ntapsak
Member
I want to ask some advice for a batch I’ve been fermenting since January. Here was my recipe:
12 lbs blackberry blossom honey
3 lbs wildflower honey
1 pack of WLP720 Sweet Mead Yeast
5 tsp nutrient/energizer mix (2 tsp on day 1, 2 tsp after 24 hrs, 1 tsp after 48 hrs)
OG 1.110
I created a 2L starter with the yeast on Jan 4 with a tsp of nutrient and ½ lb honey. Yeast count doubled, so I mixed up the rest and pitched the starter on Jan 6. Fermentation was very healthy and steady for weeks, though it significantly slowed at the end of January, but stayed healthy and constant. Temp has always been 68 F. Current gravity is 1.030, so 10.5% ABV (70% attenuation, low end of the range; White Labs says the range is 70-90%). I just warmed it and sloshed it around to try and kick up more yeast from the bottom (and also degas) to try and encourage it some more.
My plan is to move to secondary for two months and oak. My question is, when should I make the transfer? Fermentation has been so sluggish for weeks (it took ten days to go from 1.035 to 1.030). I think my preferred FG would be 1.015-1.020. From what I've researched, for most folks this yeast ferments pretty unpredictably: for many it dries out to 1.010, for some, not so much. I'm afraid I may be at a "stuck" stage. Should I transfer it to secondary or not? It is a "Sweet Mead" yeast, after all.
12 lbs blackberry blossom honey
3 lbs wildflower honey
1 pack of WLP720 Sweet Mead Yeast
5 tsp nutrient/energizer mix (2 tsp on day 1, 2 tsp after 24 hrs, 1 tsp after 48 hrs)
OG 1.110
I created a 2L starter with the yeast on Jan 4 with a tsp of nutrient and ½ lb honey. Yeast count doubled, so I mixed up the rest and pitched the starter on Jan 6. Fermentation was very healthy and steady for weeks, though it significantly slowed at the end of January, but stayed healthy and constant. Temp has always been 68 F. Current gravity is 1.030, so 10.5% ABV (70% attenuation, low end of the range; White Labs says the range is 70-90%). I just warmed it and sloshed it around to try and kick up more yeast from the bottom (and also degas) to try and encourage it some more.
My plan is to move to secondary for two months and oak. My question is, when should I make the transfer? Fermentation has been so sluggish for weeks (it took ten days to go from 1.035 to 1.030). I think my preferred FG would be 1.015-1.020. From what I've researched, for most folks this yeast ferments pretty unpredictably: for many it dries out to 1.010, for some, not so much. I'm afraid I may be at a "stuck" stage. Should I transfer it to secondary or not? It is a "Sweet Mead" yeast, after all.