Yeast tapped out at 1040

[GTMonster]

I have a batch of mead which has too much honey and I believe has hit close to the alcohol tolerance of the yeast used...

Typically I got over ambitions while adding a second dose of honey after originally slowing at around SG-1000. I was aiming for 1020 so thought I'd add some more honey so it could continue fermenting. I miss calculated and ended up at 1050 which fermented to 1038ish then stopped.

I have added about 1l of water to my 8.5l batch after removing 1l of mead. It is now at around 1030.

Will the yeast normally become active again now that I have reduced the alcohol levels or does being at alcohol tolerance kill the yeast? If so, how long does it normally take for the yeast to become active again?

Do I need to add additional nutrients, as I'm not sure how to tell if the nutrients have run out? Or are nutrients only required for yeast multiplication?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Miraculix]

Nutrients now will spoil the mead. The yeast can wake up, or wake up very slowly. But it will very likely continue to ferment as you have reduced the amount of alcohol per volume significantly. What you could also do is add a more alcohol tolerant yeast strain.

I would just try to wait it out though.

 

[GTMonster]

Thanks... Waiting was my first plan now that I have decrease the alcohol level. The yeast I used was 16% - 18%, so I'm probably not going to be able to get a more tolerant yeast really.

If nothing starts in the next few days... Am I better off adding a new batch of yeast?

As for the nutrients, does this alter the taste... and will these flavours diminish over time? Are the nutrients used during fermentation or reproduction of the yeast initially?

Thanks.

 

[Elk479]

Just curious, what was your original gravity on this batch?

 

[DBhomebrew]

As for the nutrients, does this alter the taste... and will these flavours diminish over time? Are the nutrients used during fermentation or reproduction of the yeast initially?

Yes, they taste like dead yeast. Gross meatiness. No, it will not age out. Yeast stop utilizing nutrients at roughly 9% ABV. They won't pull the nutrients into their cells. Best to add it at the beginning of fermentation or according to an established staggered schedule such as TANG or as included in BOMM recipes.

 

[Barzahl]

Actually, yeast cannot uptake DAP past 9%, not nutrients in general. It the newest protocol, all DAP in Fermaid K is front loaded. Fermaid O is staggered in later. Even if you add Fermaid O too late, it will settle out when the mead clears without off flavors.

The above quote is Bray Dennard in the BOMM thread so you should be alright to add fermaid-O I'm not sure if it would help though.

 

[MightyMosin]

You also have the option of brewing a smaller batch of the mean dry to 1.000 and then blending that in to get to the desired SG.

If you do that, keep in mind that you could start fermentation up and shoot lower than what you want, but then you could back sweeten again. If blending, I'd probably stabilize both batches and then blend to the SG you want and not worry about the yeast starting up again.

I actually need to do this as I have one that didn't go as far as I wanted.

Use the blending calculator at the bottom to figure the volume you need to blend to get where you want.
http://meadcalc.freevar.com/

 

[Miraculix]

The above quote is Bray Dennard in the BOMM thread so you should be alright to add fermaid-O I'm not sure if it would help though.

I'm having trouble believing that this is entirely true. Make an experiment, add some fermaid o to a glass of water, stir it and let it dissolve as much as possible. Let it all settle down and then have a sip of only the water without the sediment. Does it taste like clear water? If not, the resulting taste will also be in your mead if it's not being metabolised by the yeast.

 

[Barzahl]

I'm having trouble believing that this is entirely true. Make an experiment, add some fermaid o to a glass of water, stir it and let it dissolve as much as possible. Let it all settle down and then have a sip of only the water without the sediment. Does it taste like clear water? If not, the resulting taste will also be in your mead if it's not being metabolised by the yeast.

I'll try to do this next week only with mead instead of water, I've got a couple batches that need bottling so I'll put a little in a canning jar and add the fermaid-O to that

 

[DBhomebrew]

I'll just add that the meads which taught me what excessive nutrients taste like were over pitched short BOMMs with Go-Ferm at hydration and Fermaid-O for the staggered additions. Since shifting to TANG, which is essentially TOSNA 3.0 with close attention to pitch rate and associated Go-Ferm, my meads have vastly improved in flavor. Clean, with no umami nastiness at all.

 

[Barzahl]

I'll just add that the meads which taught me what excessive nutrients taste like were over pitched short BOMMs with Go-Ferm at hydration and Fermaid-O for the staggered additions. Since shifting to TANG, which is essentially TOSNA 3.0 with close attention to pitch rate and associated Go-Ferm, my meads have vastly improved in flavor. Clean, with no umami nastiness at all.

Thanks for the input, about what strength is short 7ish? The batches are about 10 and 15% I'm going to try it anyway since knowing what over pitched nutrients tastes like might help me with future troubleshooting

 

[DBhomebrew]

Thanks for the input, about what strength is short 7ish? The batches are about 10 and 15% I'm going to try it anyway since knowing what over pitched nutrients tastes like might help me with future troubleshooting

I followed Bray's Fidnemed recipe swapping a sleepy time tea from the grocery for the Fidnemed itself. Then a mint tea version. Finally, a trad with no tea at all. All using Bray's base recipe. They all had that same weird umami aftertaste.

Edit: Actually, at some point I switched to K1V instead of Bray's 1388. That's when the over-pitch with the associated Go-Ferm comes into play. But even those earlier 1388 BOMMs with the nutrients as called for in the recipe left that aftertaste. All the best to Bray, but I've found my meads to be more enjoyable once I switched to TANG and K1V.

 

[Miraculix]

I'll try to do this next week only with mead instead of water, I've got a couple batches that need bottling so I'll put a little in a canning jar and add the fermaid-O to that

That's the spirit! Please make sure to let us know about the outcome!