back to the fermenter?

[Deborahjm]

I made my first mead before I found mead forum.

the recipe I made did not use yeast, just the 'wild yeast' on the fruit. My recipe is
2 cups honey
3 cups black mission figs
water to 1 gallon

I also made a gallon of the same recipe using black currants instead of black mission figs.

I started Feb 8, and racked it once. I bottled it in swing top bottles March 10 because I thought the fermentation had stopped. I decided to check a bottle today, just to see if it was under pressure, so that I would not be creating bottle bombs months down the road. It was/is pretty sparkly. I cannot imagine leaving it for months without explosions.

I am not sure what to do at this point. Should I be allowing it to ferment longer? Can I return it to fermentation?

Thanks for your help.

 

[wayneb]

The answer depends on whether or not there is any residual sugar remaining. Does it taste sweet, or dry?

 

[Medsen Fey]

Welcome to GotMead Deborahjm!!!

Folks here can probably give you a little better insight if we have more details on the recipe.

What was the starting gravity?
What was the gravity when bottled?
What is the gravity in the bottles now?

If there is any concern about bottle bombs, step one would be to put them in an ice cold fridge. That will reduce the pressure in the bottles and lessen the chances of any explosions. Keeping them inside a sturdy container like a fermentation bucket is also a good idea as is eye protection.

Once they are cold, you can open them and pour the mead back into a jug with an airlock and allow the fermentation to finish, and/or the mead to de-gas. With wild yeast the results are hard to predict, but it may be possible once everything is finished to rebottle with a measured amount of sugar (or honey) to get carbonation that will be at a safe level.

Aside from the carbonation issue, how does it taste?

Medsen