Best Lalvin yeast for a show mead?
 

Trying my first 1-gallon show mead. I have 3.5 lbs honey, filled to one gal. I have a packet each of the five main Lalvin yeasts.

Which one to use? I want the one that's least likely to peter out in the middle.

All right well I used 71B and it's currently at 1.122 OG.

And it's not technically a show mead because I added 20 raisins torn in half.

71b is a great choice! Ec-1118 is the power house though.

Thanks, the 1118 is a beast but I didn't have enough honey to really utilize it to its full potential. My potential alchy is about 16% but I wanted some sweetness and the 71B maxes at about 14% so it should turn out just about right.

Plus after only a couple hours the balloon airlock is inflated and it's bubbling like crazy.

Sweet, I have had amazing luck with 71B. I started with the redstar yeasts and got ok results but the lalvin yeasts seem much more reliable to me. :-) Although I'm not a fan of D47, just tastes off...

K1V-1116 seems to emit a better taste profile than EC-1118, although because of EC-1118's comparatively neutral taste profile, it has a wider appeal. 71b-1122 is well renowned for good taste compared to the latter two, but only has an ABV tolerance of 14% (According to lalvin.). D47 is arguably Lalvin's worst yeast, and even in Lalvin's yeast chart they admit it to some degree. Many people encounter problems with Lalvin's D47, possibly because of the small fermentation range of 15°- 20° celcius (which in farenheit is 59-68 degrees). You know, I've never seen Lalvin RC 212 yeast in a homebrew supply store, and I am suspecting there is a reason for it beyond obscurity, but I really have no idea. From the statistics it seems it is slightly better than D47.

Gosh, I've always had good luck with d47. Is it really that reviled? Some people seem to recommend it so I haven't branched out too much in my meadmaking.

I dunno, I think 71b and K1V-1116 are my favorites

I've seen a lot of references to D47 and I very nearly used that one. I was afraid the temps would get a little high for it. If I had to guess though, of all the mead reports I've read online, I've seen D47 used more than any other Lalvin. Don't know why that is...

Perhaps if the temp is tightly controlled it provides a superior mead?