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First batch in the works; kind of confused on what happens now (fermenting stopped?)

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Paul1114

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 30, 2012
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So after having made my first wine kit (which was incredibly fun) I decided to go for some mead. Wine kits are nice because they hold your hand all the way through, and the one I made gave me the confidence to go off the beaten path and try for some mead...

I started with the following (unfortunately I did not take an initial SG reading):

* 15lbs raw honey and enough water to make 6 gallons total mix
* Packet of Lavlin K1V-1116
* About 1.2oz of Fermax yeast nutrient

And the chain of events following:

* The mix started to ferment very quickly (few hours) and was extremely vigorous for well over a week (about a second per bubble in the airlock).
* About 3 weeks in, I racked into a glass carboy (fermentation had slowed to around 30 seconds per bubble, so I figured why not move it to a more permanent home). I did throw in some well cleaned fresh orange slices at this point (which I removed with the next racking).
* The fermentation slowed significantly in the next few days (and got down to 90-120 seconds per bubble).
* After a couple more weeks, fermentation appeared to stop ... I tried moving it to a clean carboy to remove more sediment (there was nearly an inch at the bottom) and degassing (some vapors came out, but nothing crazy, very minimal foam afterward), but nothing's happening. I can watch the airlock for 5+ minutes at a time and no bubbles.

The current SG is a flat 1.000. Temperature in the fermenting location has been about 68-73 the whole time. Is my yeast stalled, or is fermentation just complete? Is it time for clearing, or should I try to restart it somehow?
 

YogiBearMead726

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 21, 2010
1,519
3
0
San Francisco, CA
Chances are that it's pretty much done fermenting, though some batches can go down into the 0.990's range on the hydrometer. With that in mind, you should rack this over to a new carboy, leaving behind the yeast that have dropped out. Keep an eye on the gravity after you've racked it for a few weeks/months and wait for it to clear. If it is truly done fermenting, you shouldn't see any change in the gravity. Granted, yeast are an unpredictable bunch, so don't be in any rush to bottle this as they may start fermenting again after no apparent activity. Once the batch is clear, you can be relatively sure it's done.

Now that you've started down the road of mead making, you'll find that the most important ingredient is patience, and lots of it. :) Oh, and welcome to GotMead!
 
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