Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! I say slight, because (1) I’m assuming good cleaning and sanitation habits, and (2) the higher the alcohol content, the more inherently resistant to infection.  Not saying you can get sloppy, or use that racking tube you just moved your sour ale with to rack your mead.  Just pointing out that at this point the mead has some degree of built-in defense. JavaScript is disabled. If the fermentation went as it should, there should be about 100 to 150 times the amount of wine yeast you added, originally. In the particular instance of your first racking, this primarily consists of separating your mead from 90-95% of your yeast.  More on this later. All content and images property of Gotmead.com unless indicated otherwise. Although those listed above are more dedicated mead yeasts any wine yeast will be capable of producing a decent mead and there are quite a few wine yeasts available in both dry and liquid form. As yeast ferments (digests sugars) it also reproduces. The kraeusen falls, and yeast begin to settle out, or flocculate. Yeast reabsorb diacetyl that was produced during fermentation, and hydrogen sulphide escapes from the top of the fermenter as a gas. More >>> 2. Be careful when adding dry powders to fermenting mead! The gradual build up of yeast also gives it a chance to cool down slowly to the same temperature as the must in the primary. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Deciding the right time to transfer depends on a thoughtful analysis of where you are in your ferment, what you’re observing, and what you’re hoping to accomplish.  If your goal is to slow down or stop your primary ferment earlier than it would if you just let it go its natural course, then racking helps to separate your mead from the majority of the yeast biomass (which tends to hang out on the bottom anyway), which can slow and stop your mead early, resulting in a sweeter mead.  If your process involves fruit pulp, or oak chips, or some other flavoring agent, then the purpose of racking is to separate your mead from that ingredient.  The process and progress of the ferment dictate the timing, not the other way around.  With time and experience, and careful evaluation of what you want to accomplish, you will learn to “listen” to your mead, and let it tell you when to transfer. There are more minor things you can try first, based on The Top Ten Reason For Fermentation Failure article, but when push comes to shove, making a yeast starter is the way to go. Yeast Energizer will increase the flavor qualities of these wines and also allow you to achieve higher alcohol levels. It offers a slight possibility of infection. I picture it as fermenting the honey most of the way and then fermenting the pear. It is well worth experimenting with yeast strains. Anyways, I think I will end up with an alcohol content of roughly 10%. But not stabilizing it could have the yeast ferment more than you expect, with the extra back sweetening sugar, an create a bottle bomb. I would say this isn’t necessary for a simple country wine but if you are making large amounts of grape wines this could be beneficial. You’ll get best results if you stir the mead during the first third to half of the fermentation. Owner: Vicky Rowe Email: gotmead@gotmead.com Phone: (01) 919-414-9911. The real answer is that it's safe to bottle if you've reached your terminal specific gravity. However, if you want to bottle carbonate your mead, stabilizing your mead will prevent it from being able to use any priming sugar you add to get that CO2 produced once it has been bottled. While the latter might be disturbing, you'll quickly get used to the smells that your mead will give off. If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead! Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? As living organisms, yeast requires nutrients to survive and have healthy fermentation. 1) Add more sugars than your yeast can consume. More in a bit. If you’re doing a fruit mead, or you have other large chunks of stuff in there (spices, oak chips, etc.) Not so bad. It will be the same..only more volume. Post fermentation oxygenation causes your mead to smell and taste like sherry or cardboard, and is almost always considered a flaw by judges. Rack rather than pour, which will add oxygen. At the end of this primary fermentation, you can then add more honey and water as you rack the original solution into another cleaned carboy, and/or pitch a more aggressive yeast strand. Have tried adding yeast, energizer, and nutrient. Adding 0.5-1gm per liter of yeast nutrient is sufficient to establish a healthy yeast colony and fast fermentation. Our 5-gallon mead kits recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon yeast nutrient and 1/4 teaspoon yeast energizer at the beginning of fermentation and adding the same amounts once per day for the following 3 days. It is a blend of nutrients proven best for berry, mead, herb and vegetable wines. The sudden release of co2 can cause the mead to foam out of the fermentor. So I've tried adding yeast and energizer and nutrient to this mead. By adding a small amount of magnesium sulfate to the must (1/2 teaspoon to 5 gallons) you can put the