Mead Not Reaching Its Expected Alcohol Level

[user 19400]

I've just racked a moderately sweet, herbal mead following a basic recipe out of Ken Schramm's The Compleat Meadmaker. The yeast is W-Yeast 2049 bought from a Sydney brewing shop, which I am told is a champagne yeast. Starting OG was 1.116 (about same as the recipe) and after one month, on racking, it was 1.058, or 7.3% alcohol, compared to an expected OG of around 1.010, ie an alc level of 13.9%. Fermentation doesn't seem to have recommenced.

The recipe calls for checking and adjusting the pH with calcium carbonate, which I haven't done.

The herbs (in 5 litres) are:

o 1 tsp ginger powder

o 2 threads saffron

o 1tsp green tea

o 5 clove buds

o 5 all spice berries

o 4 casseus cinnamon sticks


Does anyone have any experience of reliably measuring pH, and whether too low a pH is normally a problem with medium sweet meads? I'm an industrial chemist, so am quite used to playing with pH. I don't believe these herbs will influence the pH greatly, and they were removed on racking.

I've asked before about this yeast, whch I can't locate on the net, and no-one on this forum seems to have heard of it.

What kind of meter do people tend to use - I'm told a digital meter is best rather than pH paper.

Grateful for any thoughts!

Thanks!!

 

[Airgead]

I've just racked a moderately sweet, herbal mead following a basic recipe out of Ken Schramm's The Compleat Meadmaker. The yeast is W-Yeast 2049 bought from a Sydney brewing shop, which I am told is a champagne yeast. Starting OG was 1.116 (about same as the recipe) and after one month, on racking, it was 1.058, or 7.3% alcohol, compared to an expected OG of around 1.010, ie an alc level of 13.9%. Fermentation doesn't seem to have recommenced.

The recipe calls for checking and adjusting the pH with calcium carbonate, which I haven't done.

The herbs (in 5 litres) are:

o 1 tsp ginger powder

o 2 threads saffron

o 1tsp green tea

o 5 clove buds

o 5 all spice berries

o 4 casseus cinnamon sticks


Does anyone have any experience of reliably measuring pH, and whether too low a pH is normally a problem with medium sweet meads? I'm an industrial chemist, so am quite used to playing with pH. I don't believe these herbs will influence the pH greatly, and they were removed on racking.

I've asked before about this yeast, whch I can't locate on the net, and no-one on this forum seems to have heard of it.

What kind of meter do people tend to use - I'm told a digital meter is best rather than pH paper.

Grateful for any thoughts!

Thanks!!

I'm guessing its that mystery yeast that is causing your low attenuation. I'd say its a beer yeast rather than a wine.

I honestly never bother measuring PH. I'll do a titratable acidity and adjust that with some citric/tartaric if I'm feeling picky but usually I'll adjust by taste before I bottle and then only in plain meads. Usually fruit gives enough extra acid that you don't need it.

Some basic PH papers in the right PH range would be all you need though if you did want to check it. Much easier and lower maintenance than a meter for occasional use.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Wolfy]

If this is the same mead that you posted about previously, I'd also suggest looking at re-pitching what you know for sure is a high alcohol tolerate champagne yeast. Especially useful would be Fermentis Prise de Mousse EC-1118 or Lalvain Montpelier 1116, both of which should be easy to find, but that way you are certain what the yeast is and can be sure that it will ferment out more of the sugars.

If you're an industrial chemist you may have access to some decent pH reading meters, but I can tell you from past experience that the two cheap-ebay ones that I have had are totally useless and you are much better using testing papers than the cheap-pH meters.

 

[gap]

I've just racked a moderately sweet, herbal mead following a basic recipe out of Ken Schramm's The Compleat Meadmaker. The yeast is W-Yeast 2049 bought from a Sydney brewing shop, which I am told is a champagne yeast. Starting OG was 1.116 (about same as the recipe) and after one month, on racking, it was 1.058, or 7.3% alcohol, compared to an expected OG of around 1.010, ie an alc level of 13.9%. Fermentation doesn't seem to have recommenced.


Thanks!!

There is no mention on the Wyeast web site of 2049.

Regards

 

[white.grant]

Did you add nutrients to the must? A common problem with mead fermentability is the absence of yeast nutrients in honey, this is where fermaid K and DAP assist in providing the right chemical nutrients for the yeast to thrive and eat sugars

cheers

grant

 

[pdilley]

Meads can be slightly acidic at the start of fermentation and the act of fermentation acidifies it further. Yeast have a pH range where exceeding it will slow then halt fermentation. Nutrients as mentioned are used during metabolism and are missing in most honey or fruit musts. Being a chemist you may enjoy the detective work analysing your mead faults.

