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I think my mead is going bad
alien wrote:
> lid wrote:
>
>> In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>
>>> I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
>>> bring the SG up to 1100
>>
>>
>>
>>> Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
>>> steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must
>>> bucket on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060.
>>> I thought I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit
>>> more, ideally less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at
>>> 1050 today and hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is
>>> hissing and sounding like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the
>>> bucket, and smell it, the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a
>>> little bit like match heads.
>>
>>
>>
>> Though some yeasts do produce the sulfurous smell naturally, this can
>> also
>> be a sign of lack of nutrients. What kind of honey did you use, and
>> did you
>> use any nutrients in the initial must?
>>
>>
>> - WB
>>
> I used 6lb of orange blossom, 3lb of eucalyptus and 1.5 teaspoons of
> ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate dibasic as nutrient. The yeast
> was a Gervin strain, type 4 I think, the one with the yellow sticker,
> designed for medium dry wines.
I've just added 1/2 a teaspoon of more nutrient, I can't see it doing
any harm. I also gave it a good thrashing of a stirring to get some O2
in there. I'll have a look at it in a few hours to see if things are
getting better.
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