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?
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?