Yeast quantity and fermentation time

I started my very first batch of mead on 6/13. I decided to start small with a natural mead recipe that only yielded a gallon. Now I got everything setup fine, the fermentation is going really nice at the moment at 1 bubble every 7-8 seconds. O.G.: 1.095, Current S.G. as of 6/18: 1.060.

I am using Red Star Cote des Blanc dry yeast. I used a full packet because I couldn't figure out how to measure out a partial packet for the amount of liquid I had. I asked my local brewing supply house about this and he said there will be no problem because once all the sugar is gone, the yeast will die and drop to the bottom and the fermentation will not take as long since I have basically 5 times the amount of yeast than I needed. Which brings me to my question. How much yeast is too much? I would assume that there would be a point where too much yeast will cause unwanted taste affect on the mead.

Thanks for any feedback.

Stan

Mead Recipe:
1 gal Pure Water
3 lbs Honey (Desert Wildflower Honey from SE New Mexico)
1 cup Strong Tea
(2 tea bags of Orange Pekoe tea/1 cup water)
1 med Lemon (Sliced)
1 1/2 tsp Ground Clove
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 5g pkg Red Star Cote des Blanc Champagne Yeast

[Norskersword]

Hi, I'm in the same boat as you and have just started my first gallon batch two months ago. When I asked for cote de blanc for my cyser, the guy at the brew shop gave me 2 packets! (enough to make 10 gallons worth) After I told him I was only making a gallon, he said "Don't worry about it. It is very hard to put too much yeast. More yeast will just make it ferment faster."

I am also curious about this though. Is it possible to add too much yeast?

[Norskersword]

By the way, your recipe says cote de blanc is a champaign yeast. Where did you hear this? I've read that it finishes medium and has a tolerance of only about 12%. If I used a champaign yeast, I would sure like to know.

I didn't read the package correctly. I is an Active Dry Wine Yeast.

This link https://secure7.nexternal.com/shared...&ProductID=314 has info about yeast and there is an answer to our question in the Q&A too.

Message me and let me know how your batch turns out.

Stan

[Jmattioli]

I have used Red Star Coes de Blancs numerous times. On the first question....one packet is fine for 1 gallon. It is not too much yeast. Fermentation with that yeast is on the slow side. Normally you could use 2 packets for 5 gallons and one for up to two to get a healthy start. The yeast will muliply, doubling approximately every 2 hours until they reach a saturation point. So you didn't start with too much yeast. You got a great start. From my experience, I believe you will see the action gradually slowing down and fermentation lasting well over 2 months to a finish. Its slow fermentation is a common complaint. Somtimes it goes even slower. I found it great when using fruits as it finishes with more of a fruity flavor than other yeasts.You can find some opinions on this yeast at

http://sca_brew.homestead.com/files/...html#Red_Cotes

Good Luck , Joe