Fast Fermentation or is Fermentation Stopping?

Hey Caps,

We need to see your Original Gravity and current gravity to really help you out. It would also help if you could tell us what it is you're looking for in the finished product. Many times what people think they're going to get, and what they get when they modify a recipe without taking into account different factors based on the recipe formulation, can be very different than what they really want.

We're here, let us know!

Cheers,

Oskaar

Let me recommend that you don't do a pasteurization. You will lose much of the subtle aromas and flavors that make the mead special, even if you only heat to 145F. I'd instead either use a combination of sulfite and sorbate, or filtration, or several cycles of cold crashing and racking, to ensure that all the yeast are gone before you do your blueberry addition.

That said, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you get if you don't eliminate the yeast before adding the blueberries. Even fermented in secondary, they will add a significant blueberry presence. I also would not add any water, as your OG was rather low for a base mead and you don't want to dilute the mead down to the point where it won't keep well.

Re-read Oskaar's reply. We can't assess the health of a fermentation simply from bubbles in the airlock. The only reliable way to see how things are going is to check specific gravities.

And yes, low ABV meads are more susceptible to spoilage, since they don't have enough alcohol in them to make them "self-preserving," nor do they usually have bittering agents such as hops that either naturally inhibit microbial activity or take the pH down to a point too low for spoilage organisms to take hold.

caps_phisto said:

I'd rather not use chemicals like sulfates and sorbates in this mead. I'm trying a more "natural" approach.

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Well, from a natural perspective:

1. Sulfites are naturally occuring elements. The human body produces sulfites, and sulfites are produced as a natural byproduct of fermentation. Ironically it is the people whose bodies do not produce sulfites that are generally sensitive to them. Produce can be certified as organic even when elemental sulfur (another naturally occuring element) is used to prevent microbial, pest, fungal, mold and other pathogenic organisms from ruining fruits, vegetables, etc.

2. Honey does not naturally heat (past hive temperature), pasteurize or boil on it's own, at least I've never heard of such a thing and I have to admit that I'm no expert on beekeeping.

Which is more natural?

On Gravity. You'll find that folks here are very willing to help anyone who is willing to help themselves. I understand this is new to you and that you want to keep it natural, we've all been there. Realize that we're trying to help but you're giving us a moving target. I see that you indicate your original gravity was about 1.075 which gives you a potential ABV of about 9-10%. You indicated that when you went to read your hydrometer for the current gravity that it sunk all the way to the bottom of the vessel. It sounds like your fermentation is close to complete or getting there, but we aren't getting a real reading, just a guess. Right now you're on track for a thin, hot, minimally blueberry influenced mead with a short shelf life and not a whole lot of body.

I asked what you are looking for in this mead your answer was:

caps_phisto said:

I am going for a blueberry mead.

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Ok, that was pretty obvious from the recipe. How about a little more information like, "A sweet blueberry mead" or "A dry blueberry mead" or "Hell I don't know, I just pulled this recipe outta my ass and I'm winging it" any of those answers would be more helpful.

You state 45 blueberries in your recipe, how much did that weigh, did you crush them, did you blend them into a slurry, were they frozen and defrosted, did you leave them whole and drop them in? This all matters.

The people here are very willing to help, but we need better and more specific information in order to do so. Please let us know the particulars, granular detail is appreciated and expected.

Cheers,

Oskaar

Good information, that helps dial it in more and gives us a good idea of how to help you out a bit more.

You can add more fruit to the secondary when you rack from the primary fermentation vessel (your one gallon carboy/jug). Generally you'll want to crush your fruit pretty well and then rack on top of it. The reason is so that the fruit flavor and character infuse easier into the melomel you're making. It's also a good idea to use a grain bag in the secondary, you may also use one in the primary if you so desire. I don't use a grain bag in the primary because I want the cap to form since it is beneficial and important to shape the overall character and flavor of the melomel.

One of the main reasons we ferment up to about 12-14% ABV is because it will inhibit bacterial/spoilage yeast and other nasty infection flora that can gain a foothold and spoil your mead at lower alcohol levels. Also to me most wines/meads at lower alcohol levels than 10% are generally not as full of character, flavor and structure as they would be at higher alcohol levels.

The issue of additives is one of personal choice as a meadmaker and has advantages and disadvantages, just like heating your honey does. I think it's important to be aware of the additives and their benefits/detriments and maintain a balanced view. I generally don't use sulfites unless I'm making wine or a very dark melomel (blueberry, blackberry, etc) where I want to maintain color and character. Without sulfite over time (and this is true for most aged meads, wines, etc) there will be oxidative browning. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does affect the character, color and overall flavor profile. So my advice would be to check out more posts on the forums and try several different approaches before deciding on a style. It's kind of like surfing. If you go out there and try to tell the wave what to do, you're meat on a stick, but if you can see the flow of the wave and party within it, you're in for a hell of a ride.

Cheap, well I understand that. However much you can reasonably throw at ingredients is going to govern your final product. It's a matter of settling on a budgeted amount, and accepting what the end product will be. You can't make good mead out of bad ingredients, so your wallet will decide where you land on the scale. My advice here is to get good honey from a local beekeeper or a good honey supplier. There are several here in the boards and listings on the National Honey Board of others.

Producing mead, good mead that is, over and over is a matter of good recipe formulation, good ingredients and establishing good production techniques that you follow consistently. There are a lot of posts about that here on Got Mead, so I'd suggest warming up that forum search tool and going to town. Read up on sanitation, fermentation management, cap management, oaking, etc. which by your most recent post I'm guess you've already begun to do.

Weekends, well, we're both on the same page here. My family will party at the drop of a hat, or just about anything else for that matter. Making mead and sharing it with your family and friends is about the biggest payoff I can think of, especially when they love what you make. All the contests, ribbons, medals and accolades in the world don't really touch the feeling you get when your loved ones love what you make.

Cheers,

Oskaar

Since your hydrometer bottomed out, your mead very likely fermented to total dryness. That's not necessarily a bad thing for a melomel where you add all the fruit to the secondary. After you've racked off of the berries, try to let the mead age for some time in a carboy before you decide if it needs backsweetening. Often some of the floral and fruity character from the honey disappears for a while after the vigorous fermentation in primary, but upon aging those characteristics return. That will leave you with a dry beverage that tastes "sweet," although there may be no fermentable sugar left in it.

It's possible that the mead is clearing but for lees that thick I would assume that there is additional fermentation going on. You must also take into account the blueberry slurry. It will be difficult but you may be able to see a difference in the layering at the bottom of the fermenter. There may be a darker layer of blueberry slurry covered by a light layer which would be the yeast dropping out. How clear is the mead now ?

Do you have any idea of what the current temperature of the mead is ? If the temperature is too low that may cause most of the yeast in suspension to drop.

I don't think that fermentation would have stopped as (from memory) bread yeast is tolerant up to about 12-13% alcohol.