All of the above is why old mead recipes ferment slowly, the yeast just are not healthy during the ferment.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[SuiCIDER]

Did you add nutrients and aerate until the 1/3rd sugar break? It has become standard practice with meads due to the low available nutrient in honey. I would say try to correct your pH if it is anything lower than 3.2 with some potassium carbonate or crushed up egg shells if you're going for an all-natural mead.

 

[user 19400]

Thanks for everyone's replies. Yes, I have added nutrients, not sure what is meant about aerating until the 1/3 sugar break - can you explain that, Brewer Pete? I produce a starter and let that rip along for half a day, so the yeast is usually pretty fired up by the time it goes into the batch.

Sounds like I need to try a different yeast (I've not been able to locate the one I use on the YWyeast website either), and I will give pH paper a go, though most people, in this forum and elsewhere, say not to bother.

Am starting a dry mead this weekend, then will give a berry mead a go.

Yes, checking out all the variables could be all-consuming, have pondered setting up a range of small fermentations in a heap of wine bottles, but I have too many other things to obsess about!

Lookin forward to any further replies!

Cheers

Matt

 

[user 19400]

Further to my last post, I have just sought advice from my local supplier, and the goer is:

• shake the beejeebees out of the must for 5mins after the yeast is pitched - I have been boiling my water, so re-aerating is important (noting I am preparing a starter before hand). My supplier swears by the yeast I have, so I'll give this same yeast plus aeration a go with my dry mead attempt this weekend - the recipe I have should produce 11% alc mead; and
• my supplier has provided me with Vintner's Harvest CL23 dry white wine yeast (the other two yeasts this forum recommended weren't available). This beastie is on the net and sounds awesome (assuming the marketing info is accurate). Will save this for when next I need new yeast (maybe use it with a previous recipe to compare against my current yeast).

Will report in due course!

Cheers

Matt

 

[pdilley]

Thanks for everyone's replies. Yes, I have added nutrients, not sure what is meant about aerating until the 1/3 sugar break - can you explain that, Brewer Pete?

Thats mead makers jargon for 1/3 of the fermentable sugars in the original recipe having been consumed by the yeast.

So half of the fermentable sugars used up would be the 1/2 sugar break in the fermentation cycle.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[Airgead]

Thats mead makers jargon for 1/3 of the fermentable sugars in the original recipe having been consumed by the yeast.

So half of the fermentable sugars used up would be the 1/2 sugar break in the fermentation cycle.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

Of course, some meadmakers are traditionalists and don't hold with this new fangled sugar break nonsense...

Nutrients and oxygen at the start then let the yeast do its thing. Hasn't failed me yet.

Cheers
Dave

 

[user 19400]

Of course, some meadmakers are traditionalists and don't hold with this new fangled sugar break nonsense...

Nutrients and oxygen at the start then let the yeast do its thing. Hasn't failed me yet.

Cheers
Dave

Thanks Dave - and the 1/3 point is measured by the change in specific gravity, 1/3 of the way between the SG and the theoretical gravity of 1.000 for water?

 

[Airgead]

Thanks Dave - and the 1/3 point is measured by the change in specific gravity, 1/3 of the way between the SG and the theoretical gravity of 1.000 for water?

Apparently so.

I am yet to be convinced of the need for such fancy process on a homebrew scale. I can see it on an industrial scale where you need to move product through quickly and have the gear to measure your process acuuratly. On a homebrew scale, airating until the 1/3 sugar break could stuff things up big time if you are just a tad too late and the yeast have started to go anaerobic and produce alcohol. Hard to tell on a homebrew level.

My traditional fermentations generally take 2 weeks. The fancy method can apparently do them in 1 but 2 is fast enough for me. I'm in no hurry.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Wolfy]

Further to my last post, I have just sought advice from my local supplier, and the goer is:

Shaking it for 5mins is a good start, but you probably need to shake for about 20-30mins to aerate it adequately.

There are many retailers who have online shops and will send you exactly what you want, instead of what they have in stock which may (or may not) be close to what you are looking for, if you are doing stuff like making mead - which is not very mainstream - you might need to shop around a little more to find what you need.

 

[user 19400]

Thanks Wolfy for the thoughts on aeration time - is great exercise doing by hand!

