Mead newbie questions

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

triangulum33

Whenever it feels right!
HBT Supporter
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
665
Reaction score
19
Location
NorCal
1. Is mead typically carbed? Is it good that way?

2. Is it typically bottled in small bottles (12oz) or larger? Is a serving size smaller than beer or cider?
 
Mead can be carbed or still (uncarbed). Most I've seen is uncarbed, but it's personal preferences.

Since it's a "wine" many of us bottle in wine bottles, but there's no real reason 12oz bottles won't do. Now, I'm not sure how well normal bottles are for extended aging (5+ years), so I wouldn't count on using wine bottles if you're really aging that long, however nothing I've made thus far (or plan to make really) will be able to sit that long, I like it too much.

Also, this should be in the mead section, not the recipe database...mods??
 
I've made a lot of mead and consumed considerably more and I'd guess that 95%+ of all the mead I've ever experienced has been still. I've made one batch of naturally sparkling mead and I liked it and I've had some carbonated Redstone mead on tap at a bar in Boulder and I also enjoyed that.

In my experience, still mead lends itself better to extended aging but there's nothing wrong with sparkling mead. I too use wine bottles but I also bottle a few 12 oz crown caps with each batch.
 
Just like homebrewed and bottle conditioned beer, sparkling mead and cider will have a little sediment in the bottle. A careful first pour will leave the sediment in the bottle. I bulk age my still meads for a year and there's no sediment in my bottles because it's dropped crystal clear.

IMG_1534.JPG


Crangrape_mead.jpg
 
So if I just let my mead clear for a lengthy amount of time, there wont be any sediment at the bottom after its bottled? you dont have to filter it or anything like that?
 
wow those look beautiful summersolstice. you should probably count your bottles because i have stolen one out of your cellar.
 
Yep, nothing beats a year in the carboy in some dark corner of a basement or closet. I've never filtered anything, though I have a mini-jet filter system. See the sediment in the bottom of photo #1? That's a traditional mead made with only honey and water. The sediment fell out over a period of a year and left it crystal clear.

I do seem to missing several bottles but, in my case, they're likely bottles I've opened after already consuming others, only to be forgotton the next morning.
 
Yep, nothing beats a year in the carboy in some dark corner of a basement or closet. I've never filtered anything, though I have a mini-jet filter system. See the sediment in the bottom of photo #1? That's a traditional mead made with only honey and water. The sediment fell out over a period of a year and left it crystal clear.

I do seem to missing several bottles but, in my case, they're likely bottles I've opened after already consuming others, only to be forgotton the next morning.


You think 3 or 4 months is enough for it to clear out to that point, or is like a year the minimum?
 
I'm looking to make a traditional mead with just honey and water

I'm looking to make it about 14% as that's what my yeast should max out at but I want a little sweetness I'm just gona make a 1 gal batch as dis is my first traditional mead.

So my problem is how much honey do I add per gal??
 
I'm looking to make a traditional mead with just honey and water

I'm looking to make it about 14% as that's what my yeast should max out at but I want a little sweetness I'm just gona make a 1 gal batch as dis is my first traditional mead.

So my problem is how much honey do I add per gal??

About 3#/gallon should get you to have just over 14% ABV potential... I would use that to start with, letting it run until complete, possibly dry, then add a hair more honey (only if needed) to bring back a little sweetness. Basically, as long as it finishes above 1.002 I'd leave it alone. When you age it (at least 6-9 months) the harshness of the mead will become softened, and it will appear to be more sweet. Give it a year or more, and it will become a thing of beauty.

My own mead is only about 4 months from their start (for the larger batches)... Still have plenty of time before I bottle them up.
 
Tanks I'm sons start that next weekend so should I wait for fermwnting to stop and then rack back into denijohns nd leave for a year with airlock still in or bottle it then let mature?
 
Applying my English to newbee17 filter...

I would let it finish fermenting, rack about every month or two, when a decent amount of trub forms on the bottom of the carboy/fermenter. Doing that will help it clear nicely.

If you're going to fill a DJ, that's a LOT of mead... I would go with a more modest 3-5 gallon batch for the first time. Also read up about what you need to do with the mead at the start of fermentation from the got mead site... The majority of people there (myself included) give the mead nutrients, degass and aerate it until reaching the 1/3 break (1/3 of the sugars are converted by the yeast). Then it's basically hands off.
 
Tanks for a speedy reply and Sry for the stupid questions just find it easyer 2 ask dem Dan read 40 pages trying to find
 
newbee17 said:
Tanks for a speedy reply and Sry for the stupid questions just find it easyer 2 ask dem Dan read 40 pages trying to find the answer.

