My first mead.

Started my first mead yesterday. Going for a joes orange type. Used the following

3 gallons water.
10 lbs clover honey
Zest and juice from 4 oranges
Mulling spice ( picked through it added most of the cinnamon but just a few cloves and allspice)
Yeast nutrients and energizer
White labs sweet mead yeast.

I made a starter but I'm sure I drastically under pitched

SG was 1.100

A laps in reason made me think I was making 3 gallons but after the honey it was 4. Have it in a 5 gallon carboy.

Too much head space?
Is this a high enough SG?
What kind of alcohol can I expect from this yeast?
Should I add more nutrients?
Was I supposed to put the zest in the carboy or cook the honey with it and strain?
I it supposed to look like an omelette?

First photo is last night. Second is this morning

Too much head space? Not for now but later yes. There will be a blanket of CO2 floating on top of the mead so it should not oxidize. But once fermentation slows down and you re ready to rack off of the lees then you need to go to a smaller container or find a way to raise the level of the mead like with glass marbles or such.

Is this a high enough SG? Sure! I have less for some recipes and more for others. Just depends on the level of flavor and alcohol you want.

What kind of alcohol can I expect from this yeast? The White labs site says 15% but if you leave it alone for 1 - 2 months then I bet it will stop at around 11% - 12% leaving you with a gravity at around 1.010 - 1.018.

Should I add more nutrients? I use both Nutrient and energizer at 1tsp nutrient per gallon and 1/2 tsp per gallon energizer. For this recipe you should be ok but staggering some yeast energizer 1/4 or 1/3 tsp every 24 hours for the next 3 days helps to push the yeast to it's ABV limit and keep it happy to give as few off flavors as possible.

Was I supposed to put the zest in the carboy or cook the honey with it and strain? I throw most of my ingrediants in the primary and save some for secondary usually. JAOM style meads however throw it all in the primry, stick the carboy in a closet and forget about it for 3 - 4 months. Also it is usually excepted that the honey is never boiled. There are some studies that show cooked honey gives improved body/mouthfeel but looses flavor and aroma. Unless you caramelize the honey to give add that flavor.

I it supposed to look like an omelette? Yes, just like an omlet. I would like some bacon please! ... Your pictures look good. When you add fruits and nutrients to a mead it does bubble up like that so you are all good.

Thanks for the great reply. Great Idea on adding marbles to the secondary. I was planing on not touching it for 3 months then straight to bottle. Is this a no go?

That is fine actually. The only yeast I have used that I don't suggest that is Lalvin 71B. That one you want to rack sooner but 3 months in nothing. I have one that is going on something like 3+ months now in primary and I have no issues with the test samples I keep trying from it. Feel free to rack any time from when the fermentation slows to a crawl to a 3 - 4 month time frame.

Whereas it looks fine for now, if you don't want to aerate some in the early stages that's fine but it could easily ferment dry so I'd just let it run its course and rack once the debris has dropped out.

Then taste and decide on the next stage. Don't bottle unless its clear and has been stabilised.