Yeast versus sweetness

[Bains999]

I need some advice on yeast versus sweetness.

My experience is limited but I have researched and read a variety of materials. At this point I am definitely confused…

I am planning a mead with an OG of 1.12. I want the finished product to be slightly sweet.

If I use Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast the literature says it is good to about 14% ABV and then attenuation will have the yeast die out. The remaining must will then be slightly sweet.

If I use Lalvin EC-1118 yeast the literature says it is good to about 18% before attenuation. The result would be a mead that is essentially fairly dry which is not what I want.

My supplier says to use the EC-1118, let it ferment and then back sweeten it. From what I read there is always the possibility of restarting the fermentation and adding additional honey may affect the underlying flavor profile.


So, I am looking for advice – select the yeast that I know will attenuate prior to full fermentation or have full fermentation and back sweeten.

 

[Maylar]

It's your choice really. If you ferment dry with EC-1118 you would normally stabilize the mead with potassium sorbate to prevent renewed fermentation before sweetening. People do this all the time. And you're right that adding unfermented honey for sweetener is a different taste than residual partly fermented honey.

The published alcohol limits of yeast are just guidelines. It's possible for 71B in a well managed ferment to exceed 14% and leave the mead dry. But from where you are I think I'd go that route.

Good luck with your mead.

 

[bernardsmith]

Attenuation is a brewer's metric. Wine yeasts attenuate 100 percent. You are not dealing with sugars that are not fermentable. Some wine makers play Russian Roulette and make sure their wines have so much added sugar that they cannot (typically) fully ferment - The amount of alcohol in their wine kills the yeast - but they need to do that by adding additional sugars as the yeast works through each batch of sugar - otherwise the yeast will die because of concentration of sugar will be such that the yeast cells will be unable to shunt the sugar solution through their cell walls. But since you have no way of knowing precisely at what point even the most virile yeast cells will be killed from alcohol poisoning you have no good way of determining the final ABV of the wine or mead... If that is OK for you then OK... Most wine makers I think determine their starting gravity and use that as the basis for the total ABV and so they may/may not backsweeten their wines once there is no more sugar for the yeast to ferment and they have then stabilized their wine to prevent any yeast from fermenting the sugars they have added to sweeten the wine. Those wine makers are far more in control of both the ABV and the sweetness of their wines.