Or just use a yeast that is tolerant of low nutrient levels, like Lalvin
K1-V1116.
Steve
(Back to lurking now)
Ray wrote in message ...
>I don't think acid is the problem. In fact it is not really recommended
>that you try to adjust acidity before mead is finished because of the
>natural buffers in honey. This is different from other wines.
>
>From my readings, it is my understanding that slow fermentation in meads is
>generally caused by lack of nutrients. Many (but not all) honey's are very
>deficient in nitrogen. It is generally thought that slow fermentation is
>not a particularly good thing for honey and it would be better to speed it
>up. It is really helpful to know the type of honey being used to know how
>much nutrient to add.
>
>Ray
>
>"J Dixon" > wrote in message
...
>> Greg, I think you made a mistake on the filter size for the removal of
>> yeast. You want to go below .5 microns (1/2 0f 1 micron) to remove yeast.
>> Typically you could use a .45 micron absolute filter to get this done,
but
>> may will use the .2 micron absolute in the line right before the wine
goes
>> in the bottle.
>> I will tell you that as a home winemaker I have used a standard .45
>> micron cartridge filter in line with my bottle filler to remove the yeast
>> and not have to use sulphites.(about $35. each) I certainly wouldn't
>> recommend this for commercial practice, but I have only had a couple
>bottles
>> of "sparklers" and haven't ever had one blow up on me. Not truly sterile,
>> but has been good enough for me for several hundred gallons of off dry
>> wines. HTH
>> John Dixon
>>
>>
>> "Greg Cook" > wrote in message
>> s.com...
>> > On 6/6/04 10:54 PM, in article
>> > et, "stilettorain"
>> > > wrote:
>> >
>> > > I was chatting with a guy at a local wine/beer making supply shop the
>> other
>> > > day, and I mentioned to him that a mead I started 13 months ago, is
>> still
>> > > fermenting. He said that if I wanted to stop the fermentation, that
>all
>> I
>> > > needed to do was filter it. Not wanted to appear too uninformed, I
>just
>> > > smiled and agreed with him. But of course, I have very little idea
>what
>> > > he's talking about. I recall from a brewery tour, that some beer
>> brewers
>> > > filter their beer to 3 microns to remove active yeast, but is that
>> possible
>> > > at home for wine?
>> > > Do any of you all filter wine to end fermentation?
>> > > Thanks
>> > > Nate
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> >
>> > You would need to filter with a very small (3 microns you mentioned is
>> > right) pore size to remove the yeast. The equipment to get sterile
>> > filtration would be impractical and too expensive for a home winemaker.
>> Many
>> > home winemakers use filters mainly to remove particulates and make a
>> clearer
>> > wine. They do not filter out all the yeast.
>> >
>> > Now, as to your mead . . I too have had meads ferment for a very long
>> time.
>> > A couple were going on two years and still bubbling ever so slowly.
This
>> is
>> > a problem with mead that I believe has to do with acid levels.
>> Unfortunately
>> > I never tested the acid on my slow batches.
>> >
>> > If your alcohol level is high enough and you are happy with the
>sweetness
>> > level, you can chill your wine in a fridge to stop the fermentation,
>then
>> > carefully rack it cold and add potassium sorbate and potassium
>> metabisulfite
>> > to stabilize it and prevent renewed fermentation. This can be a bit
>tricky
>> > to do. For my batches, my alcohol levels were too low, so I added some
>> > everclear to bring the alcohol up and then stabilized it. That seems to
>> have
>> > worked well for me.
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Greg Cook
>> > http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine
>> > http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/aws
>> >
>> > (remove spamblocker from my email)
>> >
>>
>>
>
>