I was tinkin of using a 1 gal demijohn
 
Yeh the home brew shops on this side of the pond call them demijohns (glass gal bottle with a handle on each side of its neck)
 
Good thread. I too am interested in taking a shot at mead.

Since most mead is still, do you bottle directly from the carboy?
 
You bottle it when it's ready... You can age it in whatever you have on hand, in batch/bulk size... I plan on using corny kegs, then rack to the bottling bucket when it's time... Unless I have the setup to go direct from the keg into bottles that is...
 
Golddiggie said:
You bottle it when it's ready... You can age it in whatever you have on hand, in batch/bulk size... I plan on using corny kegs, then rack to the bottling bucket when it's time... Unless I have the setup to go direct from the keg into bottles that is...

If you keg it and use keg 2 serve aswell would that not carbonate it??
I tought mead wasnt usually carbonated and served like wine
 
The way I plan to use the kegs there won't be any CO2 pressure on the mead. I could get one of the bottling guns that connect up to the liquid out posts on a keg, and push the mead out with CO2 (just enough to get it to flow)... Again, no carbonation going on.
 
Just made my first mead today

6# honey
2gal water(9ltrs)
Lalvin k1-v1116
SG-1.080

I was hoping for a sg of 1.115 but i tink i added to much water
as its my first time ill take note of it and learn for next time

Would i be right in assuming this is gonna be really dry??
Will some sweetness come back with age or will it go to dry for that??
As mead isnt availible here in shops dnt really no what to expect just like the sound of it


Critasism welcome
 
With K1V it will ferment fully out to dry, since it can go up to 18% ABV... If you have room left in the carboy/vessel, I'd add more honey. Since 6# of honey should only occupy 1/2 gallon of space, you should have some room left... I'd add another 4-5# of honey to the batch, which will bring your OG up to about 1.134, which will get you up to about 17.5% alcohol in the batch... Once you've taken your SG readings, for adding nutrients and such, you should have a bit of room again (as it gets closer to being finished)... At that point you can add a bit more honey so that it goes up to the limit of the yeast, and starts to have a touch of sweet again. I would add the 4# first, then figure out how much more you'll need to add as it ferments... Since you're adding it post first mixing, it could get a little tricky adding more (not rocket science, just don't dump a ton more in all at once)...

In my initial batches, I went with the set total volume, figured how much honey I should add, and went full bore. Next time, I plan to add a bit less, reserving some for later, so that it finishes a little lower (for the FG)... It's easy to add a bit more honey at the end, than to try and get it to ferment past what the yeast can do...
 
O rite the home brew store i use told me it would only go to 14%abv max.
is ther any other options as dont really want to add more expense to this as i dont no if ill like it or not
 
They don't know their Lalvin yeast at all then... Info is readily available online, and they should have the spec sheets on hand... http://www.lalvinyeast.com/strains.asp#

With the OG of your must, you're looking at ~12% ABV there... IF you don't stabilize it before adding more honey (it involves a few steps, which I've never done, since I make mine strong enough to go to dry closer to the yeast's tolerance) you'll either have a carbonated mead, or potential bombs...

I would be cautious about putting the batch into anything other than beer or champagne bottles.

The only options for getting it to not be dry are stabilizing it and adding more honey until it's closer to where you want it (don't go to where you want it now, since it will get sweeter/mellow as it ages) or adding more honey until it's fermented to the tolerance of the yeast, or to where the yeast stops, then add a bit more slowly...

If the person that told you that the Lalvin strain maxed out at 14% wasn't the owner, I'd tell the owner to educate their people on yeast... OR, tell him/them to at least use the reference material readily available until they KNOW the yeasts parameters. Giving such bad advice is horrible. IF I had a HBS that gave me that advice, and I found out how bad it was, I would stop going there. Unless the owner took care of things.

I'm sure HAD you been told that the yeast would go to ~18%, you probably would have selected another... For one thing D47 goes to ~14%... Keep in mind, the yeast can hit it's actual max a little lower, or higher, than the published amounts. But not by ~4%, maybe 1-2% variance (max)... If you ferment a bit warmer (within it's temperature range) then you could push it higher. Cooler and you could hit a lower level. BUT, I would not suggest doing that (lower that is) unless you plan to either filter the mead, or stabilize it. Especially if you plan to back sweeten it at all.

BTW, if you like the honey, and you like alcohol, there's a 99% chance you'll like the mead. I wouldn't make mead with honey that I didn't like the flavor of.
 
