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A tale of Two stuck meads!

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agfisher

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 18, 2006
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brewing.triatproductions.com
Hello all,

I have two stuck meads right now. One is a Braggot, the other is a straight mead. Right now I don't have the particulars of either but I was wondering what techniques people could recomend for getting these guys going again? Both have been fermenting for an extended period (4 months plus)

The one method I did see while reading the archives is to make a starter, add that volume again in stuck must, wait till it ferments a bit, add the volume again and so on untill ill the stuck must is fermenting. How does that sound?

Adam
 
That's what I would do. Or use a pro-restart (kinda pricey). But before proceeding, get the particulars and post them. What are the current gravities, what were the starting gravities, and what yeasts did you use?
 
I'm not being sarcastic or derogatory, just wondering: How do you know they are stuck, and not just finished? I'm a newb, and 4 months sounds like a long time fermenting to me.
 
They are still VERY sweet and I believe the gravity, when last checked a month ago, was still at 1.08 or so I believe. I'll be taking new gravities this weekend and trying to find the particulars for the two batches.

Adam
Boston, MA
 
agfisher said:
Right now I don't have the particulars of either...
Click to expand...

"Right now" being the key words. ::) Sorry 'bout that. Also, sampling and tasting sweetness didn't come to mind. I make 1 gallon batches (all I have space for) so I never sample, 'cause I'd lose too much.
 
What was the starting gravity? Was it high enough that the yeasts reached their potential and stopped working? Depending on what you started out at, and what yeast you used, you may want to switch to a yeast with a higher alcohol ceiling...EC1118 perhaps? :-\

Or make another batch and run it dry - then blend. That may not work for the braggot, but it would work for the straight mead
 
Welcome to the forums ;D
Sad to hear about the stuck batches, but it would really help us understand what happened if we had the particulars of each batch. As mentioned before, depending on the starting SG, the yeasties might have reached the alcohol limit. Also, what temperature are the fermentors "housed" at? Your proposed starter sounds fine, get to a volume of about 2 - 3 quarts, even one gallon, before adding it to the entire batch. If the yeast used has a low ABV potential, use another with a higher potential in the starter...that is all dependent on your recipe!

Hope that helps,
Brewbear
 
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