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Grancru

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I just racked my first 5 gal. batch of medium show mead. The OG reading was 1.10 and now almost 3 weeks later it is 0.39. What am I missing here?
 
What do you think is wrong?

You've fermented 3-4 pts a day since pitching, which certainly isn't a horrible ferment.

My guess is you are thinking this is beer and that you should be done with ferment already?
 
Grancru, if your gravity is 1.039 three weeks after starting, you do have a very sluggish fermentation. With a traditional mead (or a show mead), there can be several reasons but one of the most common is a pH issue.

Please give us the full details of your recipe (type of honey, yeast, temperature, etc.) and if you can measure the pH that may help to get you the best possible answers.

Medsen
 
15.5 Cups Windmill Farms Wildflower
4.5 Gal Spring Water
10 oz. Lalvin D-47 Yeast
2 tsp. Yeast Energizer
2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient
OG 1.1
Piched on 1/20/10 (19 days)
Temp 64-66
It is a beautiful creamy, golden color.

The reading now is 0.39 not 1.039. I may be wrong but I tought it should only drop to around 1.0 +/- not all the way down to 0.39. The fermentation was not sluggish. It began almost immediatly, remained agressive until the last couple days when it slowed to a bubble every 20 secs.
 
More than likely, your pH is low. If you can check it that will give some useful information and can get you back on track. If the pH is below 3.0, it really needs to be fixed or this fermentation may never get done.

You also look to be a little light on the nutrients. At this stage of fermentation the yeast won't be able to assimilate DAP very well, but if you give it energizer (about 4 tsp or 16 grams) and yeast hulls (1 gram per gallon they bind yeast toxins) that may help you. The nutrients tend to raise the pH slightly which may help, and if the yeast are hungry, this will help. Your racking has already taken care of aerating it further, so you should be okay from that standpoint.

Endeavor to persevere!

Medsen

P.S. Just one clarification on terminology. What you have here is a traditional mead. A "Show Mead" is one made from only honey, water, and yeast, in which no nutrients are used (per BJCP guidelines).
 
Yes, mine is a common hydrometer begining with .990. My reading is just below the .40 mark. The OG reading read at the 10 mark below the 1.100 in the middle of the hydrometer.
 
Yep, sounds like you are reading it right.

I'm sorrry I edited out my prior post as soon as I had seen that you already responded - I apologize for any confusion.

Are you able to check that pH?
 
I used Ken Schramm's recipe from The Complete Meadmaker which he titles it a Medium Show Mead. I do not have the ability to check PH at this time.

I do have energizer, fermaid K and Go-ferm but no yeast hulls.
 
I used Ken Schramm's recipe from The Complete Meadmaker which he titles it a Medium Show Mead.
I do have energizer, fermaid K and Go-ferm but no yeast hulls.

I understand. I think the BJCP definition of show mead came later than the book.

I'd use the Fermaid K as mentioned above and you can use 1 tsp of GoFerm in place of the yeast hulls.

You can try bringing the temp up to about 70 F as that may perk things up a bit, but with all this we are treating everything except what is most likely the problem - a low pH. Can you get some pH strips or borrow a meter from someone (local homebrew club maybe)?
 
Also you should try and wait till your gravity reading is about where you want it before racking. I have racked a very active ferment just to get it off some cinnamon sticks and the ferment stalled. So next time just wait till the gravity is acceptable to you. For instance I just racked a show mead @ 1.006. It tastes great and don't care if my mead is stuck at this point. Actually I hope it is done!
 
As the other posters said, buy some pH strips off the net or you could go to a pet store and get a pH testing kit there (although the range chart provided in the kit might not work for you since mead pH would kill a fish). In any case, you'll need to test the pH of your mead in order to diagnose the issue. Good luck with your mead.
 
Just picked up some test strips. The ph 3.7 +/- so it appears to be fine. The brewing stor told me to pitch 5 gm packet of Lalvin EC-118 and let her go. Any thoughts?
 
I'd give the current yeast some nutrients first before I tried to pitch any other yeast. If you do wind up needing to pitch in some other yeast, try using Hightest's instructions - you'll get more reliable results than if you just pitch the extra yeast into the must.
 
It took me a reread of your initial post to realize you had racked off your yeast population. That may not have been the best idea while the fermentation was still in progress, but you should still be able to make this work. If you got through 60+ points in 3 weeks, it probably wasn't actually stuck, and in fact, it's been a cold January here (you look like you're about only one zip code away), so nothing may have gone wrong at all. You're really only looking for another .025 of attenuation. I'd be inclined to rehydrate a new culture with some Go-ferm and let it rip. Maybe add another 2 tsp of Fermaid K when you pitch. And stick with D-47. 1118 will give you rocket fuel with that recipe. Let us know what happens.

Ken
 
Ken, I had already pitched a 5 gm pkg of 1118 before I read your posting. Looks like rocket fuel it is. What should the reading be when I rack off the yeast now, below 1.00? I guess I should have just let it ferment for about a 30-45 days before doing anything.
The storage temp is about 64 now days. She is processing sugar a good pace again.
I am very close to you in West Bloomfield.

Thanks everyone for the help!!!
 
Aaaarrggh. Yeah, if the 1118 behaves like it usually does, that will be about right. Maybe .994-.996. Your guess about letting it go a month or more would be a good idea. I pretty much leave them all on the primary lees at least a month.

Do you ever attend any of the clubs in Oakland County? I belong to AABG, because that was the best local club when I got started, but it's a long drive now that I live in Troy.
 
I just started this glorious hobby and am not part of any club yet. I have been trying to find one that wasn't an hour drive from where I am at and have not found one yet. I am at Commerce Rd. and Union Lake Rd. If you know of any options I am game.
 
Hey Grancru I would be interested in a mead orientated group, but I am not sure any exist. The Michigan Mashers are an all encompasing group it seems like, but I am not a member.

My sister used to work at Commerce Rd and Commerce Rd in Commerce :drunk:
 
I would certainly be interested in a mead group. I f we could find a central location to meet maybe Ken and others would have an interest. Any thoughts?
 
OG reading on 1/20/10 - 1.110
Reading on 2/18/10 - 1.014

Another .014 +/- and I'll be racking to secondary.

I may split up using a little to top of other melomels, some left as is and some with a little vanilla bean added for 2 months aging before bottling.

Any thoughts?
 
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