slow mead fermentation

[Bummer]

Hi guys,

i'm an avid home brewer and have for the first time ever taken a stab at making mead. I sourced three pounds of good, local honey and made a one gallon batch. The OG was 1.110. To that I pitched half a package of lalvin d47. Four days later pitched the other half of the pack because fermentation wasn't really getting going. It's now been 10 days and I took a gravity reading. It's only at 1.090... I have the carboy sitting in a room at 64F. I get a bubble through the air lock approximately every 45 seconds. Is my yeast crapping out already?

I didn't pitch any nutrients, and instead had followed a recipe that made a tea out of orange peel, raisins and a tea bag.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Seamonkey84]

Without nutrients, mead takes a long time and will likely take at least 6 months to age and be drinkable. If it is below 10% abv you can still add some nutrients. I would also recommend gently swirling the carboy to help degas it, as that will help relieve some stress on the yeast. It also keeps the yeast in suspension and working.

 

[Bummer]

Thanks for the reply. I gave the carboy a good swirl this morning.

I have some yeast nutrient by LD Carlson which i often use for beer brewing:

Contains food grade urea (nitrogen) and diammonium phosphate to promote healthy yeast propagation. Usually not necessary for beer unless you have an unusually high sugar content or very high gravity beer.
Use up to 1 teaspoon per gallon of must, less for wort.

Should I pitch a teaspoon straight into the mead? Or should I order a different nutrient cocktail? What about the yeast? I could order more Lalvin D47 and pitch more of that too...

 

[Seamonkey84]

Compared to beer and wine, honey is a nutrient desert. Not sure about beer nutrients, but with wine nutrients most would use 2-3X the amount instructed on the package. Also best to do it in stages.

 

[videojunkie1208]

Looking at a TONSA calculator. You'd need about 4g of fermaid o.

Depending on your beer supplement, you may want to add a bit more.

 

[Bummer]

Thanks guys. I went ahead and pitched a teaspoon of my urea and diammonium phosphate yeast nutrient. I'll keep you posted if over the next few days - all things being equal - the bubbling speed increases

 

[Bummer]

Update two weeks after adding yeast nutrients (when ABV was 2.6%), and 24 total days after first pitching yeast.

Took a gravity reading today, and we're sitting pretty at 1.010. My trusty ABV calculator says we hit 13.13%. Seems like you guys were right and my yeast required nutrients!

 

[videojunkie1208]

Mead yeast is a funny animal. But if you treat it well, it can produce marvelous results.

My guess is that your going to want to let this age out for a couple of months to let the alcohol flavor mellow a bit. Green meads often have a sharp taste that refines with a bit of aging.

If you have the ability, I would rack it off the bulk lees to a clean container, and seal it with an airlock, and leave it alone for a while.