From my understanding, some meads end up being very sweet because the yeast convert all the sugar they can and then they "poop out". I know yeast selection makes a big difference, so lets assume we used a montrachet or champagne yeast. Does that mean the yeast have eaten all the fermentable sugar available in the honey but there still resides an abundance of unfermentable sugar?
Why does yeast "poop out"?
- Thread starter jiffybrew
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It's usually one of two things:
The yeast have consumed all fermentable sugar available, and the residual sweetness is from more complex, unfermentable sugar.
OR
The yeast have succumbed to a sort of "alcohol toxicity" by living in the filth they've created with their own byproducts. You'd "poop out" after a while, too, if you had to live in your own waste! Some yeast have a higher alcohol tolerance than others, and the wine strains you mention are among the heartiest.
In the case of mead, it's usually the latter of the two reasons. Honey is almost 100% fermentable and will leave little to no residual sweetness as long as the yeast remain healthy enough to continue "eating" until the sugar is gone.
The yeast have consumed all fermentable sugar available, and the residual sweetness is from more complex, unfermentable sugar.
OR
The yeast have succumbed to a sort of "alcohol toxicity" by living in the filth they've created with their own byproducts. You'd "poop out" after a while, too, if you had to live in your own waste! Some yeast have a higher alcohol tolerance than others, and the wine strains you mention are among the heartiest.
In the case of mead, it's usually the latter of the two reasons. Honey is almost 100% fermentable and will leave little to no residual sweetness as long as the yeast remain healthy enough to continue "eating" until the sugar is gone.
All yeasts have limited alcohol tolerances. When the beverage hits that limit, they die. Wine yeasts have been selected for higher ABV tolerance than ale & lager yeasts. In general, yeasts that can process more complex sugars have lower tolerances.
