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Shockingly low attenuation with "weak" mead

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Thanks for the info! I assume it's this one:
http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php/22589-JAO-All-Natural-BOMM?highlight=natural+bomm
This thread is very much about what I'm trying to do. I guess blackcurrants would be interesting to play with too. Perhaps potassium is what I've been lacking for this particular mead.
I've also had some good experience with dried apricots in small amounts (I later realized it had sulfur dioxide but it still turned out OK).
I see that Loveofrose was also inspired by the rightly famous JAOM :D

Also, for anyone interested, this guy did a nice research on nutrients in fruit:
https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/Nutrient-fruit/
 
Loveofrose mentions something that could help me prevent future stalling in similar circumstances:
"I've been shaking this every time I walk by it. I believe that is what catalyzed the increase in fermentation. There is a major fruit cap that needs to be broken up frequently."

Copied from Gotmead.com - Read More at:http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php/22589-JAO-All-Natural-BOMM?highlight=natural+bomm

I did indeed observe a "fruit cap" but I decided to let it be, JAOM style. Perhaps JAOM methods work only for JAOM.
 
loveofrose said:
Small, yes. Also, knowledgeable and friendly!
Click to expand...

So far, I can only agree! :cool:

While we're talking about nutrients, I have a question about raw honey. Does it have more nutrients than regular honey (perhaps in the pollen, honeycomb bits, propolis, beeswax, bee parts :) )?
I ask because I could not find a definite answer while browsing forums. It's also said to contain antioxidants, which is always nice.

Do you think it helps attain a more viable fermentation? I just found some and I'm thinking about using it for a second shot at this recipe!
Even if it doesn't help regarding nutrients, just hearing about how good it is in mead makes me want to try!
 
Update 1: I decided to go ahead and redo this recipe with raw honey, put directly in primary with NO heating whatsoever. Perhaps it helps, perhaps not. I believe it will still have a good taste.
Instead of putting the raisins directly in primary, I blended them, boiled in water for a while and strained them to get some sort of raisin infusion. I steeped the tea and orange zest as before. I also added some grape juice.
In order to help with nutrients, I put more raisins and orange than last time, and also added 2 packs of baker's yeast which I boiled. I have switched from Safale S-04 to Safale US-05 (the only one I had on hand), and rehydrated it this time.
Hopefully, I won't have the same issues. I have aerated the must a LOT, and sloshed it back and forth between two buckets. Last, another change is I upped a little to OG to get a higher alcohol content.

OG: 1.058 (aiming for 1.056), pH: 4.1
I aim for an FG of 1.006 assuming an attenuation of 90%, which would make it 6.6% ABV.

I shouldn't have much issues since I tried to address every possible source of stalling.

Update 2: The 5L of the first batch I racked the other day is now fermenting... I have no idea if simply the mixing from racking restarted the fermentation, or if I infected it...
There are a few orange-y looking spots floating on top, and I can't tell right now if it's just some leftover particles with the "normal" yeast feeding on it, or if my really neglecting siphoning killed my batch. I honestly don't know. I'll see when I get back in a week. Worst case scenario, a 8.5L batch of weak mead didn't cost that much to make and I have the little brother on the way ;D.
 
Hi everyone!

So it's been a while, and here's the update:

About the first batch: I racked it three days ago, and sampled a taste: It is absolutely not infected! As I hoped, the stuff floating was leftover raisins with some yeasts growing on them. SG at racking was 1.009, so racking did help restart the fermentation somehow. Perhaps it just needed a good shake! :) This points towards an insufficient aeration at the beginning I assume. I will try to aerate my musts BEFORE pouring them into the Mr Beer from now on (if I use it). It's just not made for shaking... It was not bad, taste-wise, I'm looking forward to tasting it when it's finished fermenting.

About the second, upgraded batch: I took an SG reading the 2nd of april: 1.012 (AA of 79%, ABV 6.2%), and another one today: 0.997 (AA of 105%, ABV of 8.1%!!) I guess adding more raisins, boiled baker's yeast and grape juice did the trick to supply a healthy amount of nutrients :D . Also, changing from S-04 yeast to US-05 probably helped a great deal too! Regarding body, it is very satisfying, not too thin at all. The tea and raisins succeeded in making it just the way I wanted it.
Taste-wise, the large amount of raisins gave it a very powerful wine-like character, a little too astringent for the moment. Also, it has a bit of rocket-fuel taste that will need to mellow in time. I believe it should be pretty tasty in a few months. The tea flavor has almost disappeared, leaving behind mostly bitterness, but at a good level. Perhaps adding the tea after primary fermentation would be better to preserve the tea flavors.

A warm thank you to everyone who helped me find ways to improve/troubleshoot my mead! May your future meads be tasty.
 
Hi cayrs, a quick thought: brewers tend to aerate once - before they pitch their yeast , wine makers and mead makers tend to aerate throughout the period of active fermentation which is why many of us use buckets as our primary fermenter. I use a sanitized spoon or whisk to aerate a couple of times a day until the gravity drops to around 1.005 and then I rack my mead or wine into a carboy. The action of aerating also removed CO2 and that removal helps maintain a higher pH than might otherwise result and removes the CO2 that tends to inhibit fermentation. In addition , if you are fermenting with fruit whipping air into the primary ensures that the fruit is constantly soaked and so inhibits bacterial growth that might otherwise form on the surface...
 
Interesting... I have started aerating more thoroughly my meads now, and I am indeed considering aerating throughout the first part of fermentation.
That is complicated with demi-johns, however. And I do all my experimental meads in 5L demi-johns (that means, almost all my meads since I'm quite new eheh).

I have started swirling my meads to degas however, and it does help to soak the fruits (loveofrose mentionned that and I started doing it). No problem with that and it allows to get a good smell, too :D

Thanks for your input bernardsmith
 
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