Have just been informed my W-Yeast 2049 is the Fermentis SC-22 strain, which is a dry wine yeast, good to 15% alc. My dry mead brew slowed down after 10 days, with plenty of lees, but will leave for another two weeks before racking and testing the SG.

 

[KudaPucat]

Thanks Dave - and the 1/3 point is measured by the change in specific gravity, 1/3 of the way between the SG and the theoretical gravity of 1.000 for water?

Actually that's only for a dry mead.
The 1/3 is of the amount of sugar you expect the yeast to eat.

ie SG 1120, FG 1030
1/3 is 1090
2/3 is 1060

The same batch with champagne yeast

1/3 is 1080
2/3 is 1040

Also... champagne yeast tends to be 18%
this could cause a drop in gravity of 135 points or so.
so your mead would be dry.
If it's 15% it's not a champagne yeast.

If it's the yeast has carked it... try waking it up with a vigorous shake.
If that doesn't work buy some EC-1118 it appears to be designed as a stuck-fermentation-restarter-yeast as much as it is a champagne yeast

But if you do this, as I noted above, you'll get a dry mead that you may feel needs backsweetening.

 

[user 19400]

Actually that's only for a dry mead.
The 1/3 is of the amount of sugar you expect the yeast to eat.

ie SG 1120, FG 1030
1/3 is 1090
2/3 is 1060

The same batch with champagne yeast

1/3 is 1080
2/3 is 1040

Also... champagne yeast tends to be 18%
this could cause a drop in gravity of 135 points or so.
so your mead would be dry.
If it's 15% it's not a champagne yeast.

If it's the yeast has carked it... try waking it up with a vigorous shake.
If that doesn't work buy some EC-1118 it appears to be designed as a stuck-fermentation-restarter-yeast as much as it is a champagne yeast

But if you do this, as I noted above, you'll get a dry mead that you may feel needs backsweetening.

Thanks KudaPucat, I racked the dry mead yesterday, and it came out at a FG og 1.000, compared to a SG of 1.056, which corresponds to 7.4% alcohol, 73% attenuation, 17.8g/L residual sugar. This result followed shaking before starting the ferment. I'm pretty happy with that result, noting I didn't have as much honey in the recipe as I intended and the ferment probably stopped due to lack of useful sugar - Schramm's Compleat Meadmaker has an error at p163 for the Dry Show Mead recipe (which I followed) states 10lbs of honey being equivalent to 2.27Kg (I followed the metric), whereas it should be 4.54kg.

So far, we have a sweet mead, a sweet spicy mead and a dry mead, started over the last few months, with about 7.5%alc, which is a tad disappointing when we wanted higher attenuations, but still drinkable! We'll have a very meady Christmas! And we're gradually perfecting the technique. Have run out of bulk honey, time to find some more, and the next recipe will be sweet mead with berries. Can't wait!

 

[Airgead]

Thanks KudaPucat, I racked the dry mead yesterday, and it came out at a FG og 1.000, compared to a SG of 1.056, which corresponds to 7.4% alcohol, 73% attenuation, 17.8g/L residual sugar. This result followed shaking before starting the ferment.

Actually, that's 100% attenuation. 1.000 is no sugar left (well.... .996 or thereabouts depending on the alcohol level but close enough).

Cheers
Dave

 

[user 19400]

View attachment alcohol_content_1_.pdf

Actually, that's 100% attenuation. 1.000 is no sugar left (well.... .996 or thereabouts depending on the alcohol level but close enough).

Cheers
Dave

Thanks Dave, but from the attached table of different OGs and FGs, it seems that the FG could get to 0.990 with 8.6% alc and an attentuation of 86% when the OG was 1.055. If my 73% attenuation corresponds to 7.4%, 100% attenuation would be 9.9% alc, which is getting close to what the recipe predicted.

Put another way, at 1.000, the density of the liquid is contributed by water, ethanol and sugar - a good conversion of ethanol would need a corresponding amount of sugar left to keep the SG at 1.0 - that can be seen by looking across the table at the row for FG of 1.000.

 

[KudaPucat]

Matt, it can get to 0.990, but I've never seen it. 0.996 I've seen quite often.
Also: due to your low SG, you could probably call this one more of a hydromel than a mead.

Further to the unintended low SG, Ken has quite a large presence on the net. He frequents an american mead site www.gotmead.com.
Why not let him know of the error, he may already know, but he mentioned recently he was considering a compleat revision to the whole book, so if it hasn't been pointed out...