I know this question gets asked a lot so I reviewed a older posts and tried a couple of things but I'm still not having any luck getting my first batch of mead to start fermenting. Here's the story:
I bought and read the book "Making Your Own Mead" by Bryan Acton and Peter Duncan, and decided to make my first batch of mead from the recipe for sweet mead on page 35. The recipe called for the following:
1. 4 lbs Clover honey
2. 1/4 oz tartaric acid
3. 1/2 oz malic acid
4. yeast nutrient
5. Lalvin K1V-1116 wine yeast
6. 1/15 oz tannin
The local brew shop had everything except the Lalvin K1V-1116 wine yeast so he recommended Lalvin D47 as a substitute. In addition he recommended an acid blend rather than the individual acid additions. The recipe above is for one gallon but I wanted to make three gallons so I multiplied everything by three to arrive at the total amounts of each ingredient. The recipe states to do the following:
"Prepare the must exactly as before (which is to dissolve honey in warm water together with yeast nutrients, acid, and grape tannin, make volume up to desired amount with cold water and 1 crushed campden tablet, and after 24 hrs add the yeast and ferment to dryness), using 3 lbs honey (or 9 lbs in my case for a 3 gallon batch). Ferment until gravity drops to 5 (1.005) and then add 1/4 lb honey per gallon, making sure that the increment of honey is thoroughly dissolved. Repeat the procedure whenever the gravity drops to 5 (1.005) until fermentation finally ceases and then rack. Thereafter proceed as recommended in this book."
Specifically I used 9 lbs of clover honey from Walmart (still have 3 lbs left to add after SG drops to 1.005), 1 2/3 gallon of water, 2 1/4 oz acid blend, 3 oz Fermax yeast nutrient, 1/5 oz tannin, and 3 tsp potassium metabisulfite. I measured the SG on 6/21/15 and it was 1.090. I covered the plastic fermentation bucket and let sit overnight. The next day (6/22) I pitched the D-47 yeast, covered and sealed the lid and installed an airlock. I was very meticulous with cleaning and sanitation. The temperature in my house is a constant 76 degrees F.
After 72 hrs there wasn't any sign of fermentation. No bubbles, the airlock was quiet, and the SG still measured 1.090. I found the Lalvin 1116 that the recipe called for and decided to re-pitch using the correct yeast. I did so on 6/25. I also began stirring the must to introduce oxygen as a fellow on Winepress suggested. I stirred three times per day which resulted in some bubbles immediately after stirring. Also there's a slight odor that I didn't have before but it's not very strong. I can't describe what it smells like since I've never smelled anything like it before but it's not necessarily a bad odor. After three more days of basically nothing happening I decided to add more yeast nutrient on 6/28 (yesterday). As of today, 24 hrs after adding the nutrient and 96 hours after re-pitching the yeast (1116) I still don't see any activity at all in the airlock and the SG still measures 1.09.
If anyone has any ideas I'm all ears. I usually don't get discouraged easily but this seems pretty simple and I just haven't been able to get it to work. I had visions of making a melomel next but that seems pretty stupid since I can't even get a basic sweet mead off the ground. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Gene
I bought and read the book "Making Your Own Mead" by Bryan Acton and Peter Duncan, and decided to make my first batch of mead from the recipe for sweet mead on page 35. The recipe called for the following:
1. 4 lbs Clover honey
2. 1/4 oz tartaric acid
3. 1/2 oz malic acid
4. yeast nutrient
5. Lalvin K1V-1116 wine yeast
6. 1/15 oz tannin
The local brew shop had everything except the Lalvin K1V-1116 wine yeast so he recommended Lalvin D47 as a substitute. In addition he recommended an acid blend rather than the individual acid additions. The recipe above is for one gallon but I wanted to make three gallons so I multiplied everything by three to arrive at the total amounts of each ingredient. The recipe states to do the following:
"Prepare the must exactly as before (which is to dissolve honey in warm water together with yeast nutrients, acid, and grape tannin, make volume up to desired amount with cold water and 1 crushed campden tablet, and after 24 hrs add the yeast and ferment to dryness), using 3 lbs honey (or 9 lbs in my case for a 3 gallon batch). Ferment until gravity drops to 5 (1.005) and then add 1/4 lb honey per gallon, making sure that the increment of honey is thoroughly dissolved. Repeat the procedure whenever the gravity drops to 5 (1.005) until fermentation finally ceases and then rack. Thereafter proceed as recommended in this book."
Specifically I used 9 lbs of clover honey from Walmart (still have 3 lbs left to add after SG drops to 1.005), 1 2/3 gallon of water, 2 1/4 oz acid blend, 3 oz Fermax yeast nutrient, 1/5 oz tannin, and 3 tsp potassium metabisulfite. I measured the SG on 6/21/15 and it was 1.090. I covered the plastic fermentation bucket and let sit overnight. The next day (6/22) I pitched the D-47 yeast, covered and sealed the lid and installed an airlock. I was very meticulous with cleaning and sanitation. The temperature in my house is a constant 76 degrees F.
After 72 hrs there wasn't any sign of fermentation. No bubbles, the airlock was quiet, and the SG still measured 1.090. I found the Lalvin 1116 that the recipe called for and decided to re-pitch using the correct yeast. I did so on 6/25. I also began stirring the must to introduce oxygen as a fellow on Winepress suggested. I stirred three times per day which resulted in some bubbles immediately after stirring. Also there's a slight odor that I didn't have before but it's not very strong. I can't describe what it smells like since I've never smelled anything like it before but it's not necessarily a bad odor. After three more days of basically nothing happening I decided to add more yeast nutrient on 6/28 (yesterday). As of today, 24 hrs after adding the nutrient and 96 hours after re-pitching the yeast (1116) I still don't see any activity at all in the airlock and the SG still measures 1.09.
If anyone has any ideas I'm all ears. I usually don't get discouraged easily but this seems pretty simple and I just haven't been able to get it to work. I had visions of making a melomel next but that seems pretty stupid since I can't even get a basic sweet mead off the ground. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Gene