Golddiggie said:
They don't know their Lalvin yeast at all then... Info is readily available online, and they should have the spec sheets on hand... http://www.lalvinyeast.com/strains.asp#

With the OG of your must, you're looking at ~12% ABV there... IF you don't stabilize it before adding more honey (it involves a few steps, which I've never done, since I make mine strong enough to go to dry closer to the yeast's tolerance) you'll either have a carbonated mead, or potential bombs...

I would be cautious about putting the batch into anything other than beer or champagne bottles.

The only options for getting it to not be dry are stabilizing it and adding more honey until it's closer to where you want it (don't go to where you want it now, since it will get sweeter/mellow as it ages) or adding more honey until it's fermented to the tolerance of the yeast, or to where the yeast stops, then add a bit more slowly...

If the person that told you that the Lalvin strain maxed out at 14% wasn't the owner, I'd tell the owner to educate their people on yeast... OR, tell him/them to at least use the reference material readily available until they KNOW the yeasts parameters. Giving such bad advice is horrible. IF I had a HBS that gave me that advice, and I found out how bad it was, I would stop going there. Unless the owner took care of things.

I'm sure HAD you been told that the yeast would go to ~18%, you probably would have selected another... For one thing D47 goes to ~14%... Keep in mind, the yeast can hit it's actual max a little lower, or higher, than the published amounts. But not by ~4%, maybe 1-2% variance (max)... If you ferment a bit warmer (within it's temperature range) then you could push it higher. Cooler and you could hit a lower level. BUT, I would not suggest doing that (lower that is) unless you plan to either filter the mead, or stabilize it. Especially if you plan to back sweeten it at all.

BTW, if you like the honey, and you like alcohol, there's a 99% chance you'll like the mead. I wouldn't make mead with honey that I didn't like the flavor of.

It's posted on there website (homebrew.ie) I'm gonna have 2 say it 2 them as I'm really p**t of ad I new I was a bit off with the sg bt I'm a mile away if that goes 2 18%.ad there the cheapest here and at the moment money is tight I really have 2 use them.

Yeh I like the honey nd really like alcohol so I'm hopful.

Your advise is really helpfull tanx
What's the world coming to if I can't get advise off a home brew store about there products
 
At this point, I think you're pretty locked into either of two paths... Either add more honey later (you can do it a pound at a time, if that's easier financially) or try to stabilize it. I'm staying clear of stabilizing since if you don't do it right, you'll still get fermentation to kick off again. Where if you simply keep adding more honey until you hit the limit of the yeast, it will go still. IF you want this carbonated (I wouldn't for my first batch) then you want some yeast left alive when you bottle it. But, you'll have to just let it age to mellow out some of the dryness.

I decided that my initial mead batches would be as strong as I could make them. So, I made sure to get enough honey to get the job done. Of course, that also means that they'll be in process for a bit longer than if I had gone for lower ABV values. But, I figure why not go big, right? :D

I would go and biotch slap those wankers at the LHBS...
 
Yeh i tink im snookered,
I tink ill add a pound at a time as far as finances go.
How would i work out how much alcohol i end up at as the gravity will be changing all the time?
i have this batch in 3 1gal containers as i can only get either 1or5gal carboys i chose to use the 3 as i tought there would be to much head space inda 5gal carboy,so should i empty all them back into bucket then add honey then seperate them again to get them equal or just add honey the way theey are and hope for the best?

Yeh i would usually jump at chance to make bigger and stronger batch but honey here is so expensive its about 7euro for 2lbs.
 
I would get a 3 gallon carboy and rack it all into there as soon as possible. Since you just started the batch, the yeast should still be in suspension, so you'll not lose much, if any...

I would simply use the calculator from the Got Mead? main pages... Enter in your current volume, how much honey you added, and adjust the sugar % until it matches your OG reading... It might be easier to just take a SG reading before you add more honey, so you know what it is, then add another pound, give it 4-7 days, and take another reading... After a couple of pounds, I would just wait until it gets to a low SG reading, and add a little at a time (maybe 4oz)... I would also avoid mixing it with water, or more than a small amount of warm water (keep it under 85F)... You could just get what you can from the bottle/jar into the carboy, and use a small amount of water to get the rest out. That way most of what you're adding is honey.

I would keep in mind, that 6# of honey is about 1/2 gallon in volume. So, be careful with how much you've added. It will really help once you get it all into a single vessel/carboy...

