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 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 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
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 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 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