question on yeast

[skuli]

I have recently made a 1 gallon batch with 2 and half pounds honey but put 5 oz (1 packet) of yeast in. will this be a flop or will it be ok? i used montracket yeast thanks for any feedback i get.

 

[skunkboy]

Did you add any yeast nutrient or yeast energizers (aka DAP, fermaid K)?

Also what kind of results are you looking for, semisweet, dry?

 

[skuli]

I am looking for more of a dry mead, and no i dont hae the nutrients it said the packet had it in there. ummm so how much do i use for one gallon

 

[Grimm312]

I presume you mean 5g of yeast, which is one sachet?

If you put 5oz, which is ~140g you've used waaayyy more than you need. I dunno what happens when you use that much, but I'd guess it's not good.

 

[smertz001]

This will work out. It will definitely be dryer, but also a bit thinner than normal, more like a hydromel with only 2.5lbs of honey to the gallon. 1 package (5g, not oz) of yeast is definitely fine in a gallon. Those packages are good for up to 5 gallons usually. Unless the must is very high gravity, then you will need to add more to a 5 gallon batch.

In general this will be a nice light mead and could be quite tasty.

 

[Marshmallow Blue]

This will work out. It will definitely be dryer, but also a bit thinner than normal, more like a hydromel with only 2.5lbs of honey to the gallon. 1 package (5g, not oz) of yeast is definitely fine in a gallon. Those packages are good for up to 5 gallons usually. Unless the must is very high gravity, then you will need to add more to a 5 gallon batch.

In general this will be a nice light mead and could be quite tasty.

2.5 pounds isnt too bad. If it ferments dry (which it probably will) it will be over 11%, while hydromels use right around 1.5 lbs as they must be no greater than 7% abv.

I always thought the amount of yeast you pitched form the packet didn't really matter since by the end of it you'll have billions yeast cells than the packet ever had.

 

[Bob1016]

Pitching rate matter quite a bit! There are many factors involved: OG, intended FG, ester profile desired, nutrient level, temperature, and even the strain. There is a thread I started in the patrons section which focuses on two studies done on pitching rate (one mead, one wine), they both indicate that lower pitching rates provide a better flavor, but they were on ~1.090 OG musts in controlled environments. It remains to be seen how it works on an average homebrew mead.
Just remember everything that is done matters, to what extent is the variable, keep accurate records just to be sure that you know what's going on batch to batch.
PS you can make a great mead by controlling everything, or by doing nothing, it depends on how involved you want to get and your general techniques.