2014 batch 1: Cyser (4) Malolactic fermentation

Fermentation is over and the mead has been racked twice during the last 3 weeks.

The taste of the mead is pleasant but it still has a sting to it from the malic acid. For that purpose I had purchased Malolactic bacteria from White Labs (WLP 675). It is a suspension that must be kept refrigerated until use. I found instructions (HERE) where it stated that there should be about 5 Brix of residual sugar which corresponds to a gravity of 1.020. Secondly the bacteria can be propagated in apple juice (or tomato juice). Finally the bacteria has high tolerance for low pH (pH 3.0) and an optimal performance at approximately pH 4.0. The tolerance to alcohol is up to 15%. Working temperature is 21-23oC

So the conditions in my Cyser are close to PERFECT :o)

I took out the vial from the fridge 4 hours before use, shaking it periodically and then added the entire vial to the fermenter. The following day I got a few bubbles from the airlock, so the bacteria is already hard at work.

The flask to the right contains a small sample of the mead so that I can do taste tests as the malolactic fermentation progresses. I will also try to set up a TLC measurement to get a semi quantitative measurement of the progress - more on that later...