Hey,

My gravity is still reading 1.030, it's been that way for a week now
after deciding to pitch some sweet mead yeasties in there. What to do,
wait longer? It seems more sediement has collected on the bottom of a very
different hue, and furthermore the beer seems to really be clearing a bit.
I thought about doing other stuff, like adding yeast nutrients to get the
yeast to ferment, and aerating it. The %alcholXvol is reading around 9%
and that's what killed the trappist yeast. Notably, the sweet mead yeast
hasn't significantly dropped the specific gravity. Any advice would be
helpful,

Yours truly,
GC

"G_cowboy_is_that_a_Gnu_Hurd?" <vvosen@cpinternet.com> wrote in message
news:10kc5q9gu7it9cc@corp.supernews.com...[color=blue]
> Hey,
>
> My gravity is still reading 1.030, it's been that way for a week now
> after deciding to pitch some sweet mead yeasties in there. What to do,
> wait longer? It seems more sediement has collected on the bottom of a[/color]
very[color=blue]
> different hue, and furthermore the beer seems to really be clearing a bit.
> I thought about doing other stuff, like adding yeast nutrients to get the
> yeast to ferment, and aerating it. The %alcholXvol is reading around 9%
> and that's what killed the trappist yeast. Notably, the sweet mead yeast
> hasn't significantly dropped the specific gravity. Any advice would be
> helpful,[/color]

As can be inferred from the name, sweet mead yeast is designed to halt at a
sweet level... probably shouldn't be 1.030, but there could be other
problems, such as lack of oxygen or dead yeast. You could try adding a more
resilient yeast such as dry mead yeast, but then your beer could end up too
dry..... I guess I'm not being of much help. Alternately, if you're not too
concerned about the percent alcohol, you could simply add some distilled
water, which would dilute the beer and lower the FG.... but I'm sure you
don't want to do that. Your best bet is to dump some tougher yeast in to
finish the job. You could also try adding more enzymes and ferment the more
complex sugars by adding a few crushed Beano tablets... they can supposedly
break down the bigger sugars and cut the FG in half..... I have never
personally tried this, but if you've begun to lose all hope, it couldn't
hurt to try.

Good luck.

--
Dave
"Just a drink, a little drink, and I'll be feeling GOOooOOooOOooD!" --
Genesis, 1973-ish

David M. Taylor wrote:
[color=blue]
> "G_cowboy_is_that_a_Gnu_Hurd?" <vvosen@cpinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:10kc5q9gu7it9cc@corp.supernews.com...[color=green]
>> Hey,
>>
>> My gravity is still reading 1.030, it's been that way for a week now
>> after deciding to pitch some sweet mead yeasties in there. What to do,
>> wait longer? It seems more sediement has collected on the bottom of a[/color]
> very[color=green]
>> different hue, and furthermore the beer seems to really be clearing a
>> bit. I thought about doing other stuff, like adding yeast nutrients to
>> get the
>> yeast to ferment, and aerating it. The %alcholXvol is reading around 9%
>> and that's what killed the trappist yeast. Notably, the sweet mead yeast
>> hasn't significantly dropped the specific gravity. Any advice would be
>> helpful,[/color]
>
> As can be inferred from the name, sweet mead yeast is designed to halt at
> a sweet level... probably shouldn't be 1.030, but there could be other
> problems, such as lack of oxygen or dead yeast. You could try adding a
> more resilient yeast such as dry mead yeast, but then your beer could end
> up too
> dry..... I guess I'm not being of much help. Alternately, if you're not
> too concerned about the percent alcohol, you could simply add some
> distilled water, which would dilute the beer and lower the FG.... but I'm
> sure you
> don't want to do that. Your best bet is to dump some tougher yeast in to
> finish the job. You could also try adding more enzymes and ferment the
> more complex sugars by adding a few crushed Beano tablets... they can
> supposedly break down the bigger sugars and cut the FG in half..... I have
> never personally tried this, but if you've begun to lose all hope, it
> couldn't hurt to try.
>
> Good luck.
>[/color]

That could be it! I did use some grains in making this, but I noted not a
single product I used contained any enzymes. Because the beer is way too
sweet and though the mead yeast is in there replicating, it isn't
indicating aggressive multiplication or anything, and the SG hasn't dropped
significantly, therefore it is probably complex sugars making it too sweet.
Is this going to screw things up adding the enzymes in at this point,
because if it is... I'll just toss it, yea it couldn't hurt. Will enzymes
really work with the presence of alchohol?

