First Batch

Started my first batch tonight, going for a small batch dry mead using Wildflower Honey with Champagne Pasteur yeast nothing fancy added to the mix, just starting basic. O.G. was 1.116. Wish me luck.

Good luck! Starting my first Mead tomorrow too!

ivyscout said:

Started my first batch tonight, going for a small batch dry mead using Wildflower Honey with Champagne Pasteur yeast nothing fancy added to the mix, just starting basic. O.G. was 1.116. Wish me luck.

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Good luck with it! Just some friendly advice. I see no mention of yeast nutrients. Mead is Dubois of essential nutrients yeast need to build a strong colony. Worst case scenario your yeast does not finish dry and gets stuck half way through fermentation and it is too sweet to drink. It is not too late to add any. If you have some or can go to a LHBS the pick up yeast nutrient and energizer or any blend that includes DAP. Take about 1 tsp of nutrient and 1/2 tsp of energizer and mix them together. Add 1/3rd of it now and the other 2/3rd split evenly once every 24 hours for the next 48 hours. That will help your yeast do a good job.

If this is just an experiment and you do not want to buy more stuff then about 3 packets or 1 TBS of bread yeast boiled in some water for 10 min to kill it can work as nutrient too. I have also been known to add one 100mg crushed tablet of B6 or "B complex" pill into the mead to help out. You can step that nutrient substitute in a similar way as above.

Thanks for the tips, I did add 1/2 tsp of Fermaid K to the must and 1/2 tsp of GoFerm during rehydration. I'm doing a 1 gallon batch so I took the 5gal recipe and divided everything by 5. So maybe another 1/4tsp of Fermaid for the next two nights?

Yea that would be fine. With meads I like about 1.5tsp of nutrient/energizer mix. So I think you are right on track for a tasty mead.

Just a little update, after 48 hours I saw very little going on in my airlock. I would pretty much only get bubbling if I jostled the primary. After talking with a friend and doing a little research, I decided to pitch the rest of my yeast packet (I initially only pitched 1/5 of the pack). There is enough activity now that I'll try to just forget about it and relax.

Yea I know those packs are good for 5 gallons but even for 1 gallon batches I pitch the whole thing. Meads like a healthy yeast count. The packs of dry yeast are only a dolar or so and if you really want to save that money or if they must be ordered in your area then when you eventually rack off the lees. Take the lees. Cut it 1-1 with water and put in a Tupperware container and store in the fridge. After a few days you can decant most of the liquid off the settled yeast and use that to start your next batch of mead, wine or whatever. You can repeat that processes about 4 or 5 times until I would get a new packet of yeast.

I think I'll just go with a fresh pack each time for now. There is a homebrew shop just 15 mins from my house. Maybe once have several batches under my belt I'll try saving the lees.

Fermentation appeared to stop earlier this week, so I sanitized my equipment and took a 1.002 S.G. reading. I racked it over to the secondary and took a small sample from the S.G. reading for myself. Taste was pretty good, but the alcohol was a bit harsh. I'm looking forward to seeing how it ages.

Still sitting at 1.002 after another week. Here it is next to batch two, a BOMM I put together tonight. BOMM is on the left. My go juice is on the far left (need something to keep me awake while I stay up late making mead after the kids all go to sleep).

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It's now 62 days since intial pitch on my first batch and SG is still stable at 1.002. Honestly I love the smell of this batch, and the complexity of the flavor, but it has maintained that harsh fussel taste and has been stubborn to clarify. I'll give it a bit more time to clarify in the carboy, then I think it will be time to bottle and age this. With some patience I think it will turn out quite well.

Try and cold crash?

Just bottle it and let it clarify in them. Start a new batch with the carboy

I haven't tried a cold crash yet. Maybe I'll clear out some space in the fridge.