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cmcclure4134 · 02-09-2013, 04:09 PM

I am getting ready to do my first meade. I have been brewing beer for a while and thought I would try a meade. I have the ingredients on hand for a very basic 2 gal recipe I found here and want try it. I want to use my 5 gal glass carboy but I'm not sure if all of that extra air space is a bad thing. I guess I could wait until two weeks from now and buy one at the homebrew store about three hours from here, but of course I don't want to wait. :-)

Will it adversely affect the meade?

Thanks,
Chris

Justintoxicated · 02-09-2013, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrix4b

I do my primary of 5 gal with 12 pounds of honey. Let it ferment dry and add 3-6 pounds of honey after stablizing.

Nutrients: Doesn't need to be anything special. Some people boil bread yeast for it. Now that's important, if you are using yeast as nutrients and not the active yeast you should kill the yeast first by boiling it. That way it isn't yeast but yeast nutrients.

For Stablizing: Use potasium sorbate or potasium metasulfate.

For a good basic mead, you should be fine. I would at the end of it as it's clearing put in 1 oz of lightly toasted oak to help smooth it out. I put it in for 3-4 weeks if it's chips, a month if it's oak cubes you get.

And most importantly, let it age at least 6 months, best if a year, after it's settled and clear enough to read through.

For yeast: I like Lavin D47, 1-2 packets is good. Keep in mind not to let the temp go above 70 or you could get some off flavors with this yeast.

Matrix

Couple question here:

When you say you do your primary 5 gallons, do you mean you start off using a 5 gallon carboy?

Just confused whether or no I want to start it off in a larger carboy so it has more headspace, then transfer into a 5 gallon carboy for aging?

Do you recommend leaving it in a carboy for 6 months before botteling or just aging it in bottles after some time?

Also I would like this to be a sparkling mead, how will I achieve carbonation if I add something to stabilize it? Should I eventually keg it, force carb, then bottle?

Justintoxicated · 03-02-2013, 07:12 PM

Ok so I'm going to pickup some nutrients and get started today
Yeast Nutrient - Red Star's SuperFood (SF), or Lallemand's Fermaid-K
Yeast Energizer - Diammonium phosphate (DAP)

I have not been able to get any more honey though.

Plan is to add 3 gallons of water @ 115 degrees, mix with honey and add to primary, then top it off with cool water to 5.25 gallons.

Does this sound right? Then pitch some white labs sweet yeast (picked it up directly from white labs).

Edit: I can't find the nutrients listed above. or Diammonium phosphate

I do have some Wyeast Beer Nutrient Blend. Will that work?

Arpolis · 03-02-2013, 08:42 PM

Just for future info, DAP is considered the yeast nutrient usually and Red Star's SuperFood (SF), or Lallemand's Fermaid-K would be considered the energizer since they have sources of natural nitrogen sources.

If your beer nutrient blend is the same as :

http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_productdetail.cfm?ProductID=15

Then that will work. Just use it at 1.5 tsp per gallon stepping the nutrient additions throughout the firs 1/3 of the fermentation.

Justintoxicated · 03-11-2013, 06:23 AM

I ended up purchasing Fermaid-K and DAP online, but I haven't started the mead yet

Now I'm trying to figure out if I should use filtered tap water or reverse osmosis water?

My Plan is to heat up 2 gallons of water, to 115, pour the honey into the brew pot and mix it up.

Add my nutrients top it off to 5 gallons and let it cool then pitch the sweat mead yest.

I still don't know weather to use a 5 gallon or 6.5 gallon carboy either...

**Inner10** · 03-11-2013, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justintoxicated

I ended up purchasing Fermaid-K and DAP online, but I haven't started the mead yet

Now I'm trying to figure out if I should use filtered tap water or reverse osmosis water?

My Plan is to heat up 2 gallons of water, to 115, pour the honey into the brew pot and mix it up.

Add my nutrients top it off to 5 gallons and let it cool then pitch the sweat mead yest.

I still don't know weather to use a 5 gallon or 6.5 gallon carboy either...

Start with a 5.5 gallon batch, then rack into a 5 gallon secondary that's nice and full, take your remainder and put in a small bottle with airlock and use that to top up at next racking.

Arpolis · 03-11-2013, 06:46 PM

Your water choice can go either way. My tap water is not very hard but I simply run it through a brita filter for my mead. If your water tastes like anything else except water then that will transfer over into the final taste of your mead. So filter your tap or RO water will work.

Some may say don't use RO water because mead has little nutrient content and you need the minerals in tap for a healthy ferment but as long as you have a good nutrient regiment then you are fine.

If using Wyeast sweet mead yeast rather than what you originally posted then you may need to change this up a little. Wyeast sweet mead yeast is often a pita to use and stalls or will not ferment. So normally I use 1tsp per gallon yeast nutrient and 1/2 tsp per gallon energizer. You may need to multiply your numbers by 1.5 to give the yeast that added help to keep it running so if you choose to run 5 gallons you are looking at about 7.5 tsp nutrient and 3.75 tsp energizer. Front load all the nutrient up front and use stagard nutrient additions on the energizer.

To make things easier your originally stated Cote de Blanc would work out to just as tasty mead if not better and will not need to up the nutrients.

Justintoxicated · 03-12-2013, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arpolis

Your water choice can go either way. My tap water is not very hard but I simply run it through a brita filter for my mead. If your water tastes like anything else except water then that will transfer over into the final taste of your mead. So filter your tap or RO water will work.

Some may say don't use RO water because mead has little nutrient content and you need the minerals in tap for a healthy ferment but as long as you have a good nutrient regiment then you are fine.

If using Wyeast sweet mead yeast rather than what you originally posted then you may need to change this up a little. Wyeast sweet mead yeast is often a pita to use and stalls or will not ferment. So normally I use 1tsp per gallon yeast nutrient and 1/2 tsp per gallon energizer. You may need to multiply your numbers by 1.5 to give the yeast that added help to keep it running so if you choose to run 5 gallons you are looking at about 7.5 tsp nutrient and 3.75 tsp energizer. Front load all the nutrient up front and use stagard nutrient additions on the energizer.

To make things easier your originally stated Cote de Blanc would work out to just as tasty mead if not better and will not need to up the nutrients.

Sounds like I should have stuck with cote de blanc, I still have both, but I have no idea what I would use this sweet mead yeast for then. White labs talked me into it while sampling. The yeast is at least fairly fresh since I purchased directly from the lab, minus the 3 weeks it has been in my refrigerator. I was thinking the White labs was the way to go since I'm a little short on the amount of honey.

Arpolis · 03-12-2013, 05:29 PM

Ok there are two "sweet mead yeasts" on the market. One from white lab and the other from Wyeast. The white lab's yeast is a better product and not what I was referencing above. I have never used yeast from white lab so can not give personal experience but I do know from second and knowledge that it should do fine for you. Sorry to throw a scare at you but when most say sweet mead yeast they are referencing the Wyeast version.

Carry on!

Justintoxicated · 03-19-2013, 06:17 AM

Got the mead going, how long till I should check the gravity?