Hi everyone!
Just finished a successfully racking my mead. Well, I think it was successful—nothing ended up on the floor anyway.
I also decided to rack the mead into my plastic carboy from ECKraus instead of back into the glass carboy, as I think the glass one I have is a little bigger than my plastic one and I wasn’t as comfortable with the amount of head-space that left compared with how much is left when it’s in the plastic carboy.
When I checked the specific gravity of the mead right before it was racked, it was 1.000. A little higher than I’d like still, which indicates to me that perhaps I have a stuck fermentation? Just a little stuck though, since it’s nearly done? When I racked it, there was almost no sediment on the bottom (this is the second time I’ve racked the mead—there was a lot of sediment the first time). From what I’ve been reading online, I THINK it means there are still some yeasts in there (which I can taste) but they are stuck in “Never Never Land”.
Looking around the internet, it sounds like there are a bunch of different options. Figuring out which option is best for my mead is what the issue is.
Some are saying to add more yeast along with some yeast nutrient or yeast energizer. I’m hesitant to do this, as I am not yet convinced that the remaining yeasts are dead, I just think they are a little tired and worn out and in need of a boost.
Some were saying things about temperature, however, other than changing the temperature of the entire apartment, I don’t really have a good way to do this right now.
I think what I’m going to do is just add a little yeast nutrient and/or energizer, to see if whatever remaining yeasts are in there will get their little butts in gear and finish out that remaining 0.002 on the specific gravity scale! I’m also hoping that this will help with the clearing up process, as the mead did not clear up even in the slightest between when I racked the mead today and when I had racked the mead a few weeks ago.
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My name is Leigh Erwin, and I am a brand-spankin’ new home winemaker! E. C. Kraus has asked me to share with you my journey from a first-time dabbler to an accomplished home winemaker. From time to time I’ll be checking in with this blog and reporting my experience with you: the good, bad — and the ugly.