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Killing off the yeast question

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1eightdevils

NewBee
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Apr 2, 2013
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Hi everyone,

I back sweetened my five gallon mead on the 20th of this month, which the sg went from 1.000 to 1.020. As I thought the yeast started to eat up all the new honey again. I am going to wait and sweeten again but this time I want to kill off the yeast. I was wondering what the best chemicals to use that wont change the taste of the mead. Also what the best method of adding them to the batch would be.
Thanks
 
fatbloke

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1eightdevils said:
Thanks, but what would you suggest if you dont have the means of cold crashing a 5 gallon carboy.
Click to expand...
You let the ferment finish completely, so its fermented dry. Then its racked off the sediment onto the sulphites and sorbate to stabilise it. Then it can be back sweetened to the desired level.

The cold crashing is only necessary to try and kill off the yeast to stop a ferment - its a rather imprecise method - to leave residual sugars.
 
Chevette Girl

Chevette Girl

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Apr 27, 2010
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Yeah, you want to add your stabilizing chemicals before you backsweeten, otherwise, well, you know what happens because that's what your batch is doing. If you've got more honey, let this go dry and start to clear if it's not already clear, rack and stabilize it, then try backsweetening again.

I've also just kept sweetening it to where I want and letting it get eaten until it finally stays where I want it, but this could take a while and a lot of honey and also boost your alcohol concentration beyond where you wanted it, the higher the alcohol content, the longer it usually takes to be drinkable.
 
S

Swordnut

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Mar 26, 2013
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Cold crashing as close to freezing point but not freezing as you can for a week will stop a fermentation dead in its tracks. However a lot of strains wont die and the moment you add new stuff to it it'll start up within 24 hours again.

I once cold crashed an apple cider for a week before backsweetening it with sugar then cold crashed it for another week before setting it aside to age. Within 24 hours the yeast were fermenting again so, cold crashing alone will not kill yeast. Only when you've fermented until dry you could use cold only to clear up your mead and store it (some guys, as do I, like the no chemicals approach).

Sulphites will impart a minute taste to your mead as it does to wine. However since mead is sweet (you're backsweetening after all) it will counteract the taste far better than a wine could.

I suggest as said above; ferment until dry, cold crash for a week, rack off the lees, add sulphites, cold crash for another week.​
 
Chevette Girl

Chevette Girl

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Swordnut said:
Cold crashing as close to freezing point but not freezing as you can for a week will stop a fermentation dead in its tracks. However a lot of strains wont die and the moment you add new stuff to it it'll start up within 24 hours again.
Click to expand...

Cold crashing will not kill yeast. It just won't. It'll make them go dormant until you warm it back up... then if there's still sugar left, they'll get right back to work. As you've seen with your experiences, Swordnut.

When the yeast are cold and dormant, they don't wiggle around, so they settle out quickly and your mead will become clear, that's the big reason you cold crash, is to get as much of the yeast to settle out as possible so your chemicals have the maximum effect on the yeast cells that are left after you rack off of what's settled out. But don't ever expect that it will permanently stop fermentation, fermentation can even still happen at refrigerator temperatures, it's just really slow.
 
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