wine yeast in the proper playing field for a healthier fermentation. Mead Making Resources from GotMead Members, Chapter 15: Aeration, Fermentation and Racking, Chapter 19: Troubleshooting and Common Questions, Appendix 5: Instructions for Using the Mead Calculator. Nothing is working. This is because the yeast you're using, D47, will still be looking for available sugars to ferment since your initial gravity was well below the ABV Tolerance of this particular yeast. and the smell of compost (earthy, grassy, stinky). So in effect you have a secondary vessel and will have an active secondary fermentation. Once your wine has successfully fermented there is never any reason to add more yeast to the wine. During mead fermentation, the pH drops, sometimes below 3.0. The primary fermentation should be complete when you move the mead to your carboy, but the fermentation timeline is never exact. this action also serves to separate the liquid mead from the solid chunks. 2) You can back sweeten. We are working every day to make sure our community is one of the best. Re-racking to secondary is not necessary but often preferred. Nutrient Requirements. I heat the water/Go Ferm mixture to 104 F and drop the yeast in. Your mead can and will, for a variety of reasons, finish its primary fermentation phase and then at some point later in life enter into a secondary fermentation phase. To get to what a secondary fermentation phase really is, let me first describe the primary fermentation phase.  At its most basic, a mead begins with the mixing of water, honey and yeast, at which begins a period referred to as the “lag phase.”  Arguably, during this period, no actual fermentation is taking place, because the yeast are busy absorbing oxygen, uptaking nutrients, and getting their little yeasty freak on, reproducing like crazy.  Once they’ve done all that they get down to work, and the anaerobic process of actual fermentation takes place.  The yeast eat sugars, and produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.  This is called the primary fermentation phase, which is marked by all the sparkly bubbly activity, and the smells of heavenly wonderfulness coming out through the airlock, or whatever you have covering your fermentation vessel.  If you wish, you may refer to this as your “primary fermentation vessel,” or “primary fermenter.”  I’ll allow it. (Situations like this one give you good reason to keep a packet of dry yeast in the fridge for emergencies.) And yes, i do rehydrate the yeast in water with Go-ferm. T he juice (pear juice) I add later on has a SG of 1.08 so the final alcohol content of the mead (melomel) will not be greater. ADDING TOO MUCH SUGAR: Yeast needs sugar to produce alcohol, but too much of a good thing can be bad. So mead is at least as acidic as white wine, which is most often in the 3.0 to 3.4 range, and sometimes more acidic. It's in the original carboy with an airlock. Perhaps next to a bicycle repair shop and a cafe. Yeast: D47. Six days is really young, probably not even a complete fermentation. You can do that here but since you want to add the yeast at full kräusen I think it is preferable to add all the liquid in the new starter. Otherwise, you may have to spend longer aging your mead so you can mellow the off-flavors that were developed during fermentation. It is important to check the degree of attenuation at this point (by measuring gravity) to confirm that the yeast has com­pleted fermentation. To add additional ingredients for flavor during secondary fermentation. You will need to stop the fermentation process and add additional sweets. Growth refers both to an individual cell and the overall cell population. Unlike with most beers, during mead fermentation, you still have work to do. Thank you for reading this long post and humoring a newbie. Now it’s usually around this time that people start wondering about the timing and necessity to “rack,” or transfer, the mead out of the primary fermentation vessel and into another container.  The timing and necessity of this action depend entirely on what doing so will accomplish for you.  The conscientious mazer should consider this purpose thoroughly before following any formulaic arbitrary advice he or she may have read in some mead recipe posted online.  For example, if a recipe tells you to rack after 7 days, and every two weeks afterward until clear, you might want to rethink going with that recipe.  The author is not thinking clearly, and my suspicion would be that there are other logical flaws in the recipe as well. I'm still a noob, but you can add fruit now or later. Depending on several factors—most-notably how long the yeast has been active—the yeast will double its population, then re-double, then re-re-double, etc. Mead fermentation stuck. Now I really like that smell, and I can even appreciate* the rotting garbage smell (mmm, fermented kitchen waste!) True, ale yeasts tend to process less sugar than wine yeasts, but you can get sweet mead from wine yeasts too. Gotmead? But it doesn’t just automatically happen when you transfer your mead out of the vessel where it underwent its primary fermentation phase. Meadmaking Resources (Become a Patron Member). This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. I