[Raptoid780]

Hi everyone.  Fermentation is about done on my first batch of mead.  Wanted to rack off the yeast to begin clarifying and had a few questions.  Looking for a still mead end result.  I've done a lot of research on additions of metabisulfite and sorbate.  I understand that the meta is used to prevent kill yeast and sorbate stops fermentation.  But will both be necessary? It's a big recipe. 18 lbs of honey/5 gal batch. Used 2 packets of 71b with nutrient additions @ pitch, 24hr, 48hr, and 72hr.   I'm about 5 weeks into primary and have essentially no airlock movement.

Last gravity reading I took was on 9/1 and was 1.050@ 74deg.

Then tonight I took a reading and it was only down to 1.044. 

It does taste good.  So should I just rack it and continue on? Will the sorbate or meta be needed?




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[dkfick]

You don't need either of them if you are not planning on adding anything with sugar into the mead.  If you're going to be adding fruit or something then yes you'll want both.

[erockrph]

For big meads like this you generally don't need either. Once the yeast stops, it isn't going to start up again. It will chug along until it reaches an ABV high enough to inhibit further activity.

I would recommend to be patient and let it sit in primary for a little longer. Big meads tend to slow down quite a bit near the end, and you may still see another few gravity points come off in the next couple of weeks. If you confirm that you've hit your FG in another week or more, then you should be safe to start racking.

[homoeccentricus]

AFAIK the meta kills some but not all of the yeast, and the sorbate inhibits reproduction. That's why you need both to be sure.  But I don't use them when I make mead. Like the others wrote, I just wait until the yeast can no longer handle the amount of alcohol. Never had a bottle bomb.

[Raptoid780]

I am planning on splitting the batch into two smaller batches.  One will get raspberries and the other will get vanilla and oranges.  So if I'm hearing everyone's feedback right, I'll  should use both since there are natural residual sugars in the fruits. Otherwise I run the risk of fermentation starting again. But I shouldn't add them for a while since the yeast may lower my pts still.

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[erockrph]

I am planning on splitting the batch into two smaller batches.  One will get raspberries and the other will get vanilla and oranges.  So if I'm hearing everyone's feedback right, I'll  should use both since there are natural residual sugars in the fruits. Otherwise I run the risk of fermentation starting again. But I shouldn't add them for a while since the yeast may lower my pts still.

You are correct, although you could just let the yeast go through a secondary fermentation once you add the fruit and not have to worry about additives. It depends on how much of a "fresh fruit" flavor you want in the end. I typically add fruit in primary, but I will backsweeten with juice or concentrate in my lower gravity meads on occasion. In those cases I do sulfite/sorbate.