Slow JAOM?

[Maylar]

So, after doing some reading, is it better to let the yeast finish what they're doing and back sweeten instead of trying to stop the fermentation?

Correct. Unless you have the ability to cold crash and filter it's very difficult to stop an active fermentation.

But if back sweetened, you still have to add stabilizers to keep fermentation from starting back up? Seems like a potayto-potahto situation.

Yes. If you don't stabilize it, the remaining yeast wake up and keep fermenting. You let the mead clear so that the yeast fall out of suspension. You want as little yeast left as possible before stabilizing.

 

[drksky]

Instead of trying to stop it, I let it go. The EC1118 is still working (definitely slowing down, though) and yesterday's sample was 1.001! It's no longer sweet and there's a little bit of pithy bitterness. Hasn't started to clear at all. Looks like it's going to be one to age...

 

[fossilcat]

dkesky - take a look at my cranberry orange: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=623802

I don't stabilize because my family has allergies to sorbates/sulfites. I try to burn the yeast out before sweetening. Might give you some ideas.

 

[Maylar]

Instead of trying to stop it, I let it go. The EC1118 is still working (definitely slowing down, though) and yesterday's sample was 1.001! It's no longer sweet and there's a little bit of pithy bitterness. Hasn't started to clear at all. Looks like it's going to be one to age...

That's to be expected. The JAOM will continue to improve as it ages. Under normal conditions I find 2-3 months is minimum, and 8 months even better. It's designed to quit at about 1.020 so that the sweetness balances out the bitter pith. People report that anything under 1.010 has no chance of reaching balance, so my suggestion would be after it clears stabilize it and sweeten to about 1.015 with the same honey.