The fermation is really stuck, what shall I do?

Hi Peter

Start by describing the recipe more.
What was the process? How did you rehydrate? Any gravity reading? any pH readings? Aereate? Degassing?

About why has it stopped its probably either (or both)
A) the nutrients you added are not enough. You should have used 12.5 grams GoFerm and around 8 grams of Fermaid K. Too little nutrients in the must will make the yeast stop fermenting.

B) The pommegranate juice might have lowered the pH too much. 1.5 grams of calcium carbonate is nowhere enough to buffer against 5 liters of juice. I dont know the acidity of said juice so i cant be sure there is a pH issue. But next time use 0.5 grams per liter (of must) of POTASSIUM carbonate (much better than calcium for mead) to buffer. That being said, normally you dont need to buffer but using juices its better to measure pH and if its too low, use the buffer.

About why didnt ec1118 restart fermentation: You cant pitch a yeast directly into a must with that ABV (around 9%), the yeast will die. Also the must was still lacking nutrients.

How to restart the fermentation: http://www.scottlab.com/pdf/ScottlabsHandbook2016.pdf
Follow instruction on pages 28-29 of the book and steps 3-12 (Ignore steps 1 and 2).

Have your read this recent thread?

http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php/26788-Stalled-D-47-fermentation

Hi Peter - to restart a stalled fermentation you want to turn your normal procedure on its head because if there is a problem in the must rather than a problem with the yeast then simply adding more yeast will not solve the problem. Dadux's post suggests some possible issues to look for and resolve but here's what I would do

1. Make a starter with say, 1 cup or so of sugar water (could be apple juice) with an SG of about 1.040 or so.
2. Pitch the yeast (follow guidelines for rehydration).
3. When the yeast is clearly actively fermenting in this starter add the same volume (1 cup) from the stalled batch.
4. Allow this time to begin actively fermenting.
5. If this is now actively fermenting then add the same volume (now 2 cups) from the stalled batch and allow this time to begin actively fermenting.
6. Repeat this , doubling the volume of the starter until all the stalled batch is now in the starter batch.

In the future use staggered nutrient addition and monitor temps

aenima said:

Hi again!
I will add more calcium carbonate, GoFerm and Fermain K to the must and add a package of QA23 and EC1118 and see if the gravity drops. Otherwise I think the mead will do as it is actually. I really do not get that sweet impression a 1,050 final gravity would. I guess Dadux is right about the pH. WIll need to invest in pH messure stuff I guess.
/Peter

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Dont add GoFerm to the must. Its a rehydration nutrient. Will do little good added to the must like that. Use it to rehydrate a packet of ec-1118.

If you dont wany to complicate it and wish to leave it as is, consider fortifying it with high proof alcohol to reach your desired abv.

pH strips are very cheap and easy to use. You can grab em at amazon or in a lhbs.

Dadux said:

Dont add GoFerm to the must. Its a rehydration nutrient. Will do little good added to the must like that. Use it to rehydrate a packet of ec-1118.

If you dont wany to complicate it and wish to leave it as is, consider fortifying it with high proof alcohol to reach your desired abv.

pH strips are very cheap and easy to use. You can grab em at amazon or in a lhbs.

Click to expand...

Actually, I wouldn't suggest adding anything blindly. Adding anything your must does not need might be detrimental either to taste or to it's ability to naturally fight off spoilage organisms. You will also learn nothing by doing stuff blindly and if this ever happens again you will be in the same spot. A digital ph meter is actually very cheap. A quick search on ebay and the yellow one I'm using is less than $8.
Oh, and careful bottling this mead as it is since there is a good chance that the ferment will restart and pop corks spurting mead everywhere champagne-style or maybe even cause bottle bombs