Is yeast nutrient a must have?

[cow pollinater]

I started a five gallon batch of mead yesterday with my homebrew gear that I haven't touched in years and a plethora of different wyeast beer strains that I bought a few months ago in hopes of having spare time to brew.
The one thing that I'm missing(besides the correct yeast) is nutrient. I'm sure that I do have some somewhere, but it is easier to accept that I don't have any than to figure out where I put it.:doh: Twenty four hours and quite a bit of yeast later, no fermentation. How crucial is yeast nutrient in mead? Is there any way to substitute?

[Ben Brewcat]

Not critical at all, but can be helpful in stressful musts. The first things to ask, in order of ease of fixing:
1) are you in a plastic fermenter? If you press on the lid, does the airlock bubble? Poor seals can mask early offgassing through leaks.
2) What temp is the must? Cooler means slower.
3) How healthy is your yeast? Wyeast hunh... smackpacks or tubes? Either way, a months-old package will take longer than 24 hours to get started for sure.

Check your seals, shake the fermenter around to oxygenate and stir, make sure it's at least 65F, and hurry up and wait :waiting:.:)

[cow pollinater]

Thanks Ben,
I'm fermenting in a glass carboy so no leaks.
Temperature at pitching was around seventy five degrees and is an a closet at around eighty.
I threw all the yeast I had in the mix.:D Two of the vials were Burton Ale and only a month old. There was also some older English Ale which is slow to start even when it's fresh and one OLD vial of California Ale.
I'm used to homebrews that would start fermenting within a few hours so this is making me a little nervous. BAAAD things happen when my fermentations are slow to start.:)

[AndrewSchwab]

I would disagree with Ben, nutrient is a must have in mead. Honey does not have much to offer to feed the yeasties.
At the very least DAP should be used. Would say around 10g total for a 5 gallon batch.

[nursebee]

Meads made with fruits added have less of a need for nutrition.

Straight meads could benefit from it though I rarely think to throw it in for primary ferment and my meads do oh so fine without it.

If I get a stuck ferment then I throw the book at it.

I suspect that your choice of yeasts would have more of an impact on your results than your use of adjuncts. I prefer wine yeasts over beer yeasts but have not studied them. Neither did Schramm if I recall.