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lid wrote:
> In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>
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.
>
>
> Certainly sounds like the yeast has pooped out too early. I'm not familiar
> with that strain, unfortunately. So, a few things you might try:
>
> Check pH, if you have the equipment.
>
> It may be insufficiently aerated. If you aereated with good old elbow
> grease (or not at all), it may not have enough O2. Shake the crap out
> of the bucket, then open it up and stir it. If you have an electric
> mixer, or a power-drill/paint mixer, give that a try.
> Since your fermentation is nowhere near done yet, this shouldn't hurt
> anything.
>
> Is this one of the nutrients that says 'use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per
> G of wine'? If so, you might try adding another half-teaspoon. This would
> be the last thing I try.
>
>
> -- WB
>
>
>
I think this did the trick. After a good beating and adding nutrient
about 1 hour ago, I put my face in the bucket 20 minutes ago and still
had a sulpher smell, but not as strong. I sterilised my electric whisk
and went mad with the thing. Just had a sniff and the sulpher smell is a
lot less potent and I'm getting the mead smell back. Hopefully things
will continue to get better.

Thanks.