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Mead stuck?

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bloodaxeberserk

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 30, 2014
20
0
0
I am three weeks into fermentation and the bubbling in my airlock has slowed I took a SP.GR reading and it is at 1.20 and ph is at 3.6. The recipe I am using is:

1 gallon of Spring Water
Yeast: Fleishcmanns (substituted with Lavin d47)
25 Raisins
1 Cinnamon stick
1 whole orange, sliced and peels included
1 pinch of allspice
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 pounds of Dark Alfalfa honey
2 pounds of Orange blossom honey
1 whole clove

I might also add that during the first week I only covered the hole with a double layer of cheese cloth then I airlocked it. It bubbled every 9 seconds at first, then last week it was every 13 seconds, and now it is like every 30 seconds. Does anyone know what is happening? Any advice?
 
bmwr75 said:
Are you sure you are reading the hydrometer correctly. 1.20 specific gravity is very high for the recipe you are using, basically JAOM's.
Click to expand...

Yeah I tested it several times on several flat areas and that is the readings I am getting. I may also add that the fruit is still floating at the top too. I do not know if climate has anything to do with it but I live in a desert at a pretty high altitude (around 6'000 feet).
 
It may well have something to do with the altitude. The air inside the hydrometer will be at a density akin to where it was made. Being at 6000' the density of the air outside the hydrometer will be considerably less than the air inside it so it stands to reason it would float higher in the must. I don't know if there is a chart to adjust for altitude or not.
 
If I recall the instructions that I generally ignore that came with my hydrometer, one ought to take a reading of plain water. If water reads at 0.98, add 0.02 from your readings to get the "real" SG.
 
Meads can be done in as little as 48 hours or they can take months. It depends on recipe, process, and the fates. Yours is still going. When the gravity stops dropping, you can rack it, or if you are making JAO by the recipe, just have it topped up and let it sit until clear.
 
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