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A little green mold in primary

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Earthson

NewBee
Registered Member
Hello,

I'm a total noob to mead, and barely a novice with beer (been brewing beer for about 6 months). Sorry for this long post, but it I've read that DETAILS make all the difference.

Anyway, I just siphoned my 2nd batch of mead out of the plastic pail today (after about 25 days). There was the typical white yeasty stuff on the surface, and covering a few lemon segments. No big deal. But, there was also an ugly little spot (size of a quarter...maybe bigger) of green mold floating on the surface. - no, I don't have a photo, 'cause I panicked and immediately siphoned it into the glass carboy :rolleyes: - as if the extra 30 seconds would have made a difference. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I had read somewhere in the forums that the mead can be saved by siphoning from the bottom, and leaving a little extra mead in the pail. I also read that it should be fine as long as it tastes ok. It tasted fine and I see no evidence in the carboy of any spoilage.

So, anything I need to do, or is it just a waiting game?

____________________

I should also mention that THIS batch was piggybacked on the previous one I did, so as to re-use the Wyeast Sweet Mead yeast. Not sure if it makes a difference, but I'll give a brief description of each batch.

1st batch: Melomel
4 gal spring water
14 Lbs clover honey (raw, creamed)
2 Lbs mixed frozen fruit - raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry
3 large oranges - segments
2 lemons - zest removed then chopped into segments
20-ish raisins
1 cup tea

-heated honey in jars until almost liquid
-boiled water and turned off
-added honey
-added fruit/zest, let sit in heat for 5 minutes
-poured off into plastic primary, through a net to collect fruit
-added yeast

*didn't take any readings...I know...:rolleyes:...rookie mistake...

- it sat for 3 weeks, and then I transferred to carboy.

2nd Batch: Regular old mead
4 gallons spring water
17 Lbs liquid raw clover honey
3 lemons
1 cup tea

-same steps as before, and then poured into onto the remains of the last batch. This works great for beer, but I'm questioning the idea with mead. 25 days later, transferred to carboy, and the mold issue popped up. It that just too long to have the fruit sit in the pail? Any advice would be welcome!

Ryan

_________

By the way, I snuck a little taste today of the 1st batch (approx 6 weeks old). OH MY GOD! I'm in heaven! :eek: I'm not sure if it'll last to maturity! Patience was never my strong suit.
 

wayneb

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Now is the time for Campden (aka metabisulphite). To ensure that the mold doesn't start growing again (and even if you were perfect about siphoning, some mold spores may have come along for the ride), you will want to bring the free SO2 level up to between 50 and 75 ppm (mg/litre). For an "average" mead pH of 3.5, that would take adding about 2 grams of metabisulphite to a 5 US gallon (19 litre) batch. Since each "standard" campden tablet supplies about 0.44 grams of metabisulphite, you'll need to crush and dissolve about 4.5 tablets to get that much free SO2 added to your must. If your total volume differs from the 19 litres, you can calculate the ratio of campden for your must volume relative to that 19 litre standard.
 

wayneb

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
If fermentation is proceeding at a healthy pace, 50 ppm will not phase the yeast. SO2 only works to prevent re-starts in yeast that have already mostly gone dormant. It doesn't stop a vigorous fermentation, although that is a common misconception.

Even if fermentation were to stop (from added sulphites or from other causes), making sure that the mold doesn't get a foothold in your must is of paramount importance at this point, and we can work to re-start fermentation later if necessary.
 

Earthson

NewBee
Registered Member
Thank you for the helpful info!

So, I'll just crush and dissolve in some boiling water and add it to the must. Just pour it in? Or do I need to stir it up?

Should I do the same with the 1st Batch as well, even though it showed no signs of mold?
 

akueck

Certified Mead Mentor
Certified Mead Mentor
Jun 26, 2006
4,958
11
0
Ithaca, NY
Don't boil it, you can pre-dissolve it in some cool water (preboiled if you like) or stir it in gently.

Is batch 1 done? If it's not broke, don't fix it. If it gives you peace of mind, however, you can dose both batches.
 

meadiac

NewBee
Registered Member
i'm a newb, only done 4 batches and most are still aging! but i've read, studied enough to have a good idea of what i'm doing. so far all of my meads taste good, even at an early stage. my question to you is this:

why do 5 gallons when you're a beginner mead maker? no judgments here; just curious. perhaps you should do one gallon batches until you have it under control a bit. much cheaper on mistakes! i MAY go to 3 gallon batches next since i own two better-bottle carboys, still experimenting here! keep logs of what you did for each batch, it helps in the future! anyway good luck to you!

now sipping an excellent and YOUNG joe's grape pyment.
 

Earthson

NewBee
Registered Member
why do 5 gallons when you're a beginner mead maker? no judgments here; just curious. perhaps you should do one gallon batches until you have it under control a bit. much cheaper on mistakes!

