MikeRLynch

Recipes 

Mead making was how I got into the world of homebrewing, so I figured a simple, step by step how to on mead making might benefit some of the newer members.


First rehydrate the yeast in some warm water, I'm using 71b wine yeast here


Soak 1 teaspoon of PBW or Oxyclean in a one gallon jug


Take your airlock, with a #6 drilled rubber stopper, and soak it in some Iodaphor or Star San


For one gallon, 3 lbs of honey will make approximately a 14% abv mead


Warm the honey in some water so it will flow easier


Empty the jug of the PBW, then refill it with some iodaphor. Once it has soaked for a while, dump the iodaphor out and fill it with the honey


Top up with water, and give it a good shake. A really good shake. You want to make sure all of the honey is dissolved.


And that's it! Fix your airlock, and forget about it for a month!

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danculwell

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How long should you ferment it? How long should you age it? I've been interested in making mead lately but haven't really done any research on it yet.

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SeamusMac

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This is great! Thanks Mike.

Does the yeast fully attenuate without any additional nutrients? It might be nice if it didn't... leaving a little bit of sweetness behind.

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Bru

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Thanks Mike - I plan on making a mead soon. Can I use a regular ale yeast (notty etc) or is a wine, champagne yeast better ?

MikeRLynch

Recipes 

Mead is a notoriously slow fermenter, a month in primary isn't unusual. Use your hydrometer to tell if it's done. Once you're sure it's done, bottle it up and forget about it for a year. If you can forget about it longer, it'll be that much better

The yeast may attenuate completely without nutrients, but it may take a bit longer to finish fermenting. I actually did add half a teaspoon of yeast nutrient to this mead at yeast pitching.

Ale yeast will do the job, but not completely, leaving you with a much sweeter mead. Wine yeast will get you down to a dry mead, with the full 14% abv. I've used American ale yeast on a 1.098 og mead, and it only got it down to 1.030

If you guys want some more detailed info, the mead section on this forum is outstanding, with tons of info from master meadmakers.

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On Deck -
Fermenting - Contradiction Dark IPA
On Tap - Contradiction Dark IPA, Deer Dribble Brown Ale
Bottled - Connecticut Wildflower Blueberry Mead (6/27/09)

Deuce

Recipes 

NOW.... I have to try this, knowing the simlicity of it!!! Thanks for you quick tutorial. I think I'll pick up some Orange Blossom honey from whole foods on my way home.

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AZ_IPA

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Good write-up Mike. I know it's implied, but you never actually said when to pitch the yeast

MikeRLynch

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Lol, I know, I was walking the line between simplicity and detail. Guess I should have put in more detail

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On Deck -
Fermenting - Contradiction Dark IPA
On Tap - Contradiction Dark IPA, Deer Dribble Brown Ale
Bottled - Connecticut Wildflower Blueberry Mead (6/27/09)

rcm_rx7

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Cool! Pictures always get me excited...

I need to find some good honey now.

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RegionalChaos

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Defiantly planning some mead towards the end of summer when I pull honey from the bee hive! Thanks for inspiration and motivation

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How I brew: Stir plate starters, Extract, Full boil in a Keggle, 10 gallon batches.
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