Racked off - fermentation stopped!

[Bogwitch]

Hi All,
I racked off my mead yesterday after it had been fermenting for a month. Now, fermentation has slowed dramatically. Before racking, I was getting about 6-8 bubbles per minute, now it's dropped to one bubble every two minutes. I'm more than a little concerned that the air that inevitably entered the demijohn when being racked is not being replaced by the CO2 from fermentation which might upset my brew. The mead measured at 1030 so fermentation is not complete.

Should I be worried? Am I worrying too soon? Anything I can do to get things running again?

 

[oldbloke]

It'll be fine. What CO2 is produced lies on top of the brew, protecting it. Also the live yeast will eat any oxygen that got into the brew during racking.

 

[Bogwitch]

Thanks Oldbloke, I'll pour a drink and calm down. :

 

[Bogwitch]

:? It's stopped completely now.... I'm starting to worry again....

 

[oldbloke]

Lots of them slow down to a crawl after racking - there's way less yeast in there now, not all the stuff on the bottom was dead.
I've got a lemon wine that I'm not-quite-panicking about myself.
Keep it warm, maybe give it a bit of a shake, perhaps some nutrient.
If it really looks to have died, try a bit more yeast

Oh, check the seals, too - I had one not so long ago that seemed to have stopped but the bung wasn't tight in the demijohn neck.

 

[Bogwitch]

Thanks again Oldbloke. How long should I wait before panicking?

I think I'll start another brew to take my mind off it, just going to dive into the fridge to see what I've got left before shopping tomorrow.

 

[oldbloke]

How long should I wait before panicking?

How long's a piece of string?
As long as you don't infect or oxidise it you can't really hurt it, so if you feel you've given it a fair chance at getting on by itself, try anything that seems good!

 

[weepete]

My Rubarb wine was very slow to ferment mate, after an initial flurry it slowed right down and took about 3 months to ferment out. After it finished I left it in a corner for another 3 months. bottom line is don't panic.

 

[Bogwitch]

Thanks Oldbloke and Weepete. I guess I'll just push them to the back of the cupboard and concentrate on those at the front.
I was quite gentle with the syphoning so I don't think I've oxidised and there's no sign of infection so all I need is that most elusive of ingredients - patience.

 

[Bogwitch]

I gave in. I made up a starter and pitched it this morning. Still very little fermentation. Is it possible the mead I used had high levels of unfermentables?

 

[oldbloke]

Honey does, I think. What's it taste like? Still very sweet? 1030 is the sweet end of sweet for a finished wine.
The guys over on gotmead.com may have something on typical finishing gravities for meads.

 

[Bogwitch]

Honey does, I think. What's it taste like? Still very sweet? 1030 is the sweet end of sweet for a finished wine.
The guys over on gotmead.com may have something on typical finishing gravities for meads.

I think that's it. I saw 1026 when I racked it and it had started clearing beautifully. It is very sweet and the alcohol content is low (started at 1076 making 6.6%ABV) I looked on the forum you suggested, it seems that 1026 is high for a mead but I'm guessing the Tescos value mead has a lot of unfermentables. They were only ever intended as a trial run anyway. :)

I'll know for next time to put something more fermentable in. I'll leave it where it is - it's now hemmed in by other DJs and pull it out and clear it when I can get to it next.

Thanks, yet again, Oldbloke.