First Mead

[kingnothing395]

First time making mead, though I've made fruit wine a number of times. I used the very simple recipe on EC Kraus's web site. I did not use campden tablets as directed because I dissolved the honey in almost boiling water and sterilized all equipment in Star-San. I misread the recipe and used nutrient instead of energizer.

I'm making a 3 gallon batch with an OG of 1.11. I pitched the yeast (ICV D47) Saturday night. It is now Tuesday afternoon and there is no sign of fermentation; no bubbles in the airlock.

Speaking of the airlock; for the first time I used sanitizer in the airlock -- some of the Star San that I'd used to clean the tools. In the past I've always used tap water, but I grew tired of changing it every few days, so I decided to try something different. I never had any trouble with water getting sucked back into the must, but wouldn't you know it that happened with the sanitizer. I did the math, and according to my calculations it is 0.6 ppm and 1.9 ppm of the active ingredients, dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid and phosphoric acid, respectively.

Did my accident kill my yeast, or is my OG too high?

Or is mead simply a slow starter?

Will I hurt anything if I add some energizer?

Does anybody have experience using vodka in the airlock?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi kingnothing395 - and welcome. Don't know the Kraus recipe but energizer ain't nutrient and yeast need nutrient because there is no nutrients in the honey...
I have no idea what bubbles might indicate but what yoy want to know is the specific gravity. You see, if there is a poor seal then you get no bubbles but that means diddly squat if the yeast are in fact gobbling up the sugar. You say you have made wine before so you will very likely have an hydrometer. If you don't then that is the one instrument that any wine or mead maker MUST have . MUST... (pun intended).
You can use water in your airlock: the only purpose of the liquid is to prevent air from access to the must. Any liquid works but water is the least expensive at least here in the USA. Why you need to change the water every few days is surprising... I don't know that I have to touch the liquid in my airlocks over months... BUT I also use a bucket as my primary and I don't seal the primary as I want to stir the must to aerate and remove CO2...

 

[kingnothing395]

Yes, I have a hydrometer; that is how I got the OG. Checked again, and the specific gravity remains at 1.108. I added some energizer a few minutes ago...we'll see if that gets things moving.

In my first batch of wine, I found the water in the airlock cloudy after a month. I did some research and found that replacing the water every few days is recommended. Further research, and I found that some folks use sanitizer in the airlock. I also read somewhere that vodka could be used. It inhibits mold or bacteria growing in the airlock.

My primary is a bucket as well. I have a couple of secondaries. A six-gallon glass carboy, also a three-gallon I'd planned on using the first time on this mead. I also have two five-gallon water bottles.

Was skipping the campden tablets a mistake?

 

[bernardsmith]

Honey can create problems that are not found in fruit. It would be helpful if you could provide your recipe and the protocol you used.

 

[Drewed]

I use CHEAP vodka in all my air locks. Never had a problem. D47 should be able to handle 1.11.

 

[kingnothing395]

For 3 Gallons Of Mead:
* 9 Pounds of Honey
* 1 1/4 Tablespoons Yeast Energizer
* 4 Tablespoons Acid Blend
* 5/8 Teaspoon Wine Tannin
* zero Campden Tablets
* Water To Total 3 Gallons
* 1 Pkg. Lalvin ICV-D47 Yeast

I heated the spring water in a large pot on the stove. I did not allow it to boil, but when it was around 170 F, I slowly and carefully stirred in the honey.

Once the honey water had cooled to around 85, I siphoned some of it off and mixed in the yeast. I had someplace I had to go, so I immediately poured the yeast mixture into the bucket and covered it with a clean towel.

Fermentation has started, but it is proceeding extremely slowly. I guess it's been almost 2 weeks, and SG is still 1.7. I know it's fermenting, the airlock is bubbling (very slowly) and I see tiny bubbles rising to the surface of the mead.

I added some energizer a day or two ago. I mixed 1/2 teaspoon into some warm water and poured it into the mead. It immediately bubbled over like a fourth-grader's science project volcano.

 

[Drewed]

Energizer is not nutrient. Energizer is like yeast coffee, it will get them moving, but provide food for the long haul. Get some form of yeast nuitrent ( fermaid O, fermaid K, generic nutrient) and your yeast will be happier.

 

[bernardsmith]

The crux of the problem may be two-fold - a) the lack of nutrients - this prevents the yeast from making sterols which in turn prevents the yeast from transporting the sugars through their cell walls and so fermenting the sugar. and b) the addition of acid blend. Honey itself has no chemical buffers to stabilize the pH and so while the pH of any fermentation can drop significantly, the pH of honey must can drop right off the cliff (below 3.0). Adding acid blend before fermentation has ended and you have tasted the mead and know it needs more acidity to provide a kick is like dousing salt into a dish before you have even tasted it. The only time to add any additional acidity to a mead is when you are tasting it just before bottling and any recipe that suggests otherwise suggests the author of the recipe may not be as knowledgeable as he or she pretends. Yeast will happily ferment sugar when the pH is high. It cannot ferment when the pH drops below 3.0. Honey is a natural bactericide so there is not even a fear that with too high a pH (above 5. 5) the yeast will compete with bacteria.