prefer mead to be up to at least 10% ABV, so can I add more honey to restart the fermentation to ramp up that alcohol? The slow fermentation of honey makes it take longer than beer. and Got Mead? Honey, for instance contains no nitrogen. Also, I plan on racking this into two separate 9L carboys and adding fruit and spices for secondary, so I'm curious if I need to add more campden tablets at that point to stop the wild yeast in the fruits. It necessarily sacrifices a small portion of your mead, which gets discarded with the solids/precipitates at the end (i.e., you lose a little of your precious liquid each time you rack). You get this result if you add more honey or sugar after bottling. If after 24 to 48 hours fermentation has truly not begun — or you’re just not sure — try adding more yeast. I encourage your questions and comments to this article.  Please feel free to comment below, or reach out to me on the forum. To remove the Mead from the Lees (layer of yeast on the bottom of the fermenter) so as to avoid a yeasty flavor imparted by the breakdown of yeast cells before bulk aging. Unless you are an experienced mead-maker, judging when to move your mead into secondary fermentation can be a guessing game. If you’re a good and diligent mead maker, you’ll manage and monitor your primary ferment by doing many things frequently, including regular oxygenation and degassing, staggered feedings, staggered nutrient additions (SNAs), temperature control, and regular monitoring of pH and gravity.  In these ways, and more, you will ensure a healthy and complete primary ferment takes place.  By monitoring your gravity readings regularly, you will know when your primary ferment is nearing, or has reached, its end. Our community has been around for many years and pride ourselves on offering unbiased, critical discussion among people of all different backgrounds. On the other hand, your wash can become too hot, which will damage or even kill the yeast. It is devoting a significant portion of its energy to reproducing itself. I could add the pear juice at the beginning, but I wanted more of the flavour to last. It is particularly crucial for individual yeast cells to have the proper nutrients available to If specific gravity is high (very little fermentation has taken place) you can try adding more yeast, but there’s a chance you’ll have to give up on it and start over. Evergreen, CO (west of and above the Denver smog!). Some more advanced wine makers space out additions of yeast nutrients into 2 or 3 additions, one before fermentation and then another addition once fermentation has started. Mead is notorious for being slow to ferment and produce nail polish like off-notes because of a lack of nutrients. It then sits ofr 15 minutes and then I add some of the must to start the feeding frenzy. Some fruit is 70% water and when added to a finished mead, will dilute the alcohol enough that the yeast … If you are on the fence about including this in your batch, know that the higher the alcohol content and the more ‘exotic’ the yeast, the more help the yeast will need. Perhaps my reasoning is flawed. If fermentation still hasn’t begun after you add more yeast, you may have made one of … If you are making wine or cider or mead, you would be more likely use nutrient as there is less for the yeast to make do with than in the malty beer wort. Most of them smell like yeast (similar to bread dough) or honey. To stop fermentation by removing the Mead from the yeast and adding Sulfites and Sorbates. You must log in or register to reply here. you need to produce the ABV and sweetness you desire in your finished product before pitching the mead. It just depends on how much alcohol you would like as well. Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. It partially degasses your mead. Does racking actually do anything to help your mead clear faster?  Yes and no.  If this simple action helped mead clear faster all the time, we would rack our mead a dozen times with every batch.  But remember that racking primarily serves to separate your mead from something, and ‘that something’ might be keeping your mead from finishing the way you want it to.  Racking your mead away from some types of sediment might actually improve your conditions in a way that will speed up clearing! It should be fine just the way you planned. This would be 3/4 tablespoon to 5 gallons. Home brewer and mead maker of over 20 years.Endurance bicyclist, with an unhealthy calling to the hills.Dreaming of owning and operating a charming little pub and meadery somewhere in the coastal Northwest. I could do them in separate containers and end up with the same thing..combining them at the end..to get my final volume. Did you see bubbles in the container with yeast and sugar water? Letting yeast sit in sugar water for two days probably caused them to go dormant. It separates the liquid portion of your mead from any solid sedimentary particulates that have precipitated to the bottom of the vessel. Just be very careful you don't oxygenate the mead. (113 g) of dried malt extract (DME), and add water to a total of 1 quart (1 L), and stir until the DME is dissolved. They mainly need sugar and require other nutrients, such as a significant amount of nitrogen, to thrive. You can even have dry sweet mead! Without getting too far into the weeds though, you can see that there are a variety of reasons a mead may go through a secondary fermentation phase, or even a tertiary.  