In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
> 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.
Of course, you may have just driven any suspended sulfur-stench out
of the must when you beat the crap out of it, so the newer, more
pleasant smell may be misleading. (Or, more, the original sulfur
stench may have been misleading.)
As long as the SG goes back to dropping, right?
-- WB