Please see my latest post, #6.
------------------------------------ Earlier post
Does anyone have any experience of the Wyeast mead yeast? Apparently, you have to sort of crack open the inner bag, shake it and let it swell. Then you pour it directly into the must.
Please check so I've gotten it all right:
Recipe, 9,5 litres total:
7,5 litres of tap water
4 kg of locally produced honey, unknown/mixed plant origin
Wyeast Nutrient Blend: The amount listed on the package - for 9,5 litres that'd be about 1 gram (according to the instructions, 2,2 grams is enough for 19 litres).
Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast: The amount listed on the package - for 9,5 litres that'd be about one half package (according to the package, one complete package is enough for six gallons = 22,8 litres).
Step 1, sanitizing using Star San: I'll just clean a large bucket or a bathtub or something with PBW and then fill it with water with the admixture of Star San listed on the packaging. Then I'll submerge the equipment I'm going to use in this bath and let it stay there for 1-2 minutes according to instructions. The fermenting buckets might be a bit harder to clean so I'll just take some of the water + Star San solution, fill the fermenting buckets with it, wait for 1-2 minutes and then simply pour it out without rinsing.
Step 2: I'll just pour 7.5 litres of lukewarm (room temperature) tap water (the tap water in Sweden is good) into the fermenting bucket.
Step 3: I'll heat the honey up by putting its bucket in a sink with hot water (the honey is still in its bucket) until the honey is perfectly liquid.
Step 4: I'll just pour all the honey into the water in the fermenting bucket, using some lukewarm honey to get the last scraps of it out of the honey buckets.
Step 5: I'll now prepare the nutrient: "Dissolve Wyeast Nutrient in warm water. Add solution to kettle 10-15 minutes prior to end of boil." This would only be 1 gram of nutrient.
Step 6: I'll now pour the nutrient solution right into the must in the fermenting bucket.
Step 7: I'll now prepare the yeast according to instructions - basically just crack open the inner bag, shake it and let it swell. Then after a few hours, as listed on the package, I'll just pour it right into the must in the fermenting bucket.
Step 8: Now I'll just stir the must for more than five minutes.
Step 9: Finally, I'll put the lid on, put the airlock on there, and put it all away in my basement (dark and a little cooler than room temperature) and wait for a couple of weeks.
Step 10: If it stops processing, I'll check the alcohol in there by extracting some of it through the tap of the fermenting bucket and check the readings. If it's not at the tolerated level yet, I might pour in some more honey or nutrient? If I'm happy with how it tastes, I'll just rack it over to my glass carboy and put it away for maturing.
Is that how you do it? Very grateful for feedback!
---------------------Original message:
Hey!
I'm going to try brewing mead for the first time, but I have two questions before I begin:
I have ordered two different kinds of yeast. Both are from Wyeast: one is called "dry mead" (18% alcohol tolerance), the other "sweet mead" (11%). I wonder if it makes any difference if I make a sweet mead out of the "dry mead" yeast or if I can pour in a little more honey in it and still make a sweet mead with 18% alcohol (from the dry yeast), or vice versa?
I also wonder whether it's worth the effort and money to get energizer and nutrient? Is it just about speeding up the process? If the yeast for some reason stops working before having reached the alcohol tolerance for the yeast, can't you just pour in more honey?
Thanks in advance, especially replies before Friday are appreciated!
------------------------------------ Earlier post
Does anyone have any experience of the Wyeast mead yeast? Apparently, you have to sort of crack open the inner bag, shake it and let it swell. Then you pour it directly into the must.
Please check so I've gotten it all right:
Recipe, 9,5 litres total:
7,5 litres of tap water
4 kg of locally produced honey, unknown/mixed plant origin
Wyeast Nutrient Blend: The amount listed on the package - for 9,5 litres that'd be about 1 gram (according to the instructions, 2,2 grams is enough for 19 litres).
Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast: The amount listed on the package - for 9,5 litres that'd be about one half package (according to the package, one complete package is enough for six gallons = 22,8 litres).
Step 1, sanitizing using Star San: I'll just clean a large bucket or a bathtub or something with PBW and then fill it with water with the admixture of Star San listed on the packaging. Then I'll submerge the equipment I'm going to use in this bath and let it stay there for 1-2 minutes according to instructions. The fermenting buckets might be a bit harder to clean so I'll just take some of the water + Star San solution, fill the fermenting buckets with it, wait for 1-2 minutes and then simply pour it out without rinsing.
Step 2: I'll just pour 7.5 litres of lukewarm (room temperature) tap water (the tap water in Sweden is good) into the fermenting bucket.
Step 3: I'll heat the honey up by putting its bucket in a sink with hot water (the honey is still in its bucket) until the honey is perfectly liquid.
Step 4: I'll just pour all the honey into the water in the fermenting bucket, using some lukewarm honey to get the last scraps of it out of the honey buckets.
Step 5: I'll now prepare the nutrient: "Dissolve Wyeast Nutrient in warm water. Add solution to kettle 10-15 minutes prior to end of boil." This would only be 1 gram of nutrient.
Step 6: I'll now pour the nutrient solution right into the must in the fermenting bucket.
Step 7: I'll now prepare the yeast according to instructions - basically just crack open the inner bag, shake it and let it swell. Then after a few hours, as listed on the package, I'll just pour it right into the must in the fermenting bucket.
Step 8: Now I'll just stir the must for more than five minutes.
Step 9: Finally, I'll put the lid on, put the airlock on there, and put it all away in my basement (dark and a little cooler than room temperature) and wait for a couple of weeks.
Step 10: If it stops processing, I'll check the alcohol in there by extracting some of it through the tap of the fermenting bucket and check the readings. If it's not at the tolerated level yet, I might pour in some more honey or nutrient? If I'm happy with how it tastes, I'll just rack it over to my glass carboy and put it away for maturing.
Is that how you do it? Very grateful for feedback!
---------------------Original message:
Hey!
I'm going to try brewing mead for the first time, but I have two questions before I begin:
I have ordered two different kinds of yeast. Both are from Wyeast: one is called "dry mead" (18% alcohol tolerance), the other "sweet mead" (11%). I wonder if it makes any difference if I make a sweet mead out of the "dry mead" yeast or if I can pour in a little more honey in it and still make a sweet mead with 18% alcohol (from the dry yeast), or vice versa?
I also wonder whether it's worth the effort and money to get energizer and nutrient? Is it just about speeding up the process? If the yeast for some reason stops working before having reached the alcohol tolerance for the yeast, can't you just pour in more honey?
Thanks in advance, especially replies before Friday are appreciated!