Weight of Gallon of Honey

I am planning on doing a mead (bought a 6 gal carboy just for it) and am going to purchase honey from the Flying Bee Ranch and am gust wondering what a gallon of honey weighs in Lbs sense all the recipies # lbs of honey/gallon of water.

Oh yeah this will be 5 gallons of straight mead, not yet sure what type of honey I will be using as cost is a consideration (Thinking rasberry honey though).

I am not 100% sure that the containers I have are one gallon, but they look about one gallon and hold 12 pounds of honey.

Thanks

Good thing I sat back and thought for a moment. I was calculating 3 lbs of honey for 1 gallon of water multiply times 5. Well I for some reason went to the website (just looking not ordering) and thought I needed 15 gallons of honey. Don't ask me why.

I also have a yeast question:

I just bought 3 different types of yeast to just have on hand and am wondering what type most would prefer.

Red Star Montrachet
or
Red Star Champagne

Montrachet would be sweeter and the champagne would be dryer is that all? or will they made a big differnce in how the honey ferments out.

Sorry so long I just like Mead and am excited.

The weight of honey (per unit volume) is highly dependent upon its moisture content. Most (but not all) honey is nominally 18% moisture content. Given that condition, that same honey has a SG of 1.4171, and weighs 11.8058 Lbm/gallon (source: National Honey Board).

KYUSHO00 said:

Sorry so long

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You've never read any of Revvy's posts, have you?

Revvy-teasing aside, full wine yeasts will ferment rather dry, and the champagne yeast will go VERY dry. I opted to use Lalvin D-47, which is a medium tolerance wine yeast. I just racked my first batch from primary to secondary, it started at 1.133, and is now at 1.011. I imagine it will settle a few points lower, but I started with 18lbs of honey.

If you can, check out "The Compleat Meadmaker" by Ken Schramm, and/or listen to the Brewing Classic Styles podcast on Mead at the Brewing Network (they interview Ken, and he has some updated info compared to his book). Use either this info, or Hightest's stickies to determine how much, and when to add nutrients.

Also, you're going to be excited for a long time, that one I just racked was in the primary for five weeks, and while sweet and has underlying tastiness, it's also VERY hot alcohol at the moment! It should be ready by next summer, I'd guess.

Thanks Again

I am working my way back and am on Page 5 of the mead section and so far learning a lot. Guess I should have done that sooner but my last concoction was Edworts Apfelwine and I read the whole tread over two weeks and I just could not risk loosing my eyesite if I found another thread that long.

Weirdboy is right 12lbs a gallon for honey.

Just shy of 12 lbs...

They've got it right... from someone that used to keep bees. My 5 gallon containers net 60# of honey!!

Excellent, Can't wait till I get a spare moment to get my stuff and put it all to gether.

4 1/2 gallons Water
15 lbs Rasberry blossom honey
1 Pk Red Star Champagne Yeast
Yeast Nutrients

1 month in a 6 gal primary, 2 months in a 5 gal secondary, 5 months in the bottle. 8 months total.

Well if we really want to get technical, it varies at about 12lbs because the longer the bees have time to dry out the honey the denser it becomes, most bee keepers including myself don't usually wait till the end of the season to start harvesting honey, if you did the honey would be heavier. ; )

Casper said:

Well if we really want to get technical, it varies at about 12lbs because the longer the bees have time to dry out the honey the denser it becomes...

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I believe that point was made earlier in this topic.

Indeed it was ; )

There's about 12 lbs per gallon. I didn't read the thread though so I don't know if anyone else has said that.

Got it guys Thanks for the responses.