This was my first mead attempt, although I've been brewing beer for years with great results. I had not found this site when I made this batch.
Recipe and process:
I used the AHA Mead Day recipe, "Starrlight Mulled Apple Cyser." Made this 10/14/07.
Recipe called for:
16 lbs Wildflower Honey
5 gal Apple Cider* – no preservatives, sulfites
4 Tbsp Cinnamon, ground
1 Tbsp Clove, ground
2 Tbsp Allspice, ground
2 Tbsp Nutmeg, ground
2 Tbsp Orange peel, dried
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient (DAP – diammonium phosphate)
10 g (2 packages) Lalvin Narbonne Yeast (71B-1122)
I warmed 1 gallon of the cider on the stove, mulled the spices, and then added it to the fermenter. I added the honey, then the cider. I used unpasteurized cider from a local cider mill, no preservatives, and "field honey" from a local farmer a couple of miles from where I live. Before checking the temp of the must, I rehydrated the yeast in water, no additives, 105 F. I then discovered that the must was way too warm to pitch to - around 100 F. By the time it occurred to me that I should use my immersion chiller to bring the temp down, and got it sanitized, and chilled it down, probably 70-90 minutes had elapsed from when I first added the yeast to the water - contrary to directions to get it into the must within 30 minutes.
I did not have the DAP. I added Wyeast Yeast Nutrient, dissolved in warm water, instead, 2 tsp, added and stirred into the must before pitching.
I used a plastic fermenter, which was new for me since I ferment beer in glass carboys. I took a regular plastic lid and cut a hole in it. (LHBS did not have any lids to go with their fermenters). So I never got a good seal, so my airlock never really bubbled, so I could never tell how well the fermentation was going.
OG was 1.136 (well above the predicted 1.120 stated in the recipe notes).
The fermentation got going fairly strongly initially, judging from the krausen (or whatever y'all call it in mead) at the top.
I added 2 tsp of ID Carlson "yeast energizer" (urea) at day 3.
After two weeks, I was so frustrated with the failure of my attempts to seal the fermenter that I decided to stir it all up and rack it to a glass carboy so I could see what was going on. At that point the gravity was 1.046.
I got one bubble every 40 sec initially after this racking. Within a couple of days, it had slowed to one per 90 sec.
After 2 more weeks, it's going at the rate of 1 bubble every 2 minutes. pH testing at this point comes out at 4.2 - 4.4.
Today, I decided to rack to secondary, figuring that it's not going anywhere, and checked the gravity again - 1.044, so down 2 points in two weeks, and getting slower every day. After racking, I decided to start doing some serious research and found this site. (Duh)
Anyway, it's a lot sweeter and viscous than I'd like. The original recipe stated 1.014 as the FG. I started 16 points higher than the recipe called for and finished 30 points higher.
I'd like to dry it out a bit more - maybe down to 1.020 to 1.030.
My questions:
- What are the relative merits/drawbacks to leaving it at this level? I'm reacting partly to the recipe goal of going down to 1.014, a drop of 106 points from start to finish. 106 from where I started would be 1.030. I'm at 1.044.
- Is it too late to add nutrient to try to get this going again? More Wine's site says that Fermaid or DAP additions at this point are not a good idea for a stuck fermentation since the yeast may not be able to metabolize the nitrogen and it may leave off tastes. They suggest yeast hulls. But I'm pretty sure it was the lack of good nutrient that caused the problem to begin with.
- I'm thinking I should do a starter (the right way, using Go-ferm) with the same yeast, when it peaks, dump it in a fermenter, add equal amount of must, and then either 1) gradually keep adding must over time, or 2) pitch the whole thing into the stuck must. Any opinions on which is a better method?
- If I do add the starter as stated above, should I also add Fermaid? Or yeast hulls? Or DAP? Or some combination?
- Have I totally screwed myself by draining the mead off the lees? I'm thinking that since I did this I better add a starter, since I've probably depopulated the yeast that might otherwise have revived from other strategies.
