1.065 First Mead - Leave it, or add more fermentables?

**banik** · 12-09-2011, 12:19 AM

Howdy folks-

My first try at mead started this evening- I learned... a lot. (quick aside- it was also the first time that I used a pump... or a plate chiller... there was water everywhere in the kitchen...)

In any case, I was in to the belgian IPA a bit too early, ended up adding an extra gallon of water (5g+honey instead of 4g+honey). So, I ended up with ~6 gallons of 1.065 must. I siphoned 1 gallon in to two .5 gallon growlers (don't know how active the fermentation will be), added a vanilla bean to one and a cinnamon stick to the other, a bung and airlock to each, and now I'm here.

So, do I add more honey to raise the og? What are the pros and cons?

Thanks for your expertise, all.

Recipe:
12# local honey
5g water
3g yeast ghost
6g Fermaid K
2tsp. yeast energizer
Yeast Starter

Yeast Starter Recipe:
120g honey
1200ml water
1/4 tsp bread yeast (added before boiling for 10min)
Wyeast 4184

Smacked the pack, 8hr later it went in to the starter
24 hr later, added the starter (whole thing- didn't have a lot of time to cold crash)

Accidic · 12-09-2011, 11:52 AM

Is lower alcohol mead terrible or something? I use raw honey in anything (beer) I want a little dry that has a hint of sweetness without actually being sweet as it hurts my wife's teeth and I've had great luck that way. I stay less than 2lbs per 5g admittedly but it seems to finish out nicely with very little aging. The last mead I did took a very long time to get good so I would be intrigued with the lower og version tbh. Maybe you wouldn't have to wait that year or two?

**banik** · 12-09-2011, 02:53 PM

I'm not sure- this is my first go, so I wasn't sure whether there were reasons to add more honey.

I think I'll just leave it and make another batch that's higher gravity.

KevinM · 12-09-2011, 02:58 PM

The reasons to add more honey is to increase the alcohol content and perhaps make it sweeter should the yeast not be able to consume some of the sugars due to their alcohol limit.

Personally, I'd leave it as well. It'll be a dry mead, however should finish up pretty quickly and can be consumed sooner. (Compared to a higher gravity where you'll have to age it for two or so years.) Not that you still couldn't let this one sit around as well, but it's less a necessity.

**fatbloke** · 12-09-2011, 06:03 PM

Whereas I would add more honey, too increase the gravity to about 1.100 or so.

As I understand it, it needs to be at least about 12% ABV to benefit from the preservative ability of alcohol. Overly dry means are an acquired taste.....

I can't remember whether that yeast is the sweet one or not, but if it is, then you'd just need to increase the honey to produce over 11% ABV for it to become slightly sweet.

I prefer my means at about 1.010 or so.....

**banik** · 12-09-2011, 06:44 PM

Thanks for the responses.

It is the sweet mead yeast, and I was looking at the tolerances...

We'll see.

Is there any reason that I couldn't add honey later if I font like how it is turning out (if out gets too dry)?

ACbrewer · 12-09-2011, 07:40 PM

I guess the question is what sort of mead do you want? Sweat? Semi Sweat? or dry?

I've used the wyeast sweet mead yeast, and 12# fora 5g total batch still finished dry (blwo 1.000) even though it started at 1.080 - which makse sense since 80 is about 10% and that yeast can go 11%. Actaully while it is rated for 11%, it might go to a touch higher than that.

If you go and bring the sugars up, adding more honey later, you will probably want to 1 rack first, 2 stablize. If you don't fermentation will kick off again. Heck even doing that, fermentation could still kick off again. The yeast with the added sugar are more likely to exceed the stated tollerance - it is called step feeding.

at 1.065, with a .990 finish, you will hava about a 9% and dry mead.

Now what I personally would do, is assuming a buck for fermentation, pull out about 1 to 1.5 quarts, mix in about 2.5-3lb more honey with the 1.5 quarts (might be heated to help mix) and pour the now thinner honey/thicker semi mead back into the buck and give a gentle stir, assuming gravity is 30 or less, If gravity is over 40 (before adding in the honey) a more vigerous mix can be use. "What about the aeration/O2 you are mixing in?" Well a good hit of sugar means that it will start up fermenation again and consume the O2.

Let it ferment to completion (again proably around .990- .995 and stay there for 2 or 3 weeks) then rack, and stablize. And then sweaten to taste. BUT again, that is what I woudl want for the mead at about 11-12% and Semi Sweat to Sweat finish.

BTW, soon you add any extra honey the less of a step feeding/increase of alcohol tollerance effect. (Extra honey can be poured in, rather than the elaborate mixing I describ, it just mixes faster if you do that, but greater infection risk)

**huesmann** · 12-10-2011, 09:53 PM

Sweat? Yuck!