Really good honey here is about $7/POUND... That's local honey too. I can get some other honey, for a bit less, but that depends on the harvest and such.

If you get 2# containers of the honey, add one first, then let it ferment... See where it's at and go from there...

You could get about 10-14 gravity points per pound of honey, if you use the same batch/harvest that you used initially. That's for a 2.5 gallon total volume size though. 2 pounds should get you over 1.100 for the OG...

IF you just add honey until it stops fermenting, you can pretty much assume you've hit 18% ABV, or damned close to it...
 
I would get a 3 gallon carboy and rack it all into there as soon as possible. Since you just started the batch, the yeast should still be in suspension, so you'll not lose much, if any...

I would simply use the calculator from the Got Mead? main pages... Enter in your current volume, how much honey you added, and adjust the sugar % until it matches your OG reading... It might be easier to just take a SG reading before you add more honey, so you know what it is, then add another pound, give it 4-7 days, and take another reading... After a couple of pounds, I would just wait until it gets to a low SG reading, and add a little at a time (maybe 4oz)... I would also avoid mixing it with water, or more than a small amount of warm water (keep it under 85F)... You could just get what you can from the bottle/jar into the carboy, and use a small amount of water to get the rest out. That way most of what you're adding is honey.

I would keep in mind, that 6# of honey is about 1/2 gallon in volume. So, be careful with how much you've added. It will really help once you get it all into a single vessel/carboy...

Really good honey here is about $7/POUND... That's local honey too. I can get some other honey, for a bit less, but that depends on the harvest and such.

If you get 2# containers of the honey, add one first, then let it ferment... See where it's at and go from there...

You could get about 10-14 gravity points per pound of honey, if you use the same batch/harvest that you used initially. That's for a 2.5 gallon total volume size though. 2 pounds should get you over 1.100 for the OG...

IF you just add honey until it stops fermenting, you can pretty much assume you've hit 18% ABV, or damned close to it...

Yeh that price isnt bad as the only honey i can get is store processed an only 1to choose prom have been trying to find local honey but no joy i dont tink it exists here:(

Ive looked everywere for a 3gal fermenter but i dont tink theres a demand for them on this side of the pond and if i get them from that side of the pond the shipping would kill me.

So i just have to be very carful and add a little at a time and not just trow a load in:drunk:
 
See if you can locate some 3 gallon water bottles that are #1 PET plastic (they'll have a '1' inside the recycle symbol on the bottom)... You can use one of those...
 
Has anybody ever made a really good mead that doesn't have to age for the best of a year??

If anybody has done this please share the secret.
 
Lower OG, lower ABV usually makes for a quicker mead... Use fast fermenting yeast, step feed it, aerate it properly, etc... Also put it at a good temp to ferment fast. The lower ABV is most important though, IMO, since there will be less 'hot' flavor to age out. If you stabilize it (killing and removing the yeast) you can then back sweeten it to get it better sooner.

Still, mead will improve with age. Something that's good now, can become great just a year or two later. IMO, you're better off giving mead the time it needs to become great, instead of trying to rush it. At least until you've got the entire process nailed and can dial it in so that you do get it good when young...
 
Yeh you have a point there.

The reason I ask is that I was talking to a honey supplier about 200km from me an I was telling him what I was making and he said he would be interested in tasting it and if it is good he will talk numbers with me and look at putting it in his shop as part of his products.bt I told him I'm only starting and takes a year to age so that it wouldn't be anytime soon.

Was kinda hoping there was another way of doing this.
 
Depending on the recipe, and how it tastes now, I would just wait until it's getting really good before letting him try some... See if you can get some better priced honey from him and make a couple of batches with it. Use a couple different yeast strains (I would use Lalvin) and make the batches with different OG's so that they will go to dry before you back-sweeten a touch. This would also help you learn more about how different yeasts used in making mead impact flavors. Make either 1 or 3 gallon batches, depending on how much honey he gives you. If you can get a full gallon (US gallons of honey are 12# worth typically) then you'll have enough for several batches. Figure 2-4# of honey per batch. I would also start them in buckets initially, going to about 5 quarts. Once fermentation is complete, then rack into jugs for aging.
 
This could be a stupid question bt what is 5 quarts??.

Yeh ill talk to him during the week and ask him what the best price he can give me as his prices are already fairly good 1kg 4.50euro or 1.5kg 6.00euro for wildflower honey.

Either way I tink ill have to get sum and start a few batches like you said to learn as much as I can as quick as possible without rushing it 2 much so that the quality doesn't suffer as that's the main thing.

Thanks for your help
 
Back
Top