Mead Question

Hey there folks, I wasn't sure if this post is more appropriate in the recipe section or here. So if it needs to be moved, please do. I felt the recipe section was for tried and true recipies, and this post is more a "how does this sound?" type.

Anywho, I've only made one mead, and it turned out fairly sweet. Almost dessert wine sweet. So my goal here is to go drier, I'd love a hint of sweetness in it.

My plan is to make 5 gallons. I have 10lbs of honey, about 8lbs of blueberries, and plan to use 1 vial of liquid "Sweet Mead" yeast. Just wanting to ask if there's anything glaringly wrong with this idea.

I've been told 2lbs/ 1 gallon is a good ratio for a dry mead, so my plan is that with the added sugars from the blueberries that it'll get a lil sweetness to it.

Thoughts? Comments?

Just my $.02, but I am using Wyeast champagne yeast (4021 I think) to dry out a 3 gal batch with 6lbs of honey and 7lbs (yes, 7) of fresh cherries... I figure I'll back sweeten a couple of bottles if the 4021 eats up all my sugar (and I hope it does).

Again, just my $.02, this is my first batch...

Your issue is probably the use of Wyeast Sweet Mead if you're looking to make a dry mead. A number of posts here discuss the problems of using sweet mead yeast and difficulty getting decent attenuation.

I'd consider using a yeast that will dry it out completely and backsweeten with a little honey or blueberry after killing the yeastie beasties.

jezter6 said:

Your issue is probably the use of Wyeast Sweet Mead if you're looking to make a dry mead. A number of posts here discuss the problems of using sweet mead yeast and difficulty getting decent attenuation.

I'd consider using a yeast that will dry it out completely and backsweeten with a little honey or blueberry after killing the yeastie beasties.

Click to expand...

Agreed, it is what I always do.

Ahh, alrighty, any suggestions on a good dry (as in not liquid) yeast to help dry it out some?

I ask for a dry yeast since where I live no shops have liquid. The closest one that does is 400 miles south. I've tried ordered yeast from them but have yet to get a live batch, despite thier best efforts.

And by back sweeten, are you suggesting that I add the blueberries after the honey/water has mostly fermented?

I personally prefer Lallemand brand active dry yeasts. If you want to use those blueberries in the primary fermentation, then I'd recommend going with RC-212 from Lallemand, because it does a great job of extracting and preserving red color and it creates polysaccharides that will add to residual "perceived" sweetness in a dry wine, as well as enhancing the "roundness," or mouthfeel of the result.

Backsweetening is typically the term used for the process of adding sugars (usually from more honey, if you're making a mead) after fermentation has completed, in order to bring the total residual sugar up a bit from where it finished naturally. If you backsweeten, you'll want to consider stabilizing the mead first. That can be done by adding both metabisulfite and potassium sorbate, or if you have access to a sub-micron filter, you can "filter-stabilize" your mead before adding more fermentable sugars. Putting more sugars into a mead that hasn't been stabilized could re-start the fermentation.

Ahh ok I get it.

I'll see if I can scare up that yeast around here. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not overly interested in sweetneing it too much, personally I really like dry wines/meads. I might not bother to back sweeten it. I'll get it started, and give it a taste in 4-5 months and see how it is.

Thanks much fellas!