pitching is probably part of why your lag phase was long. Did you rehydrate it in 35-41°C tap water, letting the temperature equalize for several minutes before stirring? Do that next time, then add must slowly to the yeast so the little helpers can slowly adapt to the cooler temperature and higher sugar concentration.

Next, it sounds like you didn't stagger your nutrients. I'm not sure whether that is supposed to reduce off flavors or speed things up, so I won't comment further besides to say that the instructions can be found by googling "TOSNA", "TOSNA 2", or "batchbuildr".

Did you aerate right after pitch? That speeds up the lag/growth phase, but I've had successful fermentations where I only aerated after the lag phase. By the way, are you aerating with some kind of tool? Shaking a big carboy doesn't do much, either for degassing or aeration.

You don't really need to rack it to secondary unless that yeast in particular causes off-flavors. I'm not sure about that. If you do decide to do it, rack it to secondary after the fermentation is completed, either based on the SG not changing, or when you think it's done because the bubbling slows down a lot and you wait an additional week.

Last, I've been listening to a lot of interviews with meadmakers lately, and it's come up that most find it a good idea to stir the lees every day or two throughout fermentation (with gentle motion so as to not introduce oxygen). That would not be a bad idea for you, since your fermentation got off on the wrong foot. But my gut feeling is that you should only do this if you are sure you can sanitize the stirrer, since your fermentation is going a bit slow and the alcohol probably isn't up to 5% yet.

But despite all my suggestions and words of caution, it's probably going to be fine. If it gets any sulfur smells it needs emergency maintenance, but other than that, you're probably gonna be fine. It's just that if you do all the recommended best practices, "probably" becomes "almost definitely", and things get optimized (shorter aging, more complete fermentation, better flocculation, etc.).

 

[Dustin Adams]

1/3 sugar break in a week is on the slow side of normal. You under-pitched your yeast. 2+ grams per gallon is more typical, but 1.090 OG isn't considered big for a mead. Under-pitching is probably part of why your lag phase was long. Did you rehydrate it in 35-41°C tap water, letting the temperature equalize for several minutes before stirring? Do that next time, then add must slowly to the yeast so the little helpers can slowly adapt to the cooler temperature and higher sugar concentration.

Next, it sounds like you didn't stagger your nutrients. I'm not sure whether that is supposed to reduce off flavors or speed things up, so I won't comment further besides to say that the instructions can be found by googling "TOSNA", "TOSNA 2", or "batchbuildr".

Did you aerate right after pitch? That speeds up the lag/growth phase, but I've had successful fermentations where I only aerated after the lag phase. By the way, are you aerating with some kind of tool? Shaking a big carboy doesn't do much, either for degassing or aeration.

You don't really need to rack it to secondary unless that yeast in particular causes off-flavors. I'm not sure about that. If you do decide to do it, rack it to secondary after the fermentation is completed, either based on the SG not changing, or when you think it's done because the bubbling slows down a lot and you wait an additional week.

Last, I've been listening to a lot of interviews with meadmakers lately, and it's come up that most find it a good idea to stir the lees every day or two throughout fermentation (with gentle motion so as to not introduce oxygen). That would not be a bad idea for you, since your fermentation got off on the wrong foot. But my gut feeling is that you should only do this if you are sure you can sanitize the stirrer, since your fermentation is going a bit slow and the alcohol probably isn't up to 5% yet.

But despite all my suggestions and words of caution, it's probably going to be fine. If it gets any sulfur smells it needs emergency maintenance, but other than that, you're probably gonna be fine. It's just that if you do all the recommended best practices, "probably" becomes "almost definitely", and things get optimized (shorter aging, more complete fermentation, better flocculation, etc.).

I rehydrated the yeast as per the package specs for 20 minutes and I did let it equalize for a bit before stirring. I did not stagger the nutrients. The nutrients were part of a kit I purchased from my brew shop. I have looked into staggering the nutrients for next time though. I did mix the must quite vigorously after pitching the yeast with a very long whisk, going one direction for a bit then reversing to the opposite direction for about 5 minutes, reversing every thirty or so seconds. I am not actually using an aeration stone or bubbler if that is what you meant by tool. I am fermenting in a bucket not carboy. I will look into the stirring of the lees as well. As far as i can tell, the ABV is right below 4% currently. There are no sulfur smells going on at all. It smells of yeast and a touch of alcohol. Most likely it is what you said about under pitching. I plan on using potassium metabisulphite to cease fermentation before bottling. Again a pre-measured packet for the 5 gallon kit I purchased. What are your thoughts on using that combo?

 

[piojo]

I did mix the must quite vigorously after pitching the yeast with a very long whisk... I am not actually using an aeration stone or bubbler if that is what you meant by tool... I plan on using potassium metabisulphite to cease fermentation before bottling. Again a pre-measured packet for the 5 gallon kit I purchased. What are your thoughts on using that combo?

Sounds good in general. When I said tools, I meant which, drill mixer, aquarium bubbler, O2+shaking, basically anything except shaking the carboy by hand. Oh, and buckets are great! I hope never to have to use carboys again.

I'm not experienced with potassium metabisulfite. My two suggestions are: Double check the amount online before you add it, as the kit could potentially tell you to add a ridiculous amount. And use caution if the mead still has honey in it, because k meta is not considered a complete stabilization solution. But it's great together with other solutions, or to preserve the mead by removing oxygen.

 

[RPh_Guy]

FYI Pectic enzyme (pectinase) breaks down pectin, and there is no pectin in mead unless you add fruit. Pointless for the kit to include it unless there's fruit. .. It won't hurt anything though.

 

[Maylar]

I plan on using potassium metabisulphite to cease fermentation before bottling. Again a pre-measured packet for the 5 gallon kit I purchased. What are your thoughts on using that combo?

As already mentioned, potassium metabisulfite alone does not cease fermentation. It has 3 uses in wine & mead making - to kill unwanted bacteria and yeast before fermenting, to act as an antioxidant after fermenting, and to mix up a sanitizing solution for your equipment before and during fermentation. The dose for the first 2 cases is very small, typically 1/4 tsp for 5-6 gallons. The dose for making a sanitizer is much higher and would ruin your mead.

 

[Dustin Adams]

Sorry, I meant potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulphite to cease the fermentation. Thank you all for the replies.