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Secondary fermenter question

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Solomon

NewBee
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May 8, 2013
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I started a mead about 11 weeks ago. 15 lbs of honey for a 5-gallon batch. Used Wyeast's Sweet Mead yeast with a starter. Heated water to disolve the honey. Added Fermaid K (5 grams at the beginning). Degassed a few times in the first couple of weeks by stirring vigorously and added a few more grams of Fermaid in the 6.5-gallon bucket. I never saw any activity in the airlock, but hydrometer readings indicated we got to 8% alcohol-definitely saw the gravity drop, but I can't remember OG and can't find my notes.
After five weeks we moved it to a 5-gallon glass carboy and it went crazy, actually overflowing through the air lock. It calmed down significantly after five days, but there have been bubbles coming from the mead ever since it was moved to the carboy. I haven't been brave enough to take another reading since it's still bubbling, and I'm not sure if this bubbling is even fermentation. Since we're coming up on six weeks in the secondary on Sunday, I wasn't sure what I should do. Has this happened to anyone else? Any advice or explanation? Thanks!
 
Kansas Mead

Kansas Mead

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Mar 9, 2012
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I have had mead that bubbled after racking but only for a few days. Since your last reading was 8% alcohol, it looks like it is at the 1/2 sugar break.

If this happen to me. I would slowly stir the mead and watch for bubbles. I would continue stirring to the point in which no bubbles appeared. Then add a few grams of Fermaid K to get the yeast fermenting again. Then check the air lock for bubbles every day. If after a week of no bubbles or signs of fermentation. I would then add about 10 grams of yeast along with some Fermaid K.

Hope this helps.
 
fatbloke

fatbloke

good egg/snappy dresser.....
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Feb 3, 2008
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Kansas Mead said:
I have had mead that bubbled after racking but only for a few days. Since your last reading was 8% alcohol, it looks like it is at the 1/2 sugar break.

If this happen to me. I would slowly stir the mead and watch for bubbles. I would continue stirring to the point in which no bubbles appeared. Then add a few grams of Fermaid K to get the yeast fermenting again. Then check the air lock for bubbles every day. If after a week of no bubbles or signs of fermentation. I would then add about 10 grams of yeast along with some Fermaid K.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
You're working on an incorrect premis......

White labs sweet meead is indeed tolerant to 15% but the OP says it was Wyeast Sweet Mead is only tolerant to 11% ABV so its 3/4s of the way through.

Hence no point in adding Fermaidk as its inorganic nitrogen. Either FermaidO if available or some boiled bread yeast or yeast hulls gently stirred in may help it finish quicker.

I'm guessing that the stirring/racking just stirred up enough to produce the nucleation points to generate the bubbles/foam.

How quickly this batch may finish depends on the extra nutrition, how much of the yeast colony was left behind when you racked and what the pH is, as if its quite low/close to 3.0 pH then it may also be slow.
 
Medsen Fey

Medsen Fey

Fuselier since 2007
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May 23, 2007
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Solomon said:
Has this happened to anyone else? Any advice or explanation? Thanks!
Click to expand...

How do you know there is 8% ABV if you didn't check the OG?

Your fermentation is slow and sluggish - a healthy fermentation of this strength should be complete within 3 weeks. This may be partly due to this yeast strain, which tends to be finicky, but also due to the fact that it has been undernourished. Using 5 grams of Fermaid K isn't enough for 1 gallon, much less 5. Also, you don't want to wait for fermentation to stall and then try to add nutrients. You want to get them in during the first half of fermentation when they can be the most effective.

If you take a gravity reading now, perhaps folks can help you get this batch done.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
Kansas Mead

Kansas Mead

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Mar 9, 2012
115
1
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Kansas
fatbloke said:
You're working on an incorrect premis......

White labs sweet meead is indeed tolerant to 15% but the OP says it was Wyeast Sweet Mead is only tolerant to 11% ABV so its 3/4s of the way through.

Hence no point in adding Fermaidk as its inorganic nitrogen. Either FermaidO if available or some boiled bread yeast or yeast hulls gently stirred in may help it finish quicker.

I'm guessing that the stirring/racking just stirred up enough to produce the nucleation points to generate the bubbles/foam.

How quickly this batch may finish depends on the extra nutrition, how much of the yeast colony was left behind when you racked and what the pH is, as if its quite low/close to 3.0 pH then it may also be slow.
Click to expand...

Thanks for correcting my error.
 
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