First mead planned and ingredients purchased

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.

Dave37

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
1,531
Reaction score
403
Location
Queens NY
Hey guys and gals. I've brewed a few batches of beer so far and am still going strong loving every new batch and gaining experience and knowledge as I get my reps in. I've decided I want to try and get some small batches of mead going since I've always found mead interesting.

Anyway I've read the traditional mead sticky here and decided to go with something "simple" along those lines. Recipe wise simple anyway I by no means am expecting this to be a simple process or going into it overly confident. I was just hoping to run this by some of you more experienced "mead makers"?I'm sure there is a term for it but I don't know it :drunk: and see if you could tell me I'm on the right track and maybe steer me onto it if I'm off.


In the photo I attached is everything minus the yeast I plan to use for the batch. It is going to be a one gallon batch since I would feel like crap if I butchered a $ 120 14lb honey investment. I pretty much took hightest's recipe in the sticky but divided everything by five to scale it down.

It calls for 2.86 lbs of honey

.8 gallons of water

2 grams of lalvins D47 yeast

4.5 grams of fermaid and DAP/5 during inoculation

2.8 grams/5 of fermaid and DAP during active ferm

1.8 grams/5 of fermaid and DAP during fermentation midpoint


I also purchased some acid blend because it was mentioned in the sticky and is said to add by taste post fermentation if needed. How do I know if it is needed as in what does it do to the mead and what kind of off flavors should I be looking for to know if I should add it.

My other questions are in the recipe the water volume is divided in half as the honey is mixed with only 2 gallons of water. Should I do this with the smaller scale recipe also? .4 gals of water to 115F mix the ~3 lbs of honey then add to other .4 gals?

I picked the wildflower honey kind of randomly as they didn't have 3 lbs of the orange blossom I originally intended to use. The kind of honey is not a huge factor to me since I've enjoyed all the honeys I've ever tried but I was just wondering if this summer variety is good for making traditional meads with.

I purchased a vanilla bean also because I was perhaps thinking of using a small portion of it in the one gallon batch as I know vanilla is a very powerful flavor addition and I only want it to be a small presence in the overall flavor of the mead. I also know if I add it to my mead I can't call it a traditional anymore :tank: has anyone ever tried vanilla only in a mead? Was it a nice addition? How much of the one bean should I add to my must if I decide to use it without overpowering the overall flavor?

Another query is in the recipe a rehydration nutrient "go-ferm" is highly recommended but was not available to me in my LHBS
I looked for it online and can be purchased cheaply from a supplier like Midwest but shipping is 4x the cost of the item and would like to try and keep costs down if possible. My question is, is go ferm a must or can I get away with rehydrating maybe 3.5-4 grams of the yeast and compensating that way? Or would over pitching be detrimental to the must? My packet of D47 is 5 grams total.

I want this mead to be tasty and enjoyable but mostly I want it to be done correctly and learn the overall process and technique most importantly on my first go round. I appreciate anyone taking the time to read my long post and am happy to get any feedback or advice on anything from technique to adjusting the values of any ingredient I listed here.

Thanks in advance

Dave

image-754622048.jpg
 
Just mix enough water to dissolve the honey before pouring into your carboy, then top up the rest of the way. I would also round it up to 3 pounds of honey rather than messing with trying to measure that precisely. Which will give you about 14% potential ABV.

It's probably over said, but--keep the ferment temp. low with D47. Low 60s is good, otherwise you can get fusel alcohols...

I typically pitch the whole packet, even for a 1 gallon batch. Unless you're going to split the packet between a couple different batches.

On the vanilla bean, I would probably add it in the secondary. That way you can get it away from the mead when the flavour is where you want. I typically add the whole bean, broken up, whenever (or brew vanilla black tea for the must). However, I buy cheap beans, and love vanilla--so your mileage may vary.

Can't help you on the nutrients and such, since I don't really have much experience with the stuff...

Good luck on your first mead, and Slainte! :mug:
 
if you haven't already read it, then here's some excellent reading before you actually start.

I'd suggest that you used different yeast, one that is more robust and has few, if any, down sides - I'd say K1-V1116, but it's up to you.

Have a read about nutrient additions and timing for best results i.e. rehydration with GoFerm, then not adding anything with DAP until there are signs that fermentation has passed the lag phase. Aeration etc up to the 1/3rd sugar break.

In the gallon jar, mix the honey and water to 1 gallon, then remove a pint or two and reserve until after the early, most violent part of the ferment has settled down then use the reserved must to top off to 1 gallon.
 
Brann_mac_Finnchad said:
Just mix enough water to dissolve the honey before pouring into your carboy, then top up the rest of the way. I would also round it up to 3 pounds of honey rather than messing with trying to measure that precisely. Which will give you about 14% potential ABV.

