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First Mead.... Is this normal?
I made my first mead 2 days ago and my fermentation has kicked off but its acting kind of weird but I'm not sure if its normal for a mead. My OG was 1.090 and my recipe looked something like this..
13lbs clover honey
1 tsp yeast nutrient
2 tsp acid blend
2 5g packets of Lalvin D-47 rehydrated 10 min before pitching around 75F
I aerated with O2 for 2 minutes and shook the carboy real well to get the top off water mixed in before taking a gravity reading. The blow off tube started bubbling around 36 hours later. There isn't any foam forming or anything, just little tiny bubbles rising to the top like co2 in beer or soda. It worked its way up to 1 bubble every 4 seconds but has now slowed down to 1 bubble every 14 seconds. I've read that a mead fermentation can take a while before things get going but is this normal? Is there a chance I underpitched my yeast or under aerated? Oh yeah, the mead is at 66-68F right now. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Sounds about right to me. I have a sweet mead in the primary and have had pretty much the same thing going on with Wyeast's sweet mead yeast. They do take longer to ferment and much much longer to condition.
Thanks for the assurance andrew j. The bubbles from the blow off tube are starting to pick up again. Kind of weird how its been fluctuating. So just from looking at my carboy I'm assuming that the yeast I used is a bottom fermenting yeast, right? There's no foaming on top but sediment at the bottom. I'm prepared for the long term conditioning. I'm making this one now so hopefully it might be drinkable for new years.
Mead generally doesn't create a krauesen like beer. You might get a little foam on top but that's usually about it. give it a few weeks and check the gravity. it might not look like much is happening but it probably is.
Skervy wrote:
Mead generally doesn't create a krauesen like beer. You might get a little foam on top but that's usually about it.
So would you say the blow off tube is unnecessary?
I wouldn't say it's unnecesary. I use it every time even on meads just to be safe. I've never made one where I actually did blow off anything, but I have heard of people's mead fermenting so violently that it appeared to be boiling!
I've never used a blow off for mead. Normally, the headspace in a 6.5 carboy will be sufficient.
So my mead has been sitting for about 2 weeks now and I took a reading yesterday and I'm down to 1.054. I thought it was still a little high but I've heard mead can take a few weeks to ferment so I didn't think much of it. Up to this point there really hasn't been much physical activity going on; no foaming and very few tiny bubbles escaping from the mead but I am getting a bubble every 5 seconds or so from the blow off tube. Then tonight I was reading a section of The Compleat Meadmaker and I came across a little blurb on slow fermentation and it said that you can add up to 1 gram per gallon of yeast nutrient that might help to speed things up. Well HOLY CRAP! I dump in a teaspoon, about 2 - 2.5 grams, and give the carboy a few swirls and all of a sudden it looks like my mead is boiling, it foamed up 2 inches instantly, and I can hear CO2 shooting out of my carboy. I throw the blow off tube back on and it sounds like a 50 caliber machine gun. I used star san in the blow off bucket but had to switch it out for plain old water because it was foaming up and overflowing everywhere. I hope the mead just needed some nutrients and I didn't create some freak of nature in my closet.
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