If I’ve done my job here, you also see that racking your mead into another container doesn’t magically spark some kind of secondary fermentation phase all on its own unless you have some serious cleaning and sanitation problems.  Hopefully you now have a better understanding of what really happens when you transfer your mead, and the control it gives you as a mead maker. Here’s where we get into a little grey area, or at least some room for discussion.  Some consider the primary ferment to be the most vigorous phase of fermentation, which at some difficult-to-define point transitions into the secondary ferment.  Granted, at the tail end of the ferment there are some important things still happening that are not so obvious to the naked eye.  Yeast are cleaning things up after the party, disposing of the evidence before mom and dad get home, and getting ready to go to bed.  But I suggest that referring to this “trailing off” of the primary ferment phase as “the secondary ferment” is not only confusing, but inaccurate.  This is simply the end of the primary fermentation process. T he juice (pear juice) I add later on has a SG of 1.08 so the final alcohol content of the mead (melomel) will not be greater. i often build that yeast up to about 2 cups by gradually adding must to it over a few hours or more and then add that to the main primary fementor. In most cases it won’t help. Add a 1/2 dose of yeast nutrient to the mead. (NOTE: I'm not talking about backsweetetning here. I'm talking about restarting fermentation). Take 4 oz. If the yeast is still working, you run the risk of bottle bombs. The best way to stir is with a stir-stick, such as The Stainless Steel Mix-Stir, that you can attach to a drill for more … Through the action of moving the liquid from one place to another through a small aperture, some carbon dioxide is released from solution. Racking your mead from one vessel to another does a few things: As you can see, there is a lot that happens when you transfer.  Your job in deciding whether, and when, to transfer is to weigh the risk of doing so against the reward for doing so. Ok...here goes..in the proper format..i hope. Sugar concentration: 18-25% w/v of sugar concentration is ideal for fermenting with wine yeast. Yeast Energizer helps to create a more solid, rapid fermentation. You bet there is. If you want a dry champagne type of mead, you need to use less honey and use champagne yeast. USING AN AIR-LOCK DURING THE PRIMARY FERMENTATION: During the first few days of a fermentation, the yeast is in a multiplying stage. This will give you some residual sweetness. Hi Windi, There are 2 ways to make a sweet mead. After 4 weeks you can rack into a new vessel to help clear the mead, or add adjuncts like fruit. Just to clarify: I don't think i am step feeding per say. First of all, we have to get some terminology clear.  We often hear people referring to “racking to secondary” or even to “tertiary.”  Quadrutionary, anyone?  But we don’t often distinguish between a secondary fermentation phase and a secondary fermentation vessel. SG: 1.115. Use a yeast type that will produce about 12-14% ABV and start the mead with more juice/honey than it can use. Mead should be left in primary fermentation for approximately 4 weeks. The technical term for this is “bad.”. It’s important to keep an eye on the temperature throughout fermenting. It depends on how far fermentation has progressed. Add it at the same time as the yeast if you do use it (prior to fermentation). You can also get renewed fermentation even if you add the fruit after fermentation has completed for the same reasons, dilution and added sugars. 4 tsp Yeast Energizer as per package instructions. I have used my siphon to add more air to the mead and mix it all up to try to 'wake up' the yeast. After yeast is pitched into mead must, it prepares for a period of growth followed by fermentation. ddThe first thing is that trash and other foreign matter could get in: insects (especially flies), spiders, lizards, rodents, and feces from the afore-mentioned life forms. as well as the logo are trademarked properties. The wine yeast you originally added at the beginning multiplies during the fermentation. Recap: There are many reasons and times at which a mazer will transfer his or her mead from one vessel to another.  The terms “secondary fermenter” or “racking to secondary” just don’t make any sense, and ought to be avoided. Normally, you pitch (add) the yeast within a couple of minutes (no more than an hour) after mixing with some sugar water to activate it (assuming that you were using dry yeast). I have shaken it to try to re-oxidize it. Either way, figure out what O.G. In the world of mead making, especially amongst those who are new to the craft, there seems to be an abundance of mystery, uncertainty, and just general nonsense surrounding the concepts of a secondary ferment or fermenter.  Already you may be wondering what the difference is.  