Mead Question...I'm slow...

[bburen]

Hello Brothas and Sistas....

I am trying a one gallon mead batch out. Mixed my water and clover honey up nicely. Rehydrated Lavlin 71 and pitched with 1 tsp nutrient and 1 tsp acid blend. Put it in the fermenting closet with my brown ale I brewed this morning...I checked on the ale tonight and saw I had a tremendous fermentation going with the mead already. I must say I'm impressed, less than two hours after pitching, its rolling, I've put a blowoff tube in. One thing that I'm a bit puzzled about, a large portion of the honey seems to be settling to the bottom. Is this normal? Do I need to shake or agitate the jug at all? I'm planning on 45 days primary, 45 days secondary and 45 days in bottle before cracking one open.

Any thoughts, criticisms, feedback welcome.

Cheers,

Brad

[JDWebb]

Rather nrew to making mead myself, but from what I've been told and read, shake the crap out of the mead a couple times a day. That will help disperse the honey a bit, and the aeration is supposed to be good for the yeast.

[TheDarkSide]

You should degas (either stir with sanitized spoons or wine degasser) or shake a couple times a day to release the built up CO2 which is deadly to the yeast. Be careful because it can shoot out the CO2 in a matter of seconds and make a mess. I degas for about the first week (when I'm doing my staggered nutrient additions).

[bburen]

Thanks lads!!!