It's probably over said, but--keep the ferment temp. low with D47. Low 60s is good, otherwise you can get fusel alcohols...

I typically pitch the whole packet, even for a 1 gallon batch. Unless you're going to split the packet between a couple different batches.

On the vanilla bean, I would probably add it in the secondary. That way you can get it away from the mead when the flavour is where you want. I typically add the whole bean, broken up, whenever (or brew vanilla black tea for the must). However, I buy cheap beans, and love vanilla--so your mileage may vary.

Can't help you on the nutrients and such, since I don't really have much experience with the stuff...

Good luck on your first mead, and Slainte! :mug:

Thanks alot for the tips. I will hydrate the whole packet of yeast and temp control in the low 60s should not be an issue. After active fermentation has finished and i rack over to secondary. I will add my vanilla addition. Also is the same temperature required durin secondary fermentation and bulk aging? Or is a change recommended.

I am going to stick with the d47 according to the got mead newbie guide kindly provided by fatbloke (thank you) this yeast seems like the right fit for what i am shooting for. Also i plan to try the technique you mentioned bloke by keeping a pint or so of mead in a seperate container and adding it to the fermenter after the violence of the fermentation passes. Does this serve any other purpose other than making sure i have enough room in my jug to allow the foaming to occur without overflow? Also i was wondering what method you used to store this small amount. Of mead properly. I was thinking of taking the 16-20 ozs out before pitching my yeast and putting it in a sanitized 22oz bomber and capping it and keeping it right next to my fermenter to keep storage and temps the same intil fermentation is complete and then cracking the bottle and adding it then. Is there another/better option?

Thanks again

Dave
 
Same temp, or you can let it come up to room temp (I'm assuming your room temperature isn't ridiculously high, here...).

Yup, it's to allow room for foaming, if needed. Can't remember if D47 is a high foaming strain or not--it didn't on my fireweed, but better safe...
I would actually keep the extra must in the refrigerator until needed. Just make sure you remember to let it warm up before adding, so you don't give your yeastie minions thermal shock.
 
Brann_mac_Finnchad said:
Same temp, or you can let it come up to room temp (I'm assuming your room temperature isn't ridiculously high, here...).

Yup, it's to allow room for foaming, if needed. Can't remember if D47 is a high foaming strain or not--it didn't on my fireweed, but better safe...
I would actually keep the extra must in the refrigerator until needed. Just make sure you remember to let it warm up before adding, so you don't give your yeastie minions thermal shock.

Awesome thanks! I actually have them both in my chest freezer temp controlled for 62F with a differential of 2 so my ferm temp will be 60-64 which falls into the low 60s range you recommended in your earlier post.

Here's a pic of my setup the probe is directly behind my jug making contact slightly to keep ambient and liquid temps the same or as close as possible hopefully.

Put the extra must in the 22 like I described earlier. My OG came out to 1.104 I was wondering how id be able to tell what my must might finish at using the D47 strain. According to the mead calculator I tried to use I put my OG and amount of honey and it came out to 13.66% ABV the strains up to 14% so I probably should know the equation to figure out what my FG will be but I don't. Any idea what it might finish at? If yeast stay healthy and happy throughout with me degassing and feeding nutrients at the proper times?

Thanks

Dave

image-2643910844.jpg
 
Keep the reserved must in the fridge......

Giving the brew some space to start with is because (especially with carboys) in the first few days there is a lot of CO2 production and when you stir the brew to aerate or add something etc it creates nucleation points for the carbonic acid (dissolved CO2) to attach too, and it becomes bubbles so as you're using a carboy if you do anything to the must, put it in a sink first to be safe.

It tends to be quite a fast reaction if it occurs and the shape of the carboy doesnt help. You'll know whats meant by "mead eruption" or "mead fountain"........

For info a lot of us will start batches in a brewing bucket and move it to a carboy after its calmed down some. It doesnt stop or prevent eruptions but the greater open surface area just makes it more controllable if it does erupt.......
 
Hey just wanted to update. Just took a SG reading and I am just above the fermentation midpoint of my gravity. OG 1.104 SG 1.054 so I added my last bits of nutrients. Was just wondering when should I add my extra must I have saved? I must say I didnt witness any point in which my fermentation was overly active. I've kept the temp in the low 60s throughout.

Just wondering if I should add the extra must now or if there is a specific time that is best.
 
Hey guys ive finally racked my mead iver to secondary after a month in primary on the lees yeast and nutrients. Added my vanilla bean and was wondering if an airlock is necessary on my secodary carboy. I am currently using the cap of the carlo rossi jug itself. Will this suffice or should i still be allowing any remaining co2 the chance to off gas with a airlock?
 
Back
Top