Dl_Pfc
Member
Alright, so let me start off by saying that this is my second attempt with costco clover honey; the first attempt was an abysmal failure that had hardly fermented at all after a few months and eventually went sour. I ended up dumping that batch. Because of the ill results of my first batch I set out to ensure my current batch has a strong, fast ferment - which unfortunately is not the case.
I started this batch on 12/12 using 10 pounds of costco clover honey, 5 gallons of arrowhead spring water, 2 tsp of yeast energizer, 2 tsp of yeast nutrient, and a packet of Lalvin 71B-1122. I prepared a small starter for the yeast a few hours in advance, I mixed all the ingredients, I aerated the must heavily using a power drill with a mixer attachment, and then I pitched the yeast. The starting gravity was 1.06, which is exactly what I was going for, my goal for this batch is to get a nice light mead which I'm going to backsweeten after.
Signs of fermentation were noticeable within 24 hours, but by the second day I was distraught by how sluggish the yeast seemed to be going. I decided to go to the homebrew store to get some PH strips to ensure there wasn't a PH problem, which it shouldn't be, as the PH is above 4.4. After another day I aerated again, pitched another packet of Lalvin 71B-1122 and moved the carboy into my room where it's warmer (between 65-75f). By 12/16 since the fermentation still seemed to be going quite slow and the gravity had hardly changed I started to wonder if maybe the yeast just didn't have enough nutrients, so I added another 2tsp nutrients and energizer. And finally on 12/17 I aerated the must again and tried pitching a packet of Lalvin K1V-1116 to see if that would help out at all.
Now it's 12/19, it's been a week and the must has almost gone down to 1.05, which to me just seems abysmally slow. So, anyone have any suggestions for me or criticisms on my procedure?
I started this batch on 12/12 using 10 pounds of costco clover honey, 5 gallons of arrowhead spring water, 2 tsp of yeast energizer, 2 tsp of yeast nutrient, and a packet of Lalvin 71B-1122. I prepared a small starter for the yeast a few hours in advance, I mixed all the ingredients, I aerated the must heavily using a power drill with a mixer attachment, and then I pitched the yeast. The starting gravity was 1.06, which is exactly what I was going for, my goal for this batch is to get a nice light mead which I'm going to backsweeten after.
Signs of fermentation were noticeable within 24 hours, but by the second day I was distraught by how sluggish the yeast seemed to be going. I decided to go to the homebrew store to get some PH strips to ensure there wasn't a PH problem, which it shouldn't be, as the PH is above 4.4. After another day I aerated again, pitched another packet of Lalvin 71B-1122 and moved the carboy into my room where it's warmer (between 65-75f). By 12/16 since the fermentation still seemed to be going quite slow and the gravity had hardly changed I started to wonder if maybe the yeast just didn't have enough nutrients, so I added another 2tsp nutrients and energizer. And finally on 12/17 I aerated the must again and tried pitching a packet of Lalvin K1V-1116 to see if that would help out at all.
Now it's 12/19, it's been a week and the must has almost gone down to 1.05, which to me just seems abysmally slow. So, anyone have any suggestions for me or criticisms on my procedure?