Mead

[WorldTravelingJoe]

I am doing my first batch of mead. I used blackberry raw honey, spring water, fermaid and premium wine yeast. I brought the must just into the neck of the carboy. I have an airlock. The tank is probably 68 degrees. I am about 12 hours in with almost no bubbling into the airlock. Should it be active by now? Should I warm it up some? Do I have too much must and not enough room in the neck?

 

[mennyg19]

Mead ferments slower than wine. Dont worry about it. My primary took a month.
What I would worry about is an overflow from the ferment. You say that you brought it up to the neck, that is scary to me even though my mead didn't have such vigorous bubbling. I would put a towel around it just in case so you dont have a sticky floor tomorrow.

 

[Jericurl]

@WorldTravelingJoe

You may want to repost this in the Mead sub-forum to get more views. You have posted it in the section that is usually more for "How to use the forum/get help using the forum/or suggestions on how to change the forum" sub.

That said, where is your SG sitting at now?
Mead can be a bit slower to start than wine, but once it gets going I've not really seen much difference between the two. Also, try not to get caught up in airlock bubbling as that is really not a full indication of what is going on with your mead.
Like Menny, I am a bit concerned about your container being that full. I typically use an open primary fermenter (such as a pail covered with a tea towel) or a big mouth bubbler, both to give the yeast plenty of oxygen and to avoid foam overs. I've never really understood using a carboy or jug for primary. If you have a healthy fermentation you are almost guaranteed to have a mess to clean up at some point.

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi worldTravelingJoe, I agree with what everyone has said. When the yeast does get going you are likely to see the must filling up the airlock but I will add another point. Yeast has a lag time between when you pitch the yeast (add it to the must) and when it begins to ferment. If you are pitching dry yeast then this lag time includes the yeast rehydrating and then repairing damage to their cells. They also need to acclimatize to the environment they now find themselves in - the acid level, the concentration of sugar, the temperature etc. This lag time can take as long as 24 hours...