Stirring during primary

[Danlund443]

New to mead making and I ask a lot of dumb questions but I find this forum to be very informative and friendly to new mead makers. Lately I've read that stirring daily during primary keeps the yeast healthy but others say it's a no go and can ruin the mead nor allow it to settle towards the end. I haven't been stirring any of my batches and they seem to be ok though my palate for mead isn't quite developed yet. Simply asking the community's experience with this. Thank you.

 

[bernardsmith]

Routine stirring (not aerating) is good for several reasons. 1) it removes CO2. CO2 can increase the acidity (and honey has no buffers so the pH can hit the floor) and its presence in solution physically stresses yeast (think: diving 100 m under water). 2) Stirring keeps the yeast in solution. There can be a strong tendency for yeast to flocculate. The yeast that lies covered on the bottom is not going to be actively fermenting while the weight of the sediment atop such yeast can damage the walls of the cells producing compounds that result in off flavors. There is a third reason too but that is only if you are also fermenting fruit in the primary. You do not want the fruit to form a firm cap A) this will prevent CO2 from escaping - leading to "explosions" and B) a dry fruit cap is then subject to spoilage organisms resulting in another set of off flavors and problems. So, bottom line: stir, don't shake.

 

[fossilcat]

I agree with everything that bernardsmith said. With that info I adjust my stirring frequency and aggression according to how the mead reacts when I stir = where it is in the fermentation.

I stir the heck out of it numerous times while I'm putting the must together up to when I pitch. Then I stir aggressively 3x/day for about 2-3 days with a drill and lees stirrer. During this phase I'm concentrating on aeration. The hydrometer moves slow during the first 2 days or so then it drops fast, usually between 15 and 20 points. That's when I stop thinking about aerating and reduce aggression and frequency to 2x/day. Now I'm degassing - less noise and splashing when I stir.

At this point I'm getting at least 1/3rd the volume of my must in foam every time I stir. When that volume of foam reduces significantly, maybe less then 1/2 what it was at it's peak, I reduce aggression again but keep up the 2 a days. It's probably around day 6 now. After a few more days watching the foam production decrease to maybe an inch or 2 I snap the lid down and install an airlock. So now I stir 1x per day.

I continue to gradually decrease agitation of the must. When my gravity points slow to about 5 per day, I switch to stirring 1x per 2 days. Eventually, I switch to a spoon and then I just swirl the container as the gravity approaches 1.000.

You don't have to be crazy about guarding against oxidation like you do with beer, but you have to show respect, especially if you have fruit in primary. Generally, I avoid fruit in the primary, except towards the end when there's enough alcohol to extract the flavor but not enough yeast activity to ferment the fruit TOO much - a bit blended through the primary is not a bad thing.

I am concerned with keeping my temps down and constant at around 62/64 so I can manage this whole process. Helps with hitting my marks with SNA and any planned step feeds. My process may be a little more "involved" than most and a bit obsessive at times, but it works for me.