Gutzmania

Recipes 

I would like to give this a try... this would be my first mead as well.

Could you maybe write out a quick recipe/ procedure for the making of this? Mash and boil time and whatnot?

Thanks!

dummkauf

Recipes 

Only advice I have is to start reading and do some more research on mead making. I jumped into mead after brewing thinking "how different could this be?", and have since learned that it is very different.

Also, there is no mash with mead.....honey is a fermentable sugar, no need to convert starches to sugar

fatbloke

Recipes 

Well I'd guess that if the OP used a turbo that's rated at the 20% mark it would have been possible to have managed it differently to achieve something close.

To start with, heating apple juice often causes problems with pectin hazing, but also gives the juice a "cooked" taste. The whole point of not heating it is to reserve some/all of the "fresh" taste of juiced apples.

Equally, while the turbo's normally do have nutrient mixed in already, it's possible that the ferment had munched it's way through the available nutrient, hence it seeming to stick at 1.050 (which is at the upper end of sweetness/measurements when testing commercially available sweet meads).

Something like mixing the juice/honey, pitching the yeast, then aerating it daily until it gets to the 1/3rd sugar break, and then adding something for additional nutrient - maybe FermaidO or at least some boiled bread yeast.

He mentions a drop of about 100 points of gravity, which would represent about 13.5% ABV, and while it doesn't always, the alcohol hot taste will mellow out.

Turbo's aren't usually meant for the taste, more for just fermenting sugar to produce a "wash" that can be distilled for neutral alcohol (license required for that in most places/countries). Plus a little research found that most of them are designed to go to about 14 to 16% ABV, with a few rated higher, so it probably would have been just as effective to use a champagne yeast, proper nutrition/aeration etc.

Though if he's happy with his results, then that's just as good eh !

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gammonite

Recipes 

The recipe is outlined in the very first post of this thread. I gave a bit of diary as time went in further posts. I followed my nose making this and treated it as a regular wine from grape juice. I do not have an exact method or procedure.

I did heat the crabapple juice to boiling. I never have had a problem doing this making apple cider. My cider always comes out crystal clear. I am aware of the problem of pectic hazing. I always filter my wines or ciders.

I would not use the 'turbo' yeast next time. Champagne yeast will do the trick. There is no hot alcohol taste to this mead.

It is very sweet. I was not aware that there were commercially sweet meads until I talked to a friend who had visited the UK recently had exactly that.

I am pleased with the results. This is my first mead. It is not what I had thought I would end up with but am still quite happy with the results. And that is what it is all about, eh?