First time mead, airlock no bubbling after3 days - should i be worried

[TumorToast]

Hey all!

I have joined the horde of mead making.

So! first and foremost here is the recipe i am using;

1. 1 gallon springwater
2. 30 raisins
3. 1 cinnamon stick
4. 3.5 Lbs of raw unpasteurized wildflower honey.
5. 4184 Wyest Cider & mead yeast.

And these are the steps i took when i made the mead starting at Wednesday September 6th. around 8pm EST .

• "smacked" the yeast package and left for 3 hours (until it started to "puff" up)
• Sterilized EVERYTHING - this includes all tools used (using 2 tbp of non scented bleach in 2 gallons of water for 15 minutes)
• Rinsed everything for about 25 minutes
• mixed the honey and .5 gallons of water in a 2 gallon pale until honey was dissolved into water.
• added the rest of the water, raisins and the cinnamon stick.
• added the yeast, stirred it in a bit and sealed up the pale.
• Every 12 hours i stirred for aeration until 48 hours have passed.

As i am quite sick with a cold (first day), I do not want to open it up at this point, as 1. i cant smell anything anyway and 2. i do not want to contaminate it.

in short should i be worried?

[darigoni]

Do you have a hydrometer?

When you stir it, are you getting any foam (off gassing)?

Those 2 gallon pails are notorious for not sealing properly. So the CO2 may be escaping around the seal. No way to really know unless you are using a hydrometer.

If you GENTLY push down on the lid of the pail does the liquid the level of the air-lock change? If so, you probably don't have a gross leak, but it could still not be air tight.

I haven't heard vary many good things about 4184, but have never used it. If you are not getting any fermentation in another day or two you may want to go to your local home brew store and pick up a pack of EC1118 or K1V-1116, which are more aggressive yeasts, and re-pitch.

[TumorToast]

Do you have a hydrometer? Currently in the mail. approx wait time is a week or so

When you stir it, are you getting any foam (off gassing)? I had my SO do this, there is no foam, but when i stir it the liquid became more opaque with a white er look

Those 2 gallon pails are notorious for not sealing properly. So the CO2 may be escaping around the seal. No way to really know unless you are using a hydrometer. I had heard the same, so ive been using truck tape to seal the lid

If you GENTLY push down on the lid of the pail does the liquid the level of the air-lock change? If so, you probably don't have a gross leak, but it could still not be air tight. when i push down about 1-2mm the water in the airlock moves ALOT

I haven't heard vary many good things about 4184, but have never used it. If you are not getting any fermentation in another day or two you may want to go to your local home brew store and pick up a pack of EC1118 or K1V-1116, which are more aggressive yeasts, and re-pitch. yeah, i hadnt heard anything GOOD about but not bad at the same time, i wanted it as it was a sweet mead yeast, ill wait till monday and check back on it.

My answers are above, also there isnt a bad smell so far (just smells like honey)

[Squatchy]

Raisins are not nutrients. You should feed your yeast once it gets started.

[TumorToast]

Raisins are not nutrients. You should feed your yeast once it gets started.

Any particular brand you would recommend?

[TumorToast]

Do you have a hydrometer?

When you stir it, are you getting any foam (off gassing)?

Those 2 gallon pails are notorious for not sealing properly. So the CO2 may be escaping around the seal. No way to really know unless you are using a hydrometer.

If you GENTLY push down on the lid of the pail does the liquid the level of the air-lock change? If so, you probably don't have a gross leak, but it could still not be air tight.

I haven't heard vary many good things about 4184, but have never used it. If you are not getting any fermentation in another day or two you may want to go to your local home brew store and pick up a pack of EC1118 or K1V-1116, which are more aggressive yeasts, and re-pitch.

ok, odd, my reply before didnt post.
My hydrometer is a week away.
As of right now, my SO told me that when she stirred it, the liquid became more opaque(closer to white then yellow),
I had heard they leak a bit, so im using truck tape to seal the lid better.
When i push down 1-2mm the water in the airlock does move quite a bit.
if i dont see any change on monday ill get that yeast.

[darigoni]

Fermaid O.

Fermaid K.

Wyeast Beer/ Wine nutrient.