The answer is simple: GREED! >:D

I thought about it forever before I got started. And, I just couldn't imagine waiting all that time just to have a gallon. Haha - just greed. Well, plus I had the carboys already, but no gallon jugs.
 

Medsen Fey

Fuselier since 2007
Premium Patron
why do 5 gallons when you're a beginner mead maker? no judgments here; just curious. perhaps you should do one gallon batches until you have it under control a bit.

There is nothing more frustrating in mead making than to produce a batch that turn out to be exceptional only to look and see that you only have 3 bottles of it! Even as a noob, I figured some of my batches would turn out good just through sheer luck, and when then did, I wanted to have some to enjoy and share. I can accept some failures (even though costly), but truly I can count the batches I've had to toss on one hand. The ones that have turned out to be mediocre are either getting more aging or have found their way into blends that turn out to be better than the mead by itself.

Bigger is better! :)

And Earthson, were you swirling the mead each day? Typically if you do so, it washes any developing mold cells on the fruit surface into the acidic, alcohol bath and kills them.

Is your fermentation finished? Can you give us a gravity reading? I ask because a stuck fermentation is more likely to develop a spoilage organism.

Also, whenever you reuse yeast the risk of contamination is somewhat higher.
 

PitBull

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 25, 2009
640
4
0
Pittsburgh, PA
why do 5 gallons when you're a beginner mead maker? no judgments here; just curious. perhaps you should do one gallon batches until you have it under control a bit. much cheaper on mistakes!

now sipping an excellent and YOUNG joe's grape pyment.
Another reason is to build up your "inventory". Some take longer to age than others. I have a dry mead that is really starting to get tasty at 8 months. I've sampled it every couple of months, so if I had only done a gallon, it would be gone before hitting its flavor peak.

It's so tempting to sample you first meads often, but it's easier to be "patient" when you have a couple of dozen bottles of several types of mead to start with.
 

Earthson

NewBee
Registered Member
And Earthson, were you swirling the mead each day? Typically if you do so, it washes any developing mold cells on the fruit surface into the acidic, alcohol bath and kills them.

Is your fermentation finished? Can you give us a gravity reading? I ask because a stuck fermentation is more likely to develop a spoilage organism.

No, I was not swirling it AT ALL. Aerated it well at the start and then just left it all alone (except for a few times when I opened the lid to see how it was doing).

I will take a reading tonight and get back to you.
 

Earthson

NewBee
Registered Member
Ok, here are the readings/info:

1st batch: 6 weeks old melomel
- Gravity 1.018
- Airlock empty of any sign of bubbles
- No bubble appear to be rising in must
- A few big bubbles on surface




2nd batch: 26-ish days old
- Gravity 1.070
- Airlock full of bubbles
- Massive amounts of bubbles rising through the must
*with those readings it seems like it had hardly fermented at all before, but it appears to be fully active now





Thanks,

Ryan
 
Last edited:

AToE

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 8, 2009
4,066
3
0
Calgary AB Canada
Looks like you need to track down a 5 gallon carboy for that first one, get rid of that airspace - especially as it's already had contamination issues. Beautiful colour on that one by the way.
 

Medsen Fey

Fuselier since 2007
Premium Patron
Earthson, you need to get rid of that headspace in your melomel or you may develop problems with it. That is way too much, and could allow spoilage organism to take hold.

As for your second batch, you've gone from somewhere around 1.110 to 1.070 in a month - something is not right. That is very slow. Which yeast are you using? Are you able to check the pH? Did you ever give it any nutrients?

The aeration from the racking may have helped it get going faster, but I'd still be concerned that this is going to stick.

Medsen
 

Earthson

NewBee
Registered Member
Earthson, you need to get rid of that headspace in your melomel or you may develop problems with it. That is way too much, and could allow spoilage organism to take hold.

Thanks for the tip. I have siphoned it into a smaller carboy. It is right at the neck now.

As for your second batch, you've gone from somewhere around 1.110 to 1.070 in a month - something is not right. That is very slow. Which yeast are you using? Are you able to check the pH? Did you ever give it any nutrients?

The aeration from the racking may have helped it get going faster, but I'd still be concerned that this is going to stick.

Medsen

- I'm using Wyeast Sweet Mead - and yes, I've read all about it being a tricky yeast that may stick. :(
- I did not give it nutrients, but I do have a little package. Maybe you can help with the instructions. It is a 50g bag. It says to add 30ml per 23Litres. I know 1ml=1g when dealing with liquid...but what is the deal with powder?
- What about yeast energizer? Should I be adding that as well?
- I've never checked PH before...can you buy little litmus sticks at the LHBS?

Thanks,

Ryan
 
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