My very first batch and something is missing...

[HuyViệtNguyễn]

I started my first batch since July 2. Till today, the fermentation seem go to it end and i took sample of it. It taste a bit sour, dry, but not a bit of alcohol. So what am i missing from the first place?
I'm using 1.1 kilogram wild flower honey.Adding to 4 liter of water. Boiling for 10 min and let it cool to 30 degree Celsius, then add 20 gram of fruit yeast In total to make 5 liter batch. The SG at that time was 1.120, and now it drop to 1.005
I'm from Vietnam where there are no home brew store, so i could not find any of yeast nutrient or some sort of thing that help with. Also sorry for my bad English.

 

[Squatchy]

So if your question is about providing nutrients. You can make a little bit of boiling water and add bread yeast to the boiling water. Let cool and add once it's the same temp as your mead. You might want to add 5 grams total spread over days 2,3,4. If that becomes stink make sure to stir hard a few times a day to blow off the small. And add more dead yeast than what I suggested.


Welcome to the forums.

And your English is not too bad

 

[darigoni]

How long has it been fermenting?

Is it clear or are you also tasting yeast that is still suspended in it?

Something's not right. 1.1kg in a 5L batch should have given you an SG of around 1.065, which is about 8.3% ABV. You would have had to use 2 kg of honey, in 5L, to get up to 1.120.

I'm not sure what a fruit yeast is or what the alcohol tolerance would be, but what you are describing is what a dry mead tastes like.

You can add more honey, to backsweeten, but you should probably read about "stabilizing", before doing so or you risk having the fermentation start up again.

 

[HuyViệtNguyễn]

It been ferment for more than 2 weeks, and after it got clear, i stabilizing it by cold crash method. My main question is why my mead does not have any alcohol in it? The yeast, as i can see, does pretty good job by consume sugar and gave out co2, and somehow that's all.
Also, i'm aiming for a pure honey, sweet mead with low alcohol.

 

[Squatchy]

It been ferment for more than 2 weeks, and after it got clear, i stabilizing it by cold crash method. My main question is why my mead does not have any alcohol in it? The yeast, as i can see, does pretty good job by consume sugar and gave out co2, and somehow that's all.
Also, i'm aiming for a pure honey, sweet mead with low alcohol.

If it had honey and now the honey is gone. That cannot happen without making alcohol. How do you read your gravities?

 

[HuyViệtNguyễn]

If it had honey and now the honey is gone. That cannot happen without making alcohol. How do you read your gravities?

i take a sample into a measuring cylinder, measure temperature it was 26 degree Celsius at that time, and then the hydrometer. I let that float in the middle and read the scale at the surface. I also had a thing, similar to the hydrometer but used to measure alcohol, it also give 0 alcohol in my mead beside my taste.

 

[HuyViệtNguyễn]

There are many things that i consider. Is the temperature to high when i put my yeast in? Does expose to compact light count? At first i gave it a good shake, and swirl occasionally after that, does that not enough?

 

[Squatchy]

What was your beginning measurement and your end measurement?

With a hydrometer? I don't care about other methods? unless you understand how to use those you will get errors all the time.

 

[HuyViệtNguyễn]

What was your beginning measurement and your end measurement?

With a hydrometer? I don't care about other methods? unless you understand how to use those you will get errors all the time.

yeah, with a hydrometer. It began with 1.120 and now it drop to 1.005