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Mead Lovers Digest #1603
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1603, 18 October 2012
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1603 18 October 2012
Mead Discussion Forum
Contents:
adding yeast nutrient (Steve Ruch)
Re: Nutrients mid ferment (Bob)
Re: adding yeast nutrient after fermentation has started? (Spam-a-holic)
yeast nutrient (Micah Millspaw)
Re: adding yeast nutrient after fermentation has started? (Phil)
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Subject: adding yeast nutrient
From: Steve Ruch <tattoo123@webtv.net>
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:15:40 GMT
I don't know if adding nutrient at this point would help, but I'm
sure it wouldn't hurt.
You can't rush mead. Starting at 1.090 you should end up with
something pretty strong whch will definately need time to mellow.
Steve
"We ALL put the yeast in." Larry, Moe & Curly
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Subject: Re: Nutrients mid ferment
From: Bob <bob.kiley@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:57:38 -0400
I assume you mean 1.090 and 1.050 (SG should always have 3 decimal places,
it's just one of those things (?)). After the 1/3 sugar break yeast tend
not to take in any nutrients; if you try again use 1g/gal Fermaid K at
~1.065 and add some DAP after first sign of ferment. A traditional can
have nutrients, oak, and many other additives as long as it does not affect
flavor. Show meads can't have anything other than honey, yeast and water;
I would stay away from these unless you have a few batches under your belt,
and a lot of time to wait.
You can try adding raisins to the batch, the yeast may eat those and get
some energy; or you can do a yeast starter and add that with some nutrients.
I don't know if yeast hulls make a difference mid ferment, maybe some one
will chime in with more experience.
- -Bob
Sent from my iPhone
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Subject: Re: adding yeast nutrient after fermentation has started?
From: Spam-a-holic <spamalot@catscoffeechocolate.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2012 15:06:45 -0400
> Subject: adding yeast nutrient after fermentation has started?
> From: Bob Anzlovar <rcanzlovar@gmail.com>
> Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:23:02 -0400
>
> I've started a batch of traditional mead using about 12 pounds of honey and
> yeast. When I started it, it had a specific gravity of 1.09. After a month
> or so, it's dropped to about 1.05 but the fermentation is going slowly, and
> my spouse is impatient.
>
> Would it make sense to add yeast nutrient at this point to move things
> along? The articles i've found online say that yeast nutrient is added at
> the beginning, but nothing seems to address adding it later. Thoughts?
IMHO (and there are those as think otherwise): Patience is your friend
here. Mead takes time.
As far as I know, yeast nutrient is only of use in the beginning, since
it helps support the aerobic rapid growth/division phase, which is long
past. Alternatively, you can make an unhopped malt starter (plenty of
nutrients in malt) and "wash" yeast for pitching the mead with a good
big healthy starter.
And in my experience, nutrient or no-nutrient, getting into mead much
before a few years is wasting possible good mead if you had waited for
it .vs. robbing it young.
I guess you could quietly start another batch (with nutrient if you
like) and let the impatient spouse go to town on the utterly immature
unfinished stuff you have now - you only have a month into it...but if
said spouse likes that sort of thing, you'll have to keep making more to
be sacrificed if you want to actually get a batch to maturity. It is
common to want results faster than that, but IME good results don't
really come much faster than that. May vary for alternate
interpretations of good results...
I don't even crack the fermenter for 6 months or more. No point getting
a gravity (and allowing possible contamination) when I know perfectly
well it's not going to be done. I recall being somewhat less patient,
but I'd met a lot of bad mead - which inspired me to follow the example
of the few folks I know that made good mead, and that involved excellent
sanitation and plenty of time. And, I've seen my own mead get better in
storage, so I now regret drinking some of it when it was overly young,
when the sibling bottles have improved vastly with time. This year's
rocket fuel may prove delightful in 3-10 years. Sampling a bottle rarely
to see if it' still rocket fuel is about as much as I want to do with it
until it mellows a bit.
L. Smith; Cats, Coffee, Chocolate... Vices to live by.
------------------------------
Subject: yeast nutrient
From: Micah Millspaw <MMillspaw@Silgancontainers.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:06:14 +0000
Did you add yeast nutrient at the start? If not, then adding it now with
not hurt. What temperature are you fermenting at? Lower temps will slow
down the finish. What yeast are you using?
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Subject: Re: adding yeast nutrient after fermentation has started?
From: Phil <dogglebe@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:59:57 -0700 (PDT)
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Tell your spouse to sit tight. Mead shouldn't be rushed.
Having said that, you can add some nutrient. Before I started making mead
via SNA, I would add a half teaspoon of nutrient, dissolved in water,
whenever I racked. Adding too much, I'm told, will give your batch a
metallic taste.
Phil
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1603
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