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Made a batch tonight and I missed my OG by A LOT!

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AlwaysWaven

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 5, 2015
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0
0
Ok, I used the TOSNA Calculator, Got Mead Calculator, and the BatchBuldr Calculator. What I came out with for a medium-sweet mead was -

18 lbs honey
D47
5 gallon batch
Target OG 1.129
12.5g of Go-Ferm Protect

I followed all of that and my OG came out at 1.5 :eek:

What did I do wrong and what do I do to fix it? My mead will ferment in a 68 degree room with no windows (if that matters.)
 

EricHartman

Lifetime GotMead Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Mar 4, 2019
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Indiana
If you are really concerned about the OG then you need to add water to dilute down to your target... You may need to discard some of your must.

If you just want to proceed and see what happens push the yeast pitch up to 5g of yeast per gallon of must. Your d47 will hesitate to produce additional alcohol somewhere between 14-16%. Which should leave you around 1.040 which is going to be rather sweet... Or would be in my opinion. If you try to dilute down at this point your yeast are likely to restart fermenting as you would be diluting the alcohol that is inhibiting the yeast

So the calculators are estimations at best... Every honey will impact the SG differently. I always slow down adding honey and start taking SG measurements once I'm around 70% of my planned volume so I can adjust based on the actual results rather than predicted.

Hope that helps
 

Squatchy

Lifetime GotMead Patron
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Nov 3, 2014
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Denver
You really to have cooler temps with that strain. That's going to make to s of fusels at that temp. How did you come up with the goferm amount? How much water did you put it in? What temps rehydrating? Did you atemperate? What honey?
 

darigoni

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
Jun 4, 2016
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Brookline, NH
Looks like you are off by about 3 lbs of honey. How were you weighing it?

Have you checked your hydrometer? Does it read 1.000 in water?

If your OG is really 1.500, I think you're going to have a hard time keeping the fermentation going using D47. Either dilute it (6 gallon batch?) or use a more aggressive yeast EC-1118 or K1V-1116.

dave
 

AlwaysWaven

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 5, 2015
51
0
0
If you are really concerned about the OG then you need to add water to dilute down to your target... You may need to discard some of your must.

If you just want to proceed and see what happens push the yeast pitch up to 5g of yeast per gallon of must. Your d47 will hesitate to produce additional alcohol somewhere between 14-16%. Which should leave you around 1.040 which is going to be rather sweet... Or would be in my opinion. If you try to dilute down at this point your yeast are likely to restart fermenting as you would be diluting the alcohol that is inhibiting the yeast

So the calculators are estimations at best... Every honey will impact the SG differently. I always slow down adding honey and start taking SG measurements once I'm around 70% of my planned volume so I can adjust based on the actual results rather than predicted.

Hope that helps

Checking the SG while adding honey would have been a great idea. I never saw that in my research.

You really to have cooler temps with that strain. That's going to make to s of fusels at that temp. How did you come up with the goferm amount? How much water did you put it in? What temps rehydrating? Did you atemperate? What honey?

I can lower the temp to whatever - I was going to set lower, but the guy at the brewing store said to shoot for 70.
I got the GoFerm amount from - https://www.meadmakr.com/batch-buildr/ & https://www.meadmaderight.com/tosna.html
5 gallons - the displacement of the honey
I pitched the yeast at 104 F
Yes, with pure o2
I used this honey - https://www.ebeehoney.com/raw_orange_blossom_honey_gallon.html

Looks like you are off by about 3 lbs of honey. How were you weighing it?

Have you checked your hydrometer? Does it read 1.000 in water?

If your OG is really 1.500, I think you're going to have a hard time keeping the fermentation going using D47. Either dilute it (6 gallon batch?) or use a more aggressive yeast EC-1118 or K1V-1116.

dave

I used a house scale and checked it after every addition of honey. I have not checked my hydrometer, but I will.

I am happy to dilute the honey if that will help.
 

AlwaysWaven

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 5, 2015
51
0
0
I made a post answering all these questions, but it is waiting for review. Here are my hydrometer readings.

60tHh7G.jpg


8s60zL5.jpg
 

4give

Honey Master
Registered Member
Jan 1, 2018
402
76
28
Montrose, CO
Hi - Ditto to what others have said: D47 temp needs to be lower (59-68F), and must needs to be diluted.

It appears you haven't pitched the yeast yet, and you're likely going with 10g of yeast to come up with the 12.5g of Go-Ferm. If you haven't pitched yet, you might want to consider selecting a different yeast that isn't as temp-sensitive unless you have a way to control it and keep it lower. The fermentation process will create it's own heat, so the must temperature will likely be higher than the 68F temperature of the room.

I'm not sure of how you're planning to arrive at your desired FG, but I think it's always best to let the yeast ferment to dry (1.000 or less), then back-sweeten. It's a lot easier to control that way IMO.

Hopefully you have a little honey left in case you need it. However, you might be able to save some of your must if you can seal it in a good container and then use it for later additions. This might not be ideal, and I'd only use it after I've stabilized and in SO2 management mode (in case any bad guys get into the leftover must).