Recipe and process:
I used the AHA Mead Day recipe, "Starrlight Mulled Apple Cyser." Made this 10/14/07.
Recipe called for:
16 lbs Wildflower Honey
5 gal Apple Cider* – no preservatives, sulfites
4 Tbsp Cinnamon, ground
1 Tbsp Clove, ground
2 Tbsp Allspice, ground
2 Tbsp Nutmeg, ground
2 Tbsp Orange peel, dried
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient (DAP – diammonium phosphate)
10 g (2 packages) Lalvin Narbonne Yeast (71B-1122)
I warmed 1 gallon of the cider on the stove, mulled the spices, and then added it to the fermenter. I added the honey, then the cider. I used unpasteurized cider from a local cider mill, no preservatives, and "field honey" from a local farmer a couple of miles from where I live. Before checking the temp of the must, I rehydrated the yeast in water, no additives, 105 F. I then discovered that the must was way too warm to pitch to - around 100 F. By the time it occurred to me that I should use my immersion chiller to bring the temp down, and got it sanitized, and chilled it down, probably 70-90 minutes had elapsed from when I first added the yeast to the water - contrary to directions to get it into the must within 30 minutes.
I did not have the DAP. I added Wyeast Yeast Nutrient, dissolved in warm water, instead, 2 tsp, added and stirred into the must before pitching.
I used a plastic fermenter, which was new for me since I ferment beer in glass carboys. I took a regular plastic lid and cut a hole in it. (LHBS did not have any lids to go with their fermenters). So I never got a good seal, so my airlock never really bubbled, so I could never tell how well the fermentation was going.
OG was 1.136 (well above the predicted 1.120 stated in the recipe notes).
The fermentation got going fairly strongly initially, judging from the krausen (or whatever y'all call it in mead) at the top.
I added 2 tsp of ID Carlson "yeast energizer" (urea) at day 3.
After two weeks, I was so frustrated with the failure of my attempts to seal the fermenter that I decided to stir it all up and rack it to a glass carboy so I could see what was going on. At that point the gravity was 1.046.
I got one bubble every 40 sec initially after this racking. Within a couple of days, it had slowed to one per 90 sec.
After 2 more weeks, it's going at the rate of 1 bubble every 2 minutes. pH testing at this point comes out at 4.2 - 4.4.
Today, I decided to rack to secondary, figuring that it's not going anywhere, and checked the gravity again - 1.044, so down 2 points in two weeks, and getting slower every day. After racking, I decided to start doing some serious research and found this site. (Duh)
Anyway, it's a lot sweeter and viscous than I'd like. The original recipe stated 1.014 as the FG. I started 16 points higher than the recipe called for and finished 30 points higher.
I'd like to dry it out a bit more - maybe down to 1.020 to 1.030.
My questions:
- What are the relative merits/drawbacks to leaving it at this level? I'm reacting partly to the recipe goal of going down to 1.014, a drop of 106 points from start to finish. 106 from where I started would be 1.030. I'm at 1.044.
- Is it too late to add nutrient to try to get this going again? More Wine's site says that Fermaid or DAP additions at this point are not a good idea for a stuck fermentation since the yeast may not be able to metabolize the nitrogen and it may leave off tastes. They suggest yeast hulls. But I'm pretty sure it was the lack of good nutrient that caused the problem to begin with.
- I'm thinking I should do a starter (the right way, using Go-ferm) with the same yeast, when it peaks, dump it in a fermenter, add equal amount of must, and then either 1) gradually keep adding must over time, or 2) pitch the whole thing into the stuck must. Any opinions on which is a better method?
- If I do add the starter as stated above, should I also add Fermaid? Or yeast hulls? Or DAP? Or some combination?
- Have I totally screwed myself by draining the mead off the lees? I'm thinking that since I did this I better add a starter, since I've probably depopulated the yeast that might otherwise have revived from other strategies.