Seperation and Fermentation

[slicknick]

Hello,
on Saturday I put together my first batch of mead. I used around 4 gallons of water, 21 lbs of Honey, and threw in a couple peaches, some raspberries and some blackberries. Now, four days later, everything has separated out, and the airlock is bubbling away.

There is now a layer of reddish liquid at the top of the carboy underneath the fruit pulp which seems to be getting larger every day. This didn't phase me until today when I took a closer look at it. Underneath the red layer it looks like there is a layer of yeast, and all of the effervescence is coming up from that point. There are no visible bubbles below this point (about 1/4 the way down the carboy), and there is hardly any sediment on the bottom. This is the first time I have done mead, so i am a little concerned that I didn't get everything mixed together properly. Any thoughts?

 

[lumpher]

it'll mix together fine. it'll have a year or so to mix, so i wouldn't worry about it

 

[commonsenseman]

Are you aerating/degassing at all? With that high of a gravity you should be. Nutrients would help immensely as well.

 

[fatbloke]

As already mentioned, that's a lot of honey.....

You should take a gravity reading if you haven't already.

Stirring once, or twice a day, to aerate. Plus nutrient, as its quite to add it once the lag phase has finished and again when the ferment hits the 1/3 rd sugar break.

Posting the exact recipe and technique might help as well.

Oh, and yes, the fruit is bound to float, its lighter than water.......

 

[slicknick]

Thanks for the replies.

I have been agitating it a little bit each day. I dont have any equipment to degas, so ive just been givving it a little shake.
This is only the second time I have brewed anything on my own, so I wouldnt know what the hydrometer readings meant or how to correct them. I guess I need to read up in order to get the best final product.

Everything has actually mixed up pretty well now, and is a really nice color to boot.

 

[fatbloke]

Thanks for the replies.

I have been agitating it a little bit each day. I dont have any equipment to degas, so ive just been givving it a little shake.
This is only the second time I have brewed anything on my own, so I wouldnt know what the hydrometer readings meant or how to correct them. I guess I need to read up in order to get the best final product.

Everything has actually mixed up pretty well now, and is a really nice color to boot.

Well that's OK, here's a handy link to the Gotmead "newbie" guide, so it's specifically for the new mead maker. It's well worth the read to give you a good basic understanding of mead making (and also, if you've read other similar documents about wines and beers, you'll notice that they're often alike, yet different).