Or, in a pinch, you can boil some bread yeast (not sure of the amount). Yeast are cannibalistic.

[TumorToast]

Fermaid O.

Fermaid K.

Wyeast Beer/ Wine nutrient.

Or, in a pinch, you can boil some bread yeast (not sure of the amount). Yeast are cannibalistic.

well i am leaving for the weekend in a hour, and i do have bread yeast, so i just boil water, throw in yeast stir and dump?

[darigoni]

From a previous post by Squatchy:

"Add two packs of bread yeast to 1/2 a cup of boiling water. Once it cools. Add to your must. Do this for the first 5 days."


A pack of bread yeast is 1/4 oz or 21 grams or 2.25 tsps.

[TumorToast]

From a previous post by Squatchy:

"Add two packs of bread yeast to 1/2 a cup of boiling water. Once it cools. Add to your must. Do this for the first 5 days."


A pack of bread yeast is 1/4 oz or 21 grams or 2.25 tsps.

Awesome!, and answers to your questions are currently in mod lock heaven

[TumorToast]

Hey All!

As a update, on Wednesday i put in 10g of Fermaid O, and A package of Red Star Permier Blanc, and as of this morning, shes bubbling like something i won't mention here!

I also did find out where the leak was on the pale, and rectified that today.

Thanks a ton for your help guys! Now for the 5 gallon batch

[Squatchy]

Hey All!

As a update, on Wednesday i put in 10g of Fermaid O, and A package of Red Star Permier Blanc, and as of this morning, shes bubbling like something i won't mention here!

I also did find out where the leak was on the pale, and rectified that today.

Thanks a ton for your help guys! Now for the 5 gallon batch

Hi

I would strongly suggest learning how to make a mead from front to back before you get started. It's not any harder to make good mead as it is to make crap. You just need to know more. Go check out the recent podcast I started a few weeks ago and listen to all the shows in order. Then make a plan and ask on here for verification.

[koniowsky717]

old post, but i might as well ask this here. Probably a silly question, but when adding fermaid k during primary, im seeing to add 1g/gal, so 5grams for 5gal. when i add this, do just drop the stuff in? or do i stir it in.. cant find the answer anywhere lol

[Squatchy]

Degass first. Add your food into a glass with warm water. Stir until dissolved, add some cool water and then pour it in

[koniowsky717]

Degass first. Add your food into a glass with warm water. Stir until dissolved, add some cool water and then pour it in

now, im seeing different ways of doing this.. I just watched a youtube video where the guy poured the power in then stired. i red in a meadmaking book to stir and then just dump the power in. Is there a correct way of doing this, or will any of these work?

[darigoni]

They will all work. Dumping your nutrient in and then stirring can cause an overflow condition/eruption. Stirring/degassing and adding the nutrient to a glass of warm water first, should keep this from happening.

[koniowsky717]

They will all work. Dumping your nutrient in and then stirring can cause an overflow condition/eruption. Stirring/degassing and adding the nutrient to a glass of warm water first, should keep this from happening.

what if i stirred then just dumped the powder in? do i have to stir again?

[darigoni]

Just stir/degass and, before you get finished, dump the powder in, while you are finishing with your stirring/degassing. The whole idea of stirring is to degass the must and to keep the yeast in suspension.

A good video. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, make sure you at least watch several minutes starting around the 18 minute mark. You can see an example of degassing.

https://youtu.be/U1gJmPsaSFE

[Squatchy]

Why do you ask for help, and then come back and want to change things up? ITunes is full of idiots that know just a half page more than you do and think there are experts. The reason I gave for your answer was so you don't find half your mead on the floor from a spill over

[koniowsky717]

Why do you ask for help, and then come back and want to change things up? ITunes is full of idiots that know just a half page more than you do and think there are experts. The reason I gave for your answer was so you don't find half your mead on the floor from a spill over

lol take it easy man, im new at this. I work in IT, I do alot of research and like to know many different ways of doing something to make it work. I dont want to add more water to my must. So i took yours and your advice and darigoni's and dug deeper. Found out i can sterilize a cup and mix the food with must and dump it back while stirring. You cant stop responding if your annoyed with me being thorough