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Fermenting too fast?

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ox45

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Jan 11, 2013
89
2
8
Buffalo, NY
Hello all,

Brand new brewer here. So far have started a JAOM which is progressing nicely, but I wanted something to sip on in the mean time so I made up two gallon batches of no age mead.
I followed the instructions on
http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&recipe_id=119&Itemid=6
to the T.
The OG for both batches was the suggested 1.100. It started bubbling within an hour, and by the next day was throwing off about 2-3 bubbles a sec and smelled wonderfully yeasty. Last night was the 7 day mark so I tested the SG and was quite surprised. It was reading at 1.008 already. Looking at the recipe author's page, at one week his was at 1.045 at week one and 1.020 at week 2. Figuring maybe I was reading wrong, I tested the second gallon and that was already at 1.022.
Will the rapid fermentation have any ill side effects? I taste tested them both and neither was offensive tasting. Or should I just rack and stabilize as suggested on the original recipe and let clear?

Thanks!
 
ox45 said:
Hello all,

Brand new brewer here. So far have started a JAOM which is progressing nicely, but I wanted something to sip on in the mean time so I made up two gallon batches of no age mead.
I followed the instructions on
http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&recipe_id=119&Itemid=6
to the T.
The OG for both batches was the suggested 1.100. It started bubbling within an hour, and by the next day was throwing off about 2-3 bubbles a sec and smelled wonderfully yeasty. Last night was the 7 day mark so I tested the SG and was quite surprised. It was reading at 1.008 already. Looking at the recipe author's page, at one week his was at 1.045 at week one and 1.020 at week 2. Figuring maybe I was reading wrong, I tested the second gallon and that was already at 1.022.
Will the rapid fermentation have any ill side effects? I taste tested them both and neither was offensive tasting. Or should I just rack and stabilize as suggested on the original recipe and let clear?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
IMO there's no such thing as too fast......

if they happen to finish quicker, then fine, still follow the stages but as they pertain to your batches.

The original batches as made and described in the recipe might have been slightly different for many reasons, just go with it. As long as all the stages have been done, there's no reason that I can see why you should have any problems - just that your batches are happier to oblige....
 
I do agree faster is nice, but it always scares me when it's not supposed to be!

Usually keep the house at 67-70 throughout the day and night.

I decided to experiment a little when I got home today. After all that is the beauty of homebrewing!

The faster fermenting batch (jug A) is already starting to clarify. Not clear yet, but big, noticeable difference from yesterday. Still slowly bubbling away, about 1 bubble every 3 or so seconds. I decided that since this is working itself, I am going to let it be for another week to see where it takes us. If it dries too much then I will stabilize and backsweeten if need be.
Jug B is still very cloudy, but has a defined cake on the bottom. Tested SG and it's right on 1.020. So I did rack this onto some k-meta and sorbate to try and stop the process here. Tastes a bit hot, but not solvent like at all. Will check on it in a couple of days to make sure fermentation has indeed stopped as I hear the K1V-1116 can be a pain to stop sometimes.
 
So I racked Jug B last night onto the K-Meta and Sorbate solution. I checked this morning (about 12 hours) and it showed no signs of slowing down. I'm afraid that the fermentation was still too rapid for the chems to do their work.
If I cold crash it for a few days, and re-rack, will I need to add more chems to the new bottle or will the stuff in there be sufficient to keep the reaction from starting back up?
 
Yeah after further reading I see that you should clear first then rack. But the recipe made no mention of crashing it so I just racked the cloudy mixture onto the chems. I'm just worried about adding too much or too little chems when I re-rack after the cold crash. Would the amount I have in there now be sufficient, or would I need to add more when I rack?
 
Just in case anyone is following along. From the research I have done I should be set with the sorbate still, just might have to add a bit of the K-Meta when I rack after the cold crash.
 
ox45 said:
Just in case anyone is following along. From the research I have done I should be set with the sorbate still, just might have to add a bit of the K-Meta when I rack after the cold crash.
Click to expand...

Good research!

And yeah, you've just found out yourself why we would either let it come to a stop on its own or cold-crash it first. Them yeasties is tenacious! ... Except when you want them to be. Then they stall out early on you :rolleyes:
 
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