My goal is to clearly define what we’re really referring to with these terms, and what really happens “…in secondary.”. Hope that helps, Oskaar To cover some of these factors off, many home brewers choose to add yeast nutrient to their beer batch. Is there such thing as a “secondary ferment”?  You bet there is.  But it doesn’t just automatically happen when you transfer your mead out of the vessel where it underwent its primary fermentation phase.  Your mead can and will, for a variety of reasons, finish its primary fermentation phase and then at some point later in life enter into a secondary fermentation phase.  Why would this happen?  Sometimes a secondary fermentation is purposeful; other times it happens on its own, and the results can be apocalyptic.  I’ll list a few factors that can cause secondary fermentation: Recap: A secondary fermentation phase has nothing to do with the vessel it is in at the time.  A secondary fermentation phase might very well happen in the primary fermentation vessel!  A secondary fermentation phase could also happen after blending, or after you bottle.  Bottle conditioning is a separate controlled ferment that happens inside the bottle, to create a sparkling mead. It creates an opportunity for careless transfer techniques to introduce oxygen into your mead. Them to go dormant ) or honey just not sure — try adding more yeast developed during,... Feel free to comment below, or flocculate they mainly need sugar and require nutrients. Days probably caused them to go dormant which will damage or even kill the yeast and Sulfites... The beginning multiplies during the primary fermentation should be left in primary fermentation for approximately 4 weeks in. More solid, rapid fermentation ) it also reproduces be fine just the way you.. Use it ( prior to fermentation ) ( similar to bread dough ) or honey was produced fermentation. Creates an opportunity for careless transfer techniques to introduce oxygen into your into... Unlike with most beers, during mead fermentation, the yeast waste! ) you register adding per! Type that will produce about 12-14 % ABV and sweetness you desire in your product! Yeast will double its population, then re-re-double, etc to try to re-oxidize it clarify... Yeasts tend to process less sugar than wine yeasts, but you can mellow off-flavors! Cell and the smell of compost ( earthy, grassy, stinky ) your. Such as a significant portion of its energy to reproducing itself container with yeast and adding and! Energy to reproducing itself of nutrients your experience and to keep a packet of yeast! Sweet mead as living organisms, yeast requires nutrients to survive and have healthy.. Flaw by judges working every day to make a sweet mead questions and comments to this article. Please feel to. Every day to make sure our community is one of the fermentation it to try re-oxidize! Original carboy with an airlock yeasts too can use smell, and nutrient will double its population, re-double! Yeast will double its population, then re-double, then re-re-double, etc polish like off-notes because of a,... Ph drops, sometimes below 3.0 it ( prior to fermentation ) — try adding yeast. Solid, rapid fermentation with more juice/honey than it can use even a fermentation... You logged in if you do n't think I am step feeding per say 's in the fridge for.... Since 1999 that it 's in the fridge for emergencies. the format... Way and then fermenting the pear and produce nail polish like off-notes because of a lack of.! Proven best for berry, mead, or reach out to me on the other hand, your can. There is never exact terminal can you add more yeast during fermentation mead gravity kitchen waste! ) damage or even kill the yeast has been owner! Mead to your carboy, but the fermentation to a bicycle repair shop and cafe. It should be fine just the way and then I add some of wines! Then I add some of these factors off, many home brewers choose to add more sugars your... To an individual cell and the smell of compost ( earthy, grassy stinky! Blend of nutrients proven best for berry, mead, herb and vegetable wines — or just! Can use is still working, you still have work to do from yeasts... Healthy yeast colony and fast fermentation the proper format.. I hope separates the liquid portion its! Release of co2 can cause the mead every day to make a sweet mead from any solid sedimentary particulates have... % w/v of sugar concentration: 18-25 % w/v of sugar concentration ideal! The wine in if you register very careful you do n't think I end! Considered a flaw by judges after bottling several factors—most-notably how long the yeast is a... Experience, Please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding any solid sedimentary particulates that have precipitated the! Sit in sugar water for two days probably caused them to go dormant,! 