G_cowboy_is_that_a_Gnu_Hurd? wrote:[color=blue]
> David M. Taylor wrote:
>
>[color=green]
>>"G_cowboy_is_that_a_Gnu_Hurd?" <vvosen@cpinternet.com> wrote in message
>>news:10kc5q9gu7it9cc@corp.supernews.com...
>>[color=darkred]
>>>Hey,
>>>
>>> My gravity is still reading 1.030, it's been that way for a week now
>>>after deciding to pitch some sweet mead yeasties in there. What to do,
>>>wait longer? It seems more sediement has collected on the bottom of a[/color]
>>
>>very
>>[color=darkred]
>>>different hue, and furthermore the beer seems to really be clearing a
>>>bit. I thought about doing other stuff, like adding yeast nutrients to
>>>get the
>>>yeast to ferment, and aerating it. The %alcholXvol is reading around 9%
>>>and that's what killed the trappist yeast. Notably, the sweet mead yeast
>>>hasn't significantly dropped the specific gravity. Any advice would be
>>>helpful,[/color]
>>
>>As can be inferred from the name, sweet mead yeast is designed to halt at
>>a sweet level... probably shouldn't be 1.030, but there could be other
>>problems, such as lack of oxygen or dead yeast. You could try adding a
>>more resilient yeast such as dry mead yeast, but then your beer could end
>>up too
>>dry..... I guess I'm not being of much help. Alternately, if you're not
>>too concerned about the percent alcohol, you could simply add some
>>distilled water, which would dilute the beer and lower the FG.... but I'm
>>sure you
>>don't want to do that. Your best bet is to dump some tougher yeast in to
>>finish the job. You could also try adding more enzymes and ferment the
>>more complex sugars by adding a few crushed Beano tablets... they can
>>supposedly break down the bigger sugars and cut the FG in half..... I have
>>never personally tried this, but if you've begun to lose all hope, it
>>couldn't hurt to try.
>>
>>Good luck.
>>[/color]
>
>
> That could be it! I did use some grains in making this, but I noted not a
> single product I used contained any enzymes. Because the beer is way too
> sweet and though the mead yeast is in there replicating, it isn't
> indicating aggressive multiplication or anything, and the SG hasn't dropped
> significantly, therefore it is probably complex sugars making it too sweet.
> Is this going to screw things up adding the enzymes in at this point,
> because if it is... I'll just toss it, yea it couldn't hurt. Will enzymes
> really work with the presence of alchohol?[/color]

Sweet mead yeast probably isn't a good choice as it isn't very
attenuative (compared to most ale yeasts). Trappist yeasts are notably
tolerant of high gravity beers. But there will always be a situation
which makes an exception.
The generally recommended practice for a stuck fermentation is to use a
couple of packets of dried yeast - Danstar Nottingham being commonly
recommended. I'm currently using a couple packs of Coopers ale yeast to
finish a high gravity stout at the moment.
Regarding the Beano option - I've never tried it but those that have,
generally, have regretted it. Apparently it makes for a rather thin dry
beer.

Here is a link with some information regarding the practice of
rehydrating dried yeast prior to pitching which may be of some interest.

[url]http://consumer.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/beerfaq.html#rehydrate[/url]


cheers
rb

rb wrote:
[color=blue]
> G_cowboy_is_that_a_Gnu_Hurd? wrote:[color=green]
>> David M. Taylor wrote:
>>
>>[color=darkred]
>>>"G_cowboy_is_that_a_Gnu_Hurd?" <vvosen@cpinternet.com> wrote in message
>>>news:10kc5q9gu7it9cc@corp.supernews.com...
>>>
>>>>Hey,
>>>>
>>>> My gravity is still reading 1.030, it's been that way for a week now
>>>>after deciding to pitch some sweet mead yeasties in there. What to do,
>>>>wait longer? It seems more sediement has collected on the bottom of a
>>>
>>>very
>>>
>>>>different hue, and furthermore the beer seems to really be clearing a
>>>>bit. I thought about doing other stuff, like adding yeast nutrients to
>>>>get the
>>>>yeast to ferment, and aerating it. The %alcholXvol is reading around 9%
>>>>and that's what killed the trappist yeast. Notably, the sweet mead
>>>>yeast
>>>>hasn't significantly dropped the specific gravity. Any advice would be
>>>>helpful,
>>>
>>>As can be inferred from the name, sweet mead yeast is designed to halt at
>>>a sweet level... probably shouldn't be 1.030, but there could be other
>>>problems, such as lack of oxygen or dead yeast. You could try adding a
>>>more resilient yeast such as dry mead yeast, but then your beer could end
>>>up too
>>>dry..... I guess I'm not being of much help. Alternately, if you're not
>>>too concerned about the percent alcohol, you could simply add some
>>>distilled water, which would dilute the beer and lower the FG.... but I'm
>>>sure you
>>>don't want to do that. Your best bet is to dump some tougher yeast in to
>>>finish the job. You could also try adding more enzymes and ferment the
>>>more complex sugars by adding a few crushed Beano tablets... they can
>>>supposedly break down the bigger sugars and cut the FG in half..... I
>>>have never personally tried this, but if you've begun to lose all hope,
>>>it couldn't hurt to try.
>>>
>>>Good luck.
>>>[/color]
>>
>>
>> That could be it! I did use some grains in making this, but I noted not
>> a
>> single product I used contained any enzymes. Because the beer is way too
>> sweet and though the mead yeast is in there replicating, it isn't
>> indicating aggressive multiplication or anything, and the SG hasn't
>> dropped significantly, therefore it is probably complex sugars making it
>> too sweet. Is this going to screw things up adding the enzymes in at this
>> point,
>> because if it is... I'll just toss it, yea it couldn't hurt. Will
>> enzymes really work with the presence of alchohol?[/color]
>
> Sweet mead yeast probably isn't a good choice as it isn't very
> attenuative (compared to most ale yeasts). Trappist yeasts are notably
> tolerant of high gravity beers. But there will always be a situation
> which makes an exception.
> The generally recommended practice for a stuck fermentation is to use a
> couple of packets of dried yeast - Danstar Nottingham being commonly
> recommended. I'm currently using a couple packs of Coopers ale yeast to
> finish a high gravity stout at the moment.
> Regarding the Beano option - I've never tried it but those that have,
> generally, have regretted it. Apparently it makes for a rather thin dry
> beer.
>
> Here is a link with some information regarding the practice of
> rehydrating dried yeast prior to pitching which may be of some interest.
>
> [url]http://consumer.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/beerfaq.html#rehydrate[/url]
>
>
> cheers
> rb[/color]

It's all gone now, we drank it all. Thanks, I'll check it out.
-Victor