I have made several batches of meads, using different yeasts, with the same recipe. I then picked the yeast that made the best mead (IMO) and made some fruit meads. I followed the same recipe, but added a jar of fresh fruit preserve to each batch (one raspberry, one blackberry). These are one-gallon batches.
The carboys ended up pretty full, and I couldn't add the whole yeast mixture. This worried me, as I wasn't sure if I would get enough fermentation.
However, my carboys keep popping the lids on the airlocks, and fermentation has been frighteningly fast. I have poured out a small amount of each batch to make some more airspace in the bottles, and it just filled up with foam again. I have fruity foam erupting out through the airlocks, more so in one batch than the other, and I keep removing them to clean and replace. It's only 3 days into what usually is a 2-week fermentation process, and they have finally slowed down (to a stop, I think, which doesn't seem right), and I'm not sure if something went horribly wrong, or if this is normal for a fruit mead.
And finally, I have mold on the top of the airlock of one of the batches now. (Horrible green-black stuff) where it is exposed to air. This doesn't seem to have penetrated the carboy though.
Is this batch savable? Is this normal for fruity meads? Have I done something wrong, and if so, can I fix it at this point? Has fermentation stalled, or actually finished? And will the speed of that fermentation ruin my mead?