Rack at ~1.002 or wait another week?

[Tiwas]

What do you think? This ferment has been extremely slow, and even though it hasn't stuck or anything it's spent three weeks or so going from 1.108 to 1.002. I don't think I'll have time to do much with it until next weekend, but it's a traditional, so no fruit or anything in the bucket.

Opinions?

 

[fatbloke]

What do you think? This ferment has been extremely slow, and even though it hasn't stuck or anything it's spent three weeks or so going from 1.108 to 1.002. I don't think I'll have time to do much with it until next weekend, but it's a traditional, so no fruit or anything in the bucket.

Opinions?

Go with the flow. It might drop a little more but it certainly won't hurt it to be left for another week.

Some of mine say in the fermenter for months before I get round to sorting them out and racking off for clearing etc....

regards

fatbloke

 

[Tiwas]

Ok, thanks - I'll leave it for a little while longer. I plan to re-rack all of mine at least once, though

 

[chiguire]

What do you think? This ferment has been extremely slow, and even though it hasn't stuck or anything it's spent three weeks or so going from 1.108 to 1.002. I don't think I'll have time to do much with it until next weekend, but it's a traditional, so no fruit or anything in the bucket.

Opinions?

Yea - I would let it sit. I racked a traditional at 1.004 thinking that it would drop to .004 in the secondary. One month later it was still 1.004. If you want this to go bone dry, I would keep it in the primary a bit longer.

 

[Oskaar]

What do you think? This ferment has been extremely slow, and even though it hasn't stuck or anything it's spent three weeks or so going from 1.108 to 1.002. I don't think I'll have time to do much with it until next weekend, but it's a traditional, so no fruit or anything in the bucket.

Opinions?

Recipe and fermentation management process please.

NOTA BENE: Answers based on the information given in the first posts are merely guesses without complete recipe and process information. Is there a brewlog you can point us to. Please be sure to include the yeast strain.

Please be sure to include the recipe and fermentation management process, or a pointer to the brewlog as I indicated above whenever you're asking a question about a batch in process. It really helps to narrow down issues and get your question answered as accurately as is possible in a forum setting where we can't see, smell, touch and work with your mead.

Hope that helps,

Oskaar

 

[Tiwas]

Recipe and fermentation management process please.

NOTA BENE: Answers based on the information given in the first posts are merely guesses without complete recipe and process information. Is there a brewlog you can point us to. Please be sure to include the yeast strain.

Please be sure to include the recipe and fermentation management process, or a pointer to the brewlog as I indicated above whenever you're asking a question about a batch in process. It really helps to narrow down issues and get your question answered as accurately as is possible in a forum setting where we can't see, smell, touch and work with your mead.

Hope that helps,

Oskaar

Sorry for that. Thought of this more like a general question, but...The recipe is:
* 8kg heather honey
* Water to 23.5L
* 1 pack of Wyeast Dry Mead
* OG: 1.108
* ~3g of wyeast nutrient with DAP

It's been fermenting for 3 weeks now, which is the same as my other two batches. The temp is just a little lower than 20 at the warmest, but I would say the mean temp is around 18. There are no off smells that I can detect, but it does smell a little stronger than I can remember the first batch did (exact same recipe), which might be because the mean temp is a little higher, and unusually high for the season.

Like the first, it was aerated at least once per day until 1/3 sugar break, after that it's been swirled at least once daily. Airlock activity has gone down to almost none in the last few days.

 

[AToE]

I'd let it go that extra while, but judge by SG rather than just a week (or any particular time). Now, that's not always practical, so if you're only going to have time next weekend then that's when I'd do it. I'd just leave the lid on if possible, give it a good swirl daily until a day or so before you're going to rack, then stop swirling and move it into it's racking position (you might as well leave behind as much sediment as is humanly possible).

From my experience a traditional in this situation isn't in very much danger of oxidizing, as A: it's a traditional, as far as fermented beverages go that's about as O2 bulletproof as it gets (other than maybe similar ones with a load of tannin), and B: it'll be fermenting and degassing for at least a few more days, even if it's at a much slower rate than previously.