Third time making, still doubts.

[garfo]

Hey there, I'm new obra the fórum. I'm from Portugal, and I'm on the 4th attempt to make mead. First one was vinagre, second was great, third was ruined (but I know why), fourth is happening right now.
My fourth attempt started on the 26th of August, after three hours it started fermenting with a very good rythm whitch was surprising. Well, after 7 days it decreased severely. Is it normal, or should I add some more nutrients? If so, should I add them now, or should I let the first three weeks of fermenting end and add during the first siphoning?

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[kudapucat]

It's possible that everything's fine.
Do you have a hydrometer? If so, measure your brew, and let us know.
Also please include the entire recipe for us, it helps a lot.

If you don't have a hydrometer, please go out and buy one.

 

[garfo]

I don't have one, so, I didn't take any measurements. I'll order one.
The receipt was an adaptation, but it went as follows:
4kg of honey
Approx. 9 litters water
Juice from 1/2 orange
1 sachet black tea
1 sachet green tea
3 cardamome seeds
6 dried grapes
Bioferm east(indicated for champagne / 18% Max vol apprx.)
Nutrientes
The nutrients and east weren't measured because I don't have How to weight them, it is hardware to get a scale that reads these numbers, it's actually almost illegal to carry them.

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[garfo]

Also, is it Ok to Open it and take measurements? I always thought we should't let any Air in...

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[kudapucat]

It's mead. It won't mind if you're careful.
Clean and sanitise your gear. Test, then pour the sample back in.
You'll be fine.

 

[kudapucat]

Ok. Some quick sums show a potential alcohol of 13%
Using 18% champagne yeast means it should go dry.
Dry is 1.000 or less.
Get your hydrometer.
Take a sample. If 1.000 or less, it's probably done.
Wait a week.
Take another sample. If it hasn't moved, then it's done.
If it's higher that 1.000 (you started around 1.100) then it could be stuck, and you have a few options.
Sit tight for now, and wait for your hydrometer.

There's nothing in your recipe that suggests you will get any bad flavour by waiting.

You'll be fine.

 

[kudapucat]

Also order some potassium metabisulphate, and potassium sorbate.

Here's a hint for your scale.
Weigh a cup of something, then divide that weight by 50 and you'll know how much a teaspoon weighs.

 

[garfo]

And doesn't the size of the cup matter? For the east I know How much a pack has. The east pack says that for 10 litters I should use 4 grams, so, I kinda use 1/2 pack. But that's not the receits quantity...
I'll be getting the hydrometer and the potassiums as well.

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[kudapucat]

A cup as in the measure. 250ml if metric. (A metric teaspoon is 5ml)
Any large measure is fine, then divide it, so you can just spoon it out.
You can spoon 50 or 100 spoons onto your scale, then divide by 50 or 100 to get 1 spoons weight.

 

[garfo]

I can only find potassium metabisulphate here.

 

[fatbloke]

Sorbate is sometimes called "wine stabilised".

Depends where you are too. Put a vague location on your profile. You'd be surprised how helpful local knowledge can be........

 

[Stasis]

what type of nutrient are you using? There are a couple of brands that say it's nutrient and you only get DAP (diammonium phosphate). A more complete nutrient will yield a more complete, and better tasting ferment.
If the source of the problem is not found you might want to read about yeast starters and sanitation. Perhaps the yeast you are using is not overly competitive and wild yeasts are taking a bit over

 

[garfo]

I'm using nutrivit, it is a mix of nutrients, minerals and vitamins (B1).

what type of nutrient are you using? There are a couple of brands that say it's nutrient and you only get DAP (diammonium phosphate). A more complete nutrient will yield a more complete, and better tasting ferment.
If the source of the problem is not found you might want to read about yeast starters and sanitation. Perhaps the yeast you are using is not overly competitive and wild yeasts are taking a bit over

 

[garfo]

So, I've bought the hydrometer today and I took the reading, as you already know I didn't take measurements before fermenting but right now it sits between 1.000 and 1.010, so, I would say 1.005??

Ok. Some quick sums show a potential alcohol of 13%
Using 18% champagne yeast means it should go dry.
Dry is 1.000 or less.
Get your hydrometer.
Take a sample. If 1.000 or less, it's probably done.
Wait a week.
Take another sample. If it hasn't moved, then it's done.
If it's higher that 1.000 (you started around 1.100) then it could be stuck, and you have a few options.
Sit tight for now, and wait for your hydrometer.

There's nothing in your recipe that suggests you will get any bad flavour by waiting.

You'll be fine.

 

[Stasis]

Well, after 7 days it decreased severely. Is it normal, or should I add some more nutrients? If so, should I add them now, or should I let the first three weeks of fermenting end and add during the first siphoning?

Adding nutrients might have been a good idea if the gravity was really high and it seems to have stalled. 1.005 is good, this is why a hydrometer is important. I cannot imagine a scenario where you'd want to siphon and add nutrients later. Maybe if you're worried some ingredients will go off or will impart too much flavor.
Fermentation could often finish before 3 weeks and even within a week. As kudapucat said already, now you just need to wait, take readings every week and see if there is any change to hydrometer readings. When you're pretty sure it's finished you can siphon

 

[kudapucat]

FATBLOKE: Portugal
Though I agree garfo, setting up your profile would be handy.
FatBloke is from the UK, so is a lot closer to Portugal than me, and has a good idea of what's available in Europe.

This should go bone dry.
If it stays at 1.005 I strongly recommend you stabilise it with KMeta.
Sorbate will be around, this should only be used with kmeta though, so hold off until you have both, or don't use it. Maybe ask your local, it could be marketed by brand name in Portugal.

 

[WVMJack]

Hi Garfo, you guys have some history of apple cider in your area right? One really good mead is a cyser made with real cider apples, that might be interesting to do for batch 5. WVMJ

 

[garfo]

What is kmeta? Yesterday I went to the local Brew wearhouse in Porto and asked them for potassium sorbat, they didn't have any.
I have the potassium metabysulphit though. I'll wait and take readings next week.
Anyway, If it's stuck, isn't it Ok to use the metabysulphit to stop any unwanted fermentation and leave it like that?


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[Chevette Girl]

You can add the metabisulphate now but the problem is, you run the risk of having it restart later even if it appears to be stuck now. Metabisulphite only knocks out the yeast, it won't kill them all, and what the sorbate does is prevent any survivors from replicating so you really want to use both if you can. If you can't, then I recommend either a long aging period before you bottle it (6 months ot a year) or be very careful when you bottle and use screw tops or swing caps so you can open one occasionally and see if there's any hiss of carbonation (if so, open them all and let them depressurize or you run the risk of exploding bottles).

So it sounds like your first few batches were learning experiences? I hope the vinegar from the first batch was at least good for cooking and learning why your third batch was ruined is good, even if having ruined it is not. Keep it up and you'll eventually have gotten all the mistakes out of the way!!

As the others have said, your hydrometer will tell you if your yeast needs nutrients or is out of sugar, you don't want to add nutrients late in the fermentation because then other organisms (like the ones that make vinegar) can use them because the yeast isn't capable of metabolising it past about halfway through the fermentation. And when you get low on sugars, your fermentation will slow down as the yeast run out of food.

Oh, and kmeta is our short form for potassium metabisulphite.

 

[garfo]

The reason why I ruined the batch was because the recipient I used for the fermentation was not letting any bubbles come out. Anyway it was working and the gases were just leaking. Latter on I added more nutrients and ferment, and I ended up mixing two types of ferment.