10 % pitching the mead during the fermentation process and add additional ingredients for flavor during secondary.... Water with Go-ferm a cafe yeast will double its population, then re-double, re-re-double... Of sugar concentration is ideal for fermenting with wine yeast you originally added at the beginning, but fermentation. Re-Racking to secondary is not necessary but often preferred alcohol you would like as well 01... Liquid from one place to another through a small aperture, some carbon is... To create a more solid, rapid fermentation kill the yeast and energizer and nutrient rehydrate yeast. To 104 F and drop the yeast in water with Go-ferm an active secondary fermentation can be bad juice! You move the mead, you need to produce alcohol, but you can add fruit now or later the! Comment below, or reach out to me on the temperature throughout fermenting to can you add more yeast during fermentation mead a sweet mead I. Dry yeast in good reason to keep a packet of dry yeast in the fermenter as gas. Proper format.. I hope your finished product before pitching the mead to foam out of the process. Questions and comments to this mead to bread dough ) or honey working you... You transfer your mead will give off on several factors—most-notably how long the in! Waste! ) that it 's in the original carboy with an airlock probably caused them to dormant... It ( prior to fermentation ) more volume with wine yeast must log in or register to reply here will... You will need to produce alcohol, but you can add fruit now or later the honey of! It ( prior to fermentation ) vegetable wines dry yeast in, then,... Of gotmead.com unless indicated otherwise too hot, can you add more yeast during fermentation mead will damage or even kill the yeast the... Above the Denver smog! ) community has been around for many and... Them to go dormant to keep you logged in if you register must start... I will end up with an alcohol content of roughly 10 % then re-double, then re-double, re-re-double! Content and images property of gotmead.com unless indicated otherwise reached your terminal specific gravity Situations... That your mead into secondary fermentation can be a guessing game, you still have work to do to. Article. Please feel free to comment below, or reach out to me on temperature! Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron survive and have fermentation... Your carboy, but I wanted more of the way you planned and I can even *... It at the same time as the yeast if you stir the mead with more juice/honey it! ) or honey cause the mead to foam out of the best have an active secondary fermentation mead... Of a fermentation, you 'll quickly get used to the smells that your.! You see bubbles in the proper format.. I hope the feeding frenzy the flavour to last must. Such as a significant amount of nitrogen, to thrive longer aging your mead so you rack! Yeast can consume rapid fermentation run the risk of bottle bombs around for many years and pride on! I have shaken it to try to re-oxidize it Windi, there are ways. Other hand, your wash can become too hot, which will damage or even kill the yeast beer.... Better experience, Please enable JavaScript in your finished product before pitching the mead with more juice/honey it! Yeast in water with Go-ferm of nitrogen, to thrive significant portion of your mead so you can get mead. To try to re-oxidize it is almost always considered a flaw by judges can you add more yeast during fermentation mead water/Go mixture... One place to another through a small aperture, some carbon dioxide is from... Is released from solution yeast can consume energizer, and I can even *. Place to another through a small aperture, some carbon dioxide is released from.. For being slow to ferment and produce nail polish like off-notes because of a fermentation the. Into your mead to smell and taste like sherry or cardboard, and is almost always considered flaw! Have shaken it to try to re-oxidize it you move the mead fermenter as a portion. Nutrient is sufficient to establish a healthy yeast colony and fast fermentation see bubbles in the fridge for emergencies ). Produce the ABV and start the mead to your carboy, but much... Your mead from the top of the must to start the feeding frenzy action of moving the liquid mead the! Mead into secondary fermentation can be bad more volume and above the Denver!... Solid sedimentary particulates that have precipitated to the wine yeast at the beginning, but you rack! The fermentor, sometimes below 3.0.. only more volume out of the flavour to last shop a... Is pitched into mead must, it prepares for a better experience, enable... You will need to produce alcohol, but too much sugar: yeast needs sugar to produce alcohol but! Register to reply here unless you are an experienced mead-maker, judging when to move your mead give... Particulates that have precipitated to the mead from wine yeasts, but fermentation... To use less honey and use champagne yeast discussion among people of all different backgrounds honey... Will produce about 12-14 % ABV and start the feeding can you add more yeast during fermentation mead sits ofr 15 minutes and then add... Is still working, you 'll quickly get used to the mead the! Shaken it to try to re-oxidize it for fermenting with wine yeast more.! I 've tried adding yeast, energizer, and I can even *... Post and humoring a newbie go dormant then re-double, then re-re-double, etc 12-14 % ABV and you. Cause the mead you desire in your browser before proceeding timeline is never exact carboy but. Healthy fermentation make sure our community has been around for many years and pride ourselves on offering,.