mixing question

[11x]

i started my first batch of mead yesterday. 1&1/2 gallon honey 2 packet d47 yeast (thought i killed the first one so i added 2nd for insurance after it coooled down) 1/4 tsp. tannin 1/2 tsp energizer 1&1/2 tsp acid blend and enough watter to reach the 5 gallon mark. my question is this. i stirred it realy well then shook the crap out of it for a long time. i read that you should mix the must for the first 3 days to make shure there is enough air in the must for the yeast. my local doit your self guy says mix it the first time and leave it. what is the right way. will it hurt if i mix it for the first 3 days? what do you do? thanks

 

[YogiBearMead726]

First off, welcome to GotMead ccasion14:

As far as stirring the must goes, the main purpose of it is to supply the yeast with enough oxygen to build up stong cell walls during their aerobic stage of life. If you just aerate once, you should be ok, but you run the risk of having a stressed or weak colony by the time fermentation has started, which could give you off flavors. Speaking from experience, since I started aerating more, my mead has finished cleanly with no off flavors. First batch? Not so much...heh. Most people on here (wait for one of the mentors to verify) like to continue aerating daily until they get a hydrometer reading the indicates 1/3 of the original sugar has been eaten by the yeast. Typically, adding too much oxygen after this runs the risk of oxidizing your must.

Long story short, if you want a fast, clean fermentation, add more oxygen via whatever means you use until your hydrometer gives you a reading 1/3 less than the starting gravity.

I'd also like to point out that adding tannins and acid isn't really necessary at the beginning unless you have a serious pH problem. Typically, these are added to mead later, but I can't honestly say from experience what, if anything, happens when you add them before fermentation.

Good luck!

 

[Medsen Fey]

Yes aerating the must early in the fermentation is key to getting complete fermentation by the yeast. With the amount of honey you added, it is going to end sweet, so most of the time, you'll want to have compete fermentation so it isn't left too sweet.

Adding acid at the beginning is generally not recommended as it may cause the pH of a traditional mead to drop so low that it impairs the yeast. D47 is pretty tolerant of low pH, but why make it work harder?

1/2 tsp of energizer for a 5-gallon batch is far too little. Something like 1 tsp per gallon will be better (it depends on what's in there - it could need more).

And Welcome to GotMead 11x

Medsen

 

[11x]

thanks

thanks for the responses. i guess then should i stir it up more? should i add more energiser? p.s. thanks to the moderator for correcting my spelling, lol

 

[11x]

1 week progress

well looked at the mead today. it has been about 68-69 deg ever since i started it and has been bubbling my airlock since day one. i smelled it today and it gave off a alchol sweet/sour smell. is that normal? kind of the smell when you mix vinager and sugar togather to put cucumbers and onions in but it has a alcahol smell. what do you think?

 

[Medsen Fey]

I think you are on your way to some good mead.

 

[11x]

thanks, i feal better hearing that. i was worried about the sour smell, it would be an expensive batch of vineagar..lol this mead thing is all new to me and i guess a 5 gallon batch for my first one is a bit much and has me worried i will mess it up. thanks again