As EricHartman already expressed, the calculators can't account for a lot of variables. One important variable is the density and water content in the honey you use. I've had a quart weigh 4 lbs one year, and a quart weigh 3 lbs the next (honey from my own hives). In general, the water content of honey can range from 12% to 18%. That obviously makes a difference. Another variable is the actual fructose and glucose in the honey.
 

AlwaysWaven

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 5, 2015
51
0
0
I have already pitched 5g of the D47. So, I need to hydrate and pitch 5 more grams of D47 and add a gallon of water?

I have moved the mead to my keezer and set the temp control to 62.
 

4give

Honey Master
Registered Member
Jan 1, 2018
402
76
28
Montrose, CO
OK. I don't know if it hurt anything, but 12.5g is a lot of Go-Ferm for 5g of yeast. You only need 1.25g per 1g of yeast.

I just realized you stated you used 18 lbs of honey. Not sure if you verified the weight, or just went with a rough measurement based on volume or what any packaging stated, but that does seem like a really high SG for that much honey in a 5 gallon batch. I'd almost want to get another hydrometer to test it with.

I don't know when you pitched it, but if there is no evidence of fermentation, then the yeast are likely struggling. As Squatchy mentioned, atemperation is important if you do pitch more yeast, so you'll want to get your must to the right point first. The Scott Labs 2019 handbook has good instructions on rehydrating if you want to google that (the handbook is free).

Assuming no fermentation activity, and a true SG of 1.5 (if hydrometer is good), then I'd start with diluting the must. That may get your yeast going, and you can pitch again if it doesn't. It might not be a bad thing to pitch more just to make sure, but be sure to follow the rehydration protocols. If you do get it down to 1.129, and it ferments to 14% ABV (D47's normal tolerance), you're going to have something around the range of 1.020, which is in the dessert sweetness category according to my understanding.

Others may have more/better input, but those are my thoughts.
 

Squatchy

Lifetime GotMead Patron
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Nov 3, 2014
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If you're at 1.5 nothing will start in that. Are you confused with 1150?

I just looked at your pic. My bad. You're about 1158 or so. I would pitch 3 grams a gallon if you have it. Glad you lowered it to 62. That yeast is really cranky at 68 because your temp will go a little higher as soon as you start fermenting in earnest
 

EricHartman

Lifetime GotMead Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Mar 4, 2019
498
162
43
Indiana
I didn't even notice the original typo... My brain just changed it to 1.15 when I did the calculations without even considering that 1.5 was true. Are there hydrometers that read that high?
 

AlwaysWaven

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 5, 2015
51
0
0
If you're at 1.5 nothing will start in that. Are you confused with 1150?

I just looked at your pic. My bad. You're about 1158 or so. I would pitch 3 grams a gallon if you have it. Glad you lowered it to 62. That yeast is really cranky at 68 because your temp will go a little higher as soon as you start fermenting in earnest

Oh, good. I was wondering how I could be that far off. So, pitch 15 grams of D47 (3g x 5 gal)? I can pick some up tomorrow. Do I follow the same directions for rehydrating?
 

4give

Honey Master
Registered Member
Jan 1, 2018
402
76
28
Montrose, CO
Too funny - I didn't even notice what the pic was saying either, and I thought that maybe it was a special hydrometer I hadn't seen before as I've never seen one go that high.

Sorry SpencerDStone, I should have seen that... I'm laughing at myself now! ;D

I'd definitely follow the rehydration protocol in the Scott Labs handbook.
 

AlwaysWaven

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 5, 2015
51
0
0
(Same person - just realized that my email and GotMead logins are not connected)

Ok, so the bucket is sitting at 66 right now with no action in the air lock. I can go buy more D47 tomorrow.

What I did the first time was microwave 250ml of water to 110, mix in the goferm, and when it got to 104 pitch the yeast. Then, I added 125ml of must until the temps got within 10 degrees of each other.

One thing I will say is that I need a better thermometer - what I was using was not designed for mead making.
 
Last edited:

Crispy

Grumpy Old Drone
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 28, 2016
87
27
18
Burlingame, California
Without changing (lowering) of must gravity I would use even more yeast than suggested by Squatchy. 25-30 grams of yeast seems more appropriate for SG of 1.150 - 1.160 in 5 gallon batch. I do exclusively high gravity meads and that is the yeast ratio I use.
 

AlwaysWaven

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 5, 2015
51
0
0
Local brewing store was closed today (cannot buy D47 until tomorrow), but I checked on the mead tonight. It is holding at 64 now, covered in head, and looks to have lowered the SG to around 1.13.
 

Toxxyc

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Dec 21, 2017
377
12
18
Pretoria, South Africa
If I can offer some advice - listen to the guys on here for advice. Your local home brew store is most likely focused on making beer, sometimes cider and on odd occasion, wine. I've never heard a single positive, good piece of advice from my LHBS regarding mead. Mead is very much the same as the rest, but the differences make it so much more different that it's definitely worth listening to advice on here.
 
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