FlashJT
Member
So I started a vanilla mead last week (my first) and am using the dreaded Wyeast 4184 Sweet Mead Yeast. So far it's going pretty good. I made a killer starter with it and had very active fermentation in my primary less than 5 hours after adding it.
Unfortunately I didn't time the starting of this mead very well, because I had to go out of town all last week for work. I had SWMBO stir it for me daily while I was gone to keep some oxygen in there for the yeast, but otherwise it remained untouched all week.
When I got back yesterday, the yeast were still going strong with active fermentation visible. My starting SG was 1.102 on Sunday, and by yesterday it was down to 1.046. Wanting to keep them going strong and not have any stuck fermentation problems, I added 2 tsp yeast nutrient, and 2tsp yeast energizer. This is for a 6 gal batch.
When I finally got some down time last night I did some reading on the staggered nutrient addition, and seems that I really needed to add the extra nutrients between the 1/3 and 1/2 sugar break (which I just learned the definition of yesterday). Seems like after the 1/2 sugar break the yeast won't be able to utilize all of that nutrient like they could have earlier.
So my question is, did I add too much nutrient? I'm fairly certain I can taste it in there now, I'm just not sure if the yeast will be able to use it all and remove that taste or not. Hoping I didn't ruin the mead by trying to keep the yeast happy.
With a starting SG of 1.102 and an 11% rating on the yeast, seems like I should be able to get to 1.020 before they start dying off. My concern is that the mead will be too sweet at this point (especially after aging for 1-2 years), so I'm trying to keep these guys happy and going until it hits 1.010, which is where I normally like the sweetness of the wines that I make.
Unfortunately I didn't time the starting of this mead very well, because I had to go out of town all last week for work. I had SWMBO stir it for me daily while I was gone to keep some oxygen in there for the yeast, but otherwise it remained untouched all week.
When I got back yesterday, the yeast were still going strong with active fermentation visible. My starting SG was 1.102 on Sunday, and by yesterday it was down to 1.046. Wanting to keep them going strong and not have any stuck fermentation problems, I added 2 tsp yeast nutrient, and 2tsp yeast energizer. This is for a 6 gal batch.
When I finally got some down time last night I did some reading on the staggered nutrient addition, and seems that I really needed to add the extra nutrients between the 1/3 and 1/2 sugar break (which I just learned the definition of yesterday). Seems like after the 1/2 sugar break the yeast won't be able to utilize all of that nutrient like they could have earlier.
So my question is, did I add too much nutrient? I'm fairly certain I can taste it in there now, I'm just not sure if the yeast will be able to use it all and remove that taste or not. Hoping I didn't ruin the mead by trying to keep the yeast happy.
With a starting SG of 1.102 and an 11% rating on the yeast, seems like I should be able to get to 1.020 before they start dying off. My concern is that the mead will be too sweet at this point (especially after aging for 1-2 years), so I'm trying to keep these guys happy and going until it hits 1.010, which is where I normally like the sweetness of the wines that I make.
