Mead Stuck fermentation.

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DaveMac

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Hi I'm wondering if you can help me with my first batch of mead?

Started on the 8th August,

1800g of honey
1tsp of Yeast Nutrient
1 packet of Lalvin EC 1118 yeast (should have a tolerance of up to 18%)

5L dj only filled to the shoulder (approx 4L) s.g. 1.140. Hoping that when topped up to 5L it would yield just under 15%.

Only filled to the shoulder in case fermentation was vigorous in the early stages, and at first it was. It went off like a rocket, but slowed down quickly.

After a week I decided to top up and added another 340g of honey and topped up with water to 5L. Estimating this would make the final mead around the 17% mark.

After being topped up and fed I expected fermentation to pickup again but it seems to have completely stopped, in fact the liquid has started to clear. However, when I have taken an s.g. reading today it is 1.100.

I calculate that in total there was 1700g of sugar contained within the 2140g of honey which would have resulted in a s.g. of 1.132 this mean that fermentation has started, but the liquid is approx 4%

I don't believe that there is an infection, but fermentation seems to have stopped. I'm suspecting a lack of nutrient or a high sugar concentration is to blame, but s.g of 1.100 shouldn't be a problem. Any suggestions on how to proceed?
 
Hi I'm wondering if you can help me with my first batch of mead?

Started on the 8th August,

1800g of honey
1tsp of Yeast Nutrient
1 packet of Lalvin EC 1118 yeast (should have a tolerance of up to 18%)

5L dj only filled to the shoulder (approx 4L) s.g. 1.140. Hoping that when topped up to 5L it would yield just under 15%.

Only filled to the shoulder in case fermentation was vigorous in the early stages, and at first it was. It went off like a rocket, but slowed down quickly.

After a week I decided to top up and added another 340g of honey and topped up with water to 5L. Estimating this would make the final mead around the 17% mark.

After being topped up and fed I expected fermentation to pickup again but it seems to have completely stopped, in fact the liquid has started to clear. However, when I have taken an s.g. reading today it is 1.100.

I calculate that in total there was 1700g of sugar contained within the 2140g of honey which would have resulted in a s.g. of 1.132 this mean that fermentation has started, but the liquid is approx 4%

I don't believe that there is an infection, but fermentation seems to have stopped. I'm suspecting a lack of nutrient or a high sugar concentration is to blame, but s.g of 1.100 shouldn't be a problem. Any suggestions on how to proceed?

Sounds like a lack of nutrient problem, feed the yeast nutrient so if they are still alive. Generally start with 2 heaped tsp of nutrient and then add one every other week for the first 5 weeks.
 
Glad you got it going again, I had almost the exact same problem, my thread's just a couple below this one on the forum. My fermentation appeared to go really well, finished up and started to clear, went to rack and it was 1.090 from an SG of 1.120 also 4% abv. Same weight of honey and yeast as you, but mine has and acid blend in it too. Here's the starter I made which seems to have done the trick after adding a teaspoon of Tronozymol nutrient didn't help.

Starter was a mishmash from various web articles, i ended up with 250 mls boiled water, a splash of orange (clementine) juice, a pinch of nutrients and 2 tsp of sugar. Aimed to pitch the yeast once it was in the high 20s but as I was doing too much at once I forgot to check and it was still around 34C, a dash of clementine juice from the fridge knocked it down again. The aim is to leav it til its very active which was expected after about 12 hrs then to double up the volume every 6 hrs with stuck mead. However, in the morning it had eaten all the sugar so I gave it a splash of grape concentrate and a couple of hours later it was back to life so I started adding mead.

Tau: Can too much nutrient affect the taste of the mead in the end? I've read that some places but other mead makers recommend using a lot of nutrient, staggered in one way or another.
 
Tau: Can too much nutrient affect the taste of the mead in the end? I've read that some places but other mead makers recommend using a lot of nutrient, staggered in one way or another.

Don't know, haven't noticed, but everyones palate is different. I accidently tipped 50g in my juneberry melomel around the 12th of august it's still fermenting, if it's being used by the yeast then I wouldn't think it would change taste that much.
 

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