Help, Fermentation not starting.

[XxOblivion]

I'm very new to making mead. I started a batch of honey mead about a week ago and I'm not seeing any signs of fermentation. My yeast starter was active when i added to my must. Is there anything I can do to get it going again?

Ingredients:
8lbs wildflower honey
4 gal apple cider
4 lg green apples thinly sliced
6 cloves kneaded
1 packet Lalvin EC-1118 Wine Yeast

 

[Patrick Markovics]

I'm a newbie also. But where did you get the apple cider? Check the ingredients list to see if there is anything besides apple cider in it. Potassium sulfate and sodium benzoate are preservatives and will kill yeast and are commonly added to juice. What's the temperature where you have the carboy? Also do you have any yeast nutrients? Yeast hulls? If not get a couple of tablespoons of bread yeast, bloom it and then nuke it for 2-4 minutes to kill the yeast. Let it cool down and then add to the must. See if that helps. And if nothing else, toss another packet of 1118 dry. Hope that helps a little.

 

[lumpher]

Patrick has a very valid concern. I'm leaning toward preservatives, especially toward the cider. What apple cider did you use?

 

[p_billingsley]

Do you have a hydrometer? If not get one and check the specific gravity. Then check a few days later to make sure it is going down. Maybe it is working but you can’t detect the bubbles.