This can't be done yet ... can it?

[Androshen]

On 3-22 I started a batch of chocolate mead and right now it seems to have stopped. It was bubbling furiously for days when I started it.

16 lbs of honey
32 ozs of nesquik
5 tsp acid blend
5 tsp yeast nutrient
Lalvin EC-1118

Enough water to fill the 6 gallon carboy.

OG was 1.110

SG is now 1.01

I added 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient yesterday and still see no further airlock activity.

Is this done already? If so, I have never had a batch finish so fast ....

 

[bknifefight]

Trust your hydrometer, not your airlock. Anyways you want mead to age. Give it 6 months and then ask if it is ready.

 

[Androshen]

Oh, it has alot of clearifying to do yet so it is not like I want to bottle it right away ..... I just wanted to be sure that I did not need to give it a kick in the pants.

 

[MedsenFey]

You may want to watch it carefully as it may not be finished. EC-1118 has an alcohol tolerance of about 18%, and you've fermented to a little less than 14% ABV. That means you still have potential for the yeast to go farther with the residual sugar that is there. Without more recipe detail I can't say for sure why it stuck there (although you did add a lot of acid), but it might continue plugging along very slowly with no bubbling visible and only a gradual drop in the gravity over the coming weeks.

Don't be in a hurry to bottle it unless you stabilize it with sorbate and sulfite.

 

[Fletch78]

Those stabilizers only prevent a renewed fermentation, but won't stop an existing (but slow) ongoing fermentation, correct?

 

[MedsenFey]

A fermentation that is really slow or sluggish (or near the end) may be stopped with a dose of sulfite and sorbate, but you cannot count on it to reliably stop an active fermentation. So when it works -great. When it doesn't, don't be surprised.

 

[KenSchramm]

With 1118 I would have expected that recipe to finish around .994. The amount of acid you added may be the culprit - that's a ton. Low pH can cause fermentations to slow to a crawl. For future reference, acid additions should be left until the fermentation is complete.