Stuck, or ready to rack already?

[Sodabottle]

This is only my second batch of mead, the last one was a blueberry cinnamon mead that is now bottled and aging. My friend made a cyser and a pumpkin spice mead, and is now making a cherry melomel.

I wanted to make a sweet mead and followed a recipe on stormthecastle, with 3lbs of honey to a gallon (I made 2 gallons.) I did take an SG and it said it was 1.100, but to be honest I didn't adjust for temperature (The last batch we didn't use a hydrometer at all..we really are newbs at this.) The same yeast as last time was used (It's Lavlin EC-something... I forget the number. )

The first few days I kept it stirred, which we did with our last batch, and it took off fizzing like crazy. I could hear it from a few feet away. Now after just under a week ( we started last sunday) the fizzing in mine has almost entirely halted. I can hear it quietly ssss-ing, and if I stir it, it foams up, but it's otherwise slowed to an almost stop. Could it be ready to rack already, or could it be stuck? We have yeast energizer, which was added as per the recipe, and a healthy portion of extra honey. But I don't want to mess with it if it maybe just fermented that fast. I'm planning on testing water with the hydrometer to see if 1.100 SG was accurate at the temperature in that room, and after corrections, what should a sweet mead be at gravity-wise, if it's done primary ferment?

Or...do I really not know what I'm talking about at all?

 

[IJesusChrist]

You said SG

Is that the OG or FG?
Whats the FG?

 

[Sodabottle]

The SG is what the info I've been using refers to as the starting gravity. I take it OG =original and FG=final?

 

[RegarRenill]

Yes, OG is Original Gravity and FG is Final Gravity...I was told that SG meant Specific Gravity, the gravity at that specific time. So at the beginning of you brew, SG=OG and at the end SG=FG. In between, SG is the gravity at the moment you tested it...

 

[IJesusChrist]

Yes, I think its more accepted to use OG and FG, and SG just means specific gravity.

If your FG is 1.1, not much of any fermentation is happening.

 

[RegarRenill]

Best way to get a sweet mead is to shoot for the ABV you want, ferment it dry, let it clear, then stabilize and backsweeten until you like it...trying to intentionally stop the ferment can be a PITA.

 

[Sodabottle]

Sorry, then my OG was 1.100. I did go back and test water at that temperature and the hydrometer was actually spot on at 1.00, so 1.100 is about as accurate as I'm gonna get.

I haven't tested it yet to see what it's at now.

EDIT: I took the SG of it now-- 1.014. Does that mean it's done primary ferment...just stupidly fast?

 

[RegarRenill]

A drop like that in a week, especially with EC-1118, isn't that unexpected with using energizer. You should be able to get it all the way down to 1.000, if not lower. I'd give it another week in the primary before racking into a secondary to clear. Rerack whenever the lees (dead and dormant yeast) get 1/4 inch deep or every 60 days until its clear, then dose it with potassium metabisulfite (campden) and potassium sorbate to stabilize. Give it a few days then add more honey til it is at a sweetness you like. Let it air another day or two (to make sure it doesn't start fermenting again) then bottle it.