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I have some questions about stirring?!

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xanthony00

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 25, 2015
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I'm sure it's been said before, but I keep getting mixed information from forums and recipes. Here is the recipe that I'm using, and it calls for stirring daily until the primary fermentation is almost complete.
http://traditionalmead.blogspot.com/p/way.html
(I used about 16lbs of clover honey and started with an S.G. of 1.130)
Now I'm at about 1.076 S.G. and have added my second dose of nutrients for the yeast. It's going pretty well, but I have some questions.

1. So what's the deal with stirring what effects does it have on the taste?
2. What happens when I don't stir at all?
3. When should I stop opening it to stir it?
4. Did I make a mistake by stirring it?
5. Do you think this Recipe is decent?
6. I'm considering just leaving it alone from this point forward, but I'm really hesitant to deviate from the recipe because It's my first time making mead.
7. What about using a wine whip?
8. I've heard it can be better to degas right before bottling, or just to let it sit for some months to let it settle out.
I also have to admit, I'm extremely worried about it getting contaminated, I've done a good job at keeping everything clean, it smells really good so far.

If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it a lot. Thanks!
 
The reason you want to stir it is to keep the yeast in suspension rather than getting them burried on the bottom of your carboy. That way they can continue to work. You don't need to be so concerned about opening things up to stir. Once your midway through your ferment the alcohol level is high enough that it's hard for infections/foriegn yeast to get established. You want to degas to keep your yeast happy as well. You should degas up until things slow down. After that, you will still want to stir every other day until you have racked it over and it starts to clear. I don't even close my stuff up until it starts to slow down considerably. I just set my lid losely on top. Even when it seems to have slowed to a crawl in a bucket, once you then move it over to a carboy you will realize it is still giving off lots of gasses. You don't need to be in any hurry to bottle either.
 
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