Hello - long time reader, first time poster. This will probably be a long post.
Last week I decided to make mead (and get into homebrewing). I bought a fermentation bucket, champagne yeast (this, specifically, also an airlock, honey, tea leaves, and oranges).
I'd like someone to point out the flaws on what I plan on doing.
I'll be using:
4kg honey
15l water
30g tealeaves
2-4 oranges (not sure yet?)
the champagne yeast i mentioned
perhaps some strawberries for taste/nutrients.
I'd like to stay clear for now of any preprocessed component (yeast nutrients, tannins, yeast starters). the 2-3 part water/1 part honey recipe seems to be accepted by
a) The Complete Joy of Brewing
b) Making Wild Wines & Meads
1) I'll be cleaning everything thoroughly - got chlorine table and medical grade sanitizing wipes. After that, I will boil water and use it to wipe the cleaner off everything.
2) Drop the preheated honey in twice its amount of hot water (<100 deg C), keep heating, skim the top layer until it will stop forming.
3) Kickstart the yeast. Using a bit of honey (and perhaps an orange slice as nutrient, chopped to increase surface area) in warm water (<40 deg C), I'll add 4g of yeast, let it grow for a few hours.
4) In the meantime, I'll add the honey-water mixture to the fermentation bucket, and complete with more clean water. Stir it for 20-30 minutes to aerate. This forms the must
5) When the yeast has grown (whitening of the mixture, foaming, bubbling, generally any sort of "activity"), I'll be adding it to the must, which should be under 40 deg C. Right now I'll also add the powdered tea leaves, slices of orange and strawberries.
6) Put the lid with the airlock on, it should start bubbling in 1-3 days, and fermentation should be complete (1 bubble/30 sec) in a few weeks.
7) Move it to a carboy, rack it from the sediment/dead yeast.
8) Play the waiting game, leave it out to clear (or cheat and add a flocculent), bottle, enjoy.
I'm not sure if the champagne yeast is the best choice (several websites suggest champagne yeast as being better suited, and also it can tolerate higher alcohol).
I'd also like to kickstart the yeast first - winemaking is quite a tradition here, even if you live in a block of flats, but not once I've tasted vinegary wine - people still use grape skin growth, and not buy an actual yeast. Technically, a small amount of honey and orange should do the trick (since that's what I'd be using in the fermentation bucket too). Maybe some sugar or agar growth medium too?
Last week I decided to make mead (and get into homebrewing). I bought a fermentation bucket, champagne yeast (this, specifically, also an airlock, honey, tea leaves, and oranges).
I'd like someone to point out the flaws on what I plan on doing.
I'll be using:
4kg honey
15l water
30g tealeaves
2-4 oranges (not sure yet?)
the champagne yeast i mentioned
perhaps some strawberries for taste/nutrients.
I'd like to stay clear for now of any preprocessed component (yeast nutrients, tannins, yeast starters). the 2-3 part water/1 part honey recipe seems to be accepted by
a) The Complete Joy of Brewing
b) Making Wild Wines & Meads
1) I'll be cleaning everything thoroughly - got chlorine table and medical grade sanitizing wipes. After that, I will boil water and use it to wipe the cleaner off everything.
2) Drop the preheated honey in twice its amount of hot water (<100 deg C), keep heating, skim the top layer until it will stop forming.
3) Kickstart the yeast. Using a bit of honey (and perhaps an orange slice as nutrient, chopped to increase surface area) in warm water (<40 deg C), I'll add 4g of yeast, let it grow for a few hours.
4) In the meantime, I'll add the honey-water mixture to the fermentation bucket, and complete with more clean water. Stir it for 20-30 minutes to aerate. This forms the must
5) When the yeast has grown (whitening of the mixture, foaming, bubbling, generally any sort of "activity"), I'll be adding it to the must, which should be under 40 deg C. Right now I'll also add the powdered tea leaves, slices of orange and strawberries.
6) Put the lid with the airlock on, it should start bubbling in 1-3 days, and fermentation should be complete (1 bubble/30 sec) in a few weeks.
7) Move it to a carboy, rack it from the sediment/dead yeast.
8) Play the waiting game, leave it out to clear (or cheat and add a flocculent), bottle, enjoy.
I'm not sure if the champagne yeast is the best choice (several websites suggest champagne yeast as being better suited, and also it can tolerate higher alcohol).
I'd also like to kickstart the yeast first - winemaking is quite a tradition here, even if you live in a block of flats, but not once I've tasted vinegary wine - people still use grape skin growth, and not buy an actual yeast. Technically, a small amount of honey and orange should do the trick (since that's what I'd be using in the fermentation bucket too). Maybe some sugar or agar growth medium too?