First Batch of Mead, Looking for Advice and Criticism

[Stasis]

So if it seems assured that with dilution of the must after the first fermentation is complete and after I add additional sugar in the form of honey or fruit, if Sorbate alone isn't enough to halt fermentation
Sorbate alone is never enough. Use sulphites, then sorbate later. I've seen 12hrs and 24 hrs mentioned as later
and there's still plenty of yeast biomass there to carry on
There's always yeast to carry on
, how do I stop the fermentation from going out of control?
If it started it might be difficult to stop again. Use sulphites and sorbate to prevent it from happening in the first place. There are unreliable ways to stop ferments tat I won't go into now
Or in the case of back sweetening and changing the alcohol content of the must with more honey or what have you, do I just let it ferment to it's tolerance again?
You could let it ferment again. Assuming you fed plenty of honey you will have residual sweetness and this is sweetening by the step feeding way. You might get higher alcohol levels than you expected though
It almost seems like a lose lose. I assumed Sorbate would keep the yeast dormant till they died their natural death.
Not just sorbate
But I assume now that if you really want the fermentation to cease you have to treat it with sorbate or sulfites after racking and again before bottling?
Sulfites after racking to prevent oxidation and/or refermentation. Sorbate before bottling. You can Sorbate early much before back sweetening but there's no need to and technically its worse although people might say it doesn't really make much difference

I know that cold crashing has been thrown around as an option, but does that prove more effective at actually killing off the yeast, or is that just another means by which they're rendered inert?
they don't die. They're rendered inert because the temp goes below their fermentation temp. Cold crashing becomes less effective if your batch is large because yeast generate their own heat and because it might not fit in your fridge Sometimes cold crashing fails because the yeast don't go fully dormant before adding sulphites or the mazer takes the mead out the fridge too soon after adding sulphites

Yeast do die off by time but it seems that some yeast always remain in your batch ready to re-awaken at the opportune time. Probably if you were to graph yeast population vs time the curve will be one of those curves which always approach yeast population = 0 without ever touching the value. Search yeast death phase on google images and it seems to be true. I don't post an image here since it seems there aren't images from actual studies and images don't exactly agree on the shape of the curve. Most are curves as I describe though. I can't be bothered to look for a wine study with such an image

 

[Stasis]

I think that more or less addresses the concerns I had. So the sorbate is to be used in conjunction with the other sulfites to further hinder the yeast. After racking, sulfites, then sorbate if backsweetening, bottling should be safe after the gravity has been stable for just a few days? A week or two? I know yeast is harder to predict than that, but helps set my mind at ease.
I'd wait a week or two before bottling at least until you get the feel for things. Some people see bubbles and think it's off gassing when it's renewed fermentation
A lot of the concern I have about making bottle bombs will be alleviated after I've finished brewing the first batch I think. If I intend to bulk age the batch, it should be the same as if I were to bottle it right?
You have to backsweeten (if this is your aim) before you bottle. You can leave back sweetening for later if you're bulk aging
Add my sulfites after racking, air lock it, make sure it's stable, then just seal it up and wait?
You might need to add sulfites again after time since some free SO2 will become bound while aging (i.e. some air will inevitably get into your batch and make some of your sulphites ineffective)
I know I've heard a lot of people talking about using sorbate before bottling also, regardless of backsweetening.
Makes sense since even the most dry mead still has residual sugars. I've had bottles become pettilant when I did not use stabilizing chems even when the gravity was below 1.000
Your guys' responses have been super helpful by the way!
Thanks again!

Don't just take these answers. Read up on the subject and get a clearer picture

 

[Devin Petry-Johnson]

bottling should be safe after the gravity has been stable for just a few days? A week or two?

If I intend to bulk age the batch, it should be the same as if I were to bottle it right? Add my sulfites after racking, air lock it, make sure it's stable, then just seal it up and wait? I know I've heard a lot of people talking about using sorbate before bottling also, regardless of backsweetening.

I've been pretty confused by all this myself, so I think that's normal. And I've only been doing this for a few months so I'm no expert. But for me personally, I would give it more then just a few days of stable gravity. With a large batch and toward the end of fermentation, things can happen pretty slowly. For me if it is the same gravity for at least a week, then I'm comfortable. Mead takes a while to age and mellow out anyway. In my limited experience, you lose nothing by waiting a few extra days. You're going to be waiting anyway. And the cost of bottling early is not worth it. If you have to bottle because you want to give some as a gift or take some to a party, just drink it within a few days or keep it in the fridge until you are ready to drink it. But I've heard that it will age slower in the fridge. So if you need it to mellow out, that will take longer.

In regards to bulk aging, yes I think it is the same as aging in the bottle, or better. I've heard that if you rack early, the components are not fully mixed together and you might have different flavors/sweetness from one bottle to the next. I'm sure you can use sorbate without sweetening, but you might be wasting it.

And I think you're right that you will feel better after a few batches are made, aged, and enjoyed. There is a lot to learn, and can be overwhelming, but it's nice when you start to hit your stride.

 

[Squatchy]

Try 3-4 months. Even then there are no promises it won't start up again. Some have had batches restart after 2 years or more

 

[Chevette Girl]

Hi Roland! I just wanted to say that adding sulphites before fermentation is not as important as you seem to think it is, as others have said, the amount of yeast you're going to pitch will take care of anything that's snuck into your must. It's FAR more important to use sulphites (and sorbate) AFTER your fermentation is done and before you bottle... For reference, I only ever sulphite a must before fermentation if I'm using a fruit that spoils extremely quickly (for me, it's pears) or if something... unexpected... happened to my must or my fruit. The yeast takes care of pretty much anything else. IF you use something like K1V, it's even got a kill factor to dispose of other yeasts (bonus, it's not that fussy about temperatures and might be a good place to start).

You mention being concerned about your fermentation going "out of control", don't worry too much about that either. It WILL stop when it runs out of sugar, it's not like it can keep going forever. If it's gone completely dry, fermentation can't really start up again even if there's lots of yeast left.

Racking and cold crashing is not enough to make sure your yeast is gone before backsweetening and you will want to use sulphite and sorbate. Sorbate alone will do nothing to an active ferment, it just keps the existing yeast from making more yeast. The sulphites is what deactivates the yeast.

If your yeast taps out while there's still sugar left, Devin brings up a good point about it being done <i>for that condition</i>, so unless you're going to leave the must alone for a year or two, I'd still suggest stabilizing it with sulphites AND sorbate before bottling, and give it a week or two after stabilizing to make sure the SG isn't still dropping very slowly. My very first mead popped a few corks because it stopped at 1.015 so I left it there for 4 months, making sure there was no airlock activity or change in SG, then bottled it without stabilizing, and a month later, I had fizzy mead in bottles not rated to handle carbonated contents...

Also certain bacteria that sulphites kill can break down sorbate into something that smells like geraniums, so if you use sorbate, it's recommended that you use sulphites too, because once you have this geranium thing going on, there's no saving it. I've been lucky the few times I did this before knowing better, but now that I do know better, it's not a risk I want to take again.

Do yourself the favour and whether you backsweeten or not, stabilize anything that still contains residual sugars before you bottle.