It was good for me but, was it over too soon?

[Elwood]

My first batch, started on 6/5/09 and I got started drinking it 6/12/09 by 6/22/09 the fermentation had practically stopped so I bottled some in half gallon juice containers and drank the rest. This stuff is great! Now I have another batch started 6/11/09 that bubbled like mad until 3 days ago, I transferred it to another bucket with an air lock and have checked it all day with no bubbles at all. Is that cool? Everything I read says it takes much longer to ferment. It tastes pretty good right now and has a pretty good kick. Maybe I should just bottle it.... Any opinions?:lookout:

[mattoleriver]

You almost certainly did bottle too soon.
Did you do anything to stop the fermentation before bottling your mead? Are your half gallon containers made of glass?
Beware of bottle bombs!!!

George

[kwest]

My mead is now three months old and is still in the carboy with an airlock. everything I have read said to leave it a minimum of 3 months before you bottle it. my mead bubbled for 6 weeks before it stopped. My mead is high alcahol content like 17%. way stronger than I planned on but I just followed the recipe. One problem is it is very dry due to the high alcahol content. how do you resweeten it. I like a sweeter wine. maybe you are doing it the right way?

[Elwood]

Mattoleriver,

Fermentation quit after a while but it tasted pretty good even while it was bubbling. No, no glass containers just cheap white trash plastic. :rolleyes:

Kwest,
I read somewhere you could put some more honey in to sweeten it up

[Bighorn06]

What kind of yeast are you using? You need to have a strong yeast that can handle the high alcohol content. Yeasts will die off at a certain alcohol content based on the strain.

Tony

[BigDaddyDS]

(Note: This is all off the top of my head. Please double check whatever I say on this posting before trying it for yourself.)

Elwood:
Two items: My first thoughts are either your yeast can't withstand high alcohol and has died, more or less, prematurely. Or, perhaps, you're experiencing a stuck fermentation. Yeast nutrient and aeration may be your solution. Take another hydrometer reading and see what you're at now with your final gravity vs. your starting gravity. That'll tell you a lot about what's going on.

Elwood and Kwest:
Adding MORE sugar to a fermentation, in this case, honey, will cause further fermentation and even HIGHER alcohol content. It does NOT make it sweeter. (In fact, my friends refer to it being "hotter".) To sweeten, what you need to do is add something to stop the fermentation process (potassium metabisulfate?) and THEN back-sweeten with honey or, perhaps, a fruit juice to cut the alcohol content.

Good luck,
DS

[Elwood]

Bighorn06,
Montrechet from Red Star
The alcohol content is adequate to give me a pretty good buzz on about 12 ounces. I'm 200 lbs and strong as mule. I think I just hit on the secret to happiness!:)

[nursebee]

Elwood,
Are you new to drinking? What about the stuff did you enjoy?

[Flyman]

I believe Potassium Sorbate should stop the fermentation. After that, you can add honey at the rate of 1 lb per 5 gallons. Should bring the S.G. up about 8 points. Just add honey to your taste.

[Elwood]

If I were using glass bottles I would be more concerned about over pressurization, but since I am using plastic I'm not too worried. I'm doing my fourth batch today. The first two just kinda stopped on their own so I bottled, I'm just going with the flow. When it stops I bottle. I used Wyeast sweet mead on the third batch and it is taking a little longer to get the job done. Started it on July 5th and racked it into the second carboy today. It slowed considerably the past two days. Making some today with Orange Blossom Honey, Apple Juice and Blueberries. I'll see if it tastes as good as it sounds. :D

[Ben Brewcat]

I believe Potassium Sorbate should stop the fermentation.

Sorbate actually can't stop an active fermentation, but it will prevent a dormant fermentation from awakening if sugars are added. The Intro stickied thread has an explanation of using gravity and alcohol tolerance of yeast strains to leave a sweeter mead, but for this mead you may have bottled too soon. Great thing about screwtops (or swingtops) is you have the ability to "burp" out pressure to prevent grenades. Or hosing your guests down with a "lively" bottle :waiting:. When you reach the desired carbonation, store all the bottles in the fridge. Or check every couple months to make sure they haven't woken up.

Be aware also, since you're not using a hydrometer, that racking a mead will cause the airlock to slow down or even stop. DON'T bottle based on airlock activity! The siphoning dislodges a lot of CO2 from the mead, meaning is has to re-saturate until the airlock starts moving again. I've only grenaded homemade soda, and no one was hurt, but MAN is it messy :).

[Elwood]

This fourth batch is taking off like a rocket. I just put it in the carboy yesterday and this morning when I went down in the basement the odor of carbon dioxide was very noticeable and the airlock had a steady stream going through it. Using Montrachet in this batch. Had to sample it. I hope it stays this good. :)
I love beekeeping:D

[Elwood]

Sorbate actually can't stop an active fermentation, but it will prevent a dormant fermentation from awakening if sugars are added. The Intro stickied thread has an explanation of using gravity and alcohol tolerance of yeast strains to leave a sweeter mead, but for this mead you may have bottled too soon. Great thing about screwtops (or swingtops) is you have the ability to "burp" out pressure to prevent grenades. Or hosing your guests down with a "lively" bottle :waiting:. When you reach the desired carbonation, store all the bottles in the fridge. Or check every couple months to make sure they haven't woken up.

Be aware also, since you're not using a hydrometer, that racking a mead will cause the airlock to slow down or even stop. DON'T bottle based on airlock activity! The siphoning dislodges a lot of CO2 from the mead, meaning is has to re-saturate until the airlock starts moving again. I've only grenaded homemade soda, and no one was hurt, but MAN is it messy :).

Any other way to stop the fermentation? What I have right now has been bubbling merrily away for only 3 days. I very much desire to freeze it in time right now where it is at. The taste is very good, sweet while retaining the flavors of the blueberries, apples, raisins and orange blossom honey. The buzz is mellow and it has some slight carbonation. All I really need is to understand how to stop fermentation at ANY time. Could I microwave it just enough to kill off the yeast cells without ruining what it now possesses? Or maybe just chill it to just above freezing to slow cell activity. Or maybe use a clarifier and THEN chill it? Any suggestions are appreciated but the more basic and homespun the better.

[Flyman]

Ben is entirely correct! I was oversimplyfying thinking the question was about sweetening a finished mead. In this case, Potassium Sorbate would keep the yeast from awakening as the honey was added. My bad:o.

[Ben Brewcat]

All I really need is to understand how to stop fermentation at ANY time. Could I microwave it just enough to kill off the yeast cells without ruining what it now possesses? Or maybe just chill it to just above freezing to slow cell activity. Or maybe use a clarifier and THEN chill it? Any suggestions are appreciated but the more basic and homespun the better.

It's actually pretty hard to stop a ferment on a dime, that's why we geeks do so much math and yeast starter preparation :). Chilling it down dramatically (causing yeast to flocculate out) and then maybe sulfiting could do it, but it's work and you have to sulfite. Plus running the risk of it waking up anyways. Maybe chillproofing followed by aggressive fining (as you suggest); there is always sterile filtering is you can rent one, but again it requires heavy sulfiting to prevent oxidation.

I'd let it run to completion. Then you can stabilize it and sweeten to taste. In the meantime, read up on recipe design and yeast alcohol tolerance and your next one will be dead on.

[Elwood]

Thanks for the help guys. :thumbsup: