Best yeast for mead and why?

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cabledawg

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I hope all the great mead minds respond to this question. With all the yeast people use with a basic mead( basic mead means nothing fancy just honey and water with a few spices and fruit additions). I would like to see what yeast people use,do you like dry or vials and what was the outcome of the mead. Thanks
 
Your definition of "basic" is too broad. Depending on which fruit or spice additions, or in fact whether or not I use any adjuncts, I would pick different yeasts.

That said, I tend to use active dry wine yeasts rather than vials or smack-packs of liquids. The wine yeast guys at lallemand and lesaffre (Red Star) have their strains pretty well down.
 
Lalvin D-47! Why, because, after researching online and making a list of potential good mead yeasts, that's what they had at the store. So, that's the one I bought! Since I have made only two batches, both using D-47, I have absolutely NO basis for comparison! :p
 
I was at Redstone Meadery on Labor Day, and they use Montrachet for their sparkling meads, and one that starts with an F for the other ones.

I think if you're going for a wine-type drink, use wine yeast. If you want a beer-type yeast, use an ale yeast
 
i'm gonna piggy back on this thread rather than making my own thread about this. i hope you dont mind.


i want to make mead, one just plain, a small batch (maybe 1 gallon), just honey and water, nothing fancy. the second i want to use blueberries i'll be growing myself. again just water and honey but with blueberries thrown in but in a 5 gallon batch.

now i've been reading from mead makers on forums specifically for mead making and i'm thinking i want to use a dry mead type yeast, a wine yeast or a champagne yeast. i do not want a sweet mead. if i can get enough bottles, i may consider making it sparkling, half of the batch if i can.

whats a good yeast for this type of application? i want something with kick, hence going with a dry mead type yeast.
 
I've posted this link many times on this forum but it never hurts to post it again. The Lallemand Yeast Chart will allow you to look for the characterisitcs you want in the type of mead or wine you're making. Of these active dry yeasts, the following are most likely to be found at your LHBS and all have been used to make great meads, when the individual yeast's requirements (temperature and nutrient) have been met:

ICV-D47™
Lalvin 71B®
Lalvin EC1118™
Lalvin Bourgorouge RC212®
Lalvin V1116 (K1)™
 
If you want to make a real dry blueberry without sweetness (why?) id go with 12 pounds of honey and 5 pounds of blueberries...Then use some KV-1116 or 1118 yeast to take it out to the dryness you want. I usually use about 18 pounds of honey make a typical "show mead" and then rack it onto the blueberries in a brew bag into my secondary for a few days but I like it sweeter than you do.
 
i want it dry to cut down on some sugar since i'm diabetic. partly why i want a yeast that will have a high alcohol tolerance and ferment more of the sugars than a sweet mead type yeast.
 
Trying not to sound like I'm being short with you, but if you Googled "dry yeast" or "wine yeast", "Lalvin", or something along those lines you will get lots of lists of yeast and their characteristics.

I'd recommend highlighting the page, copy all and paste it into a word doc.

That's how I get lots of my info. ;)
 
Long time brewer. New member.

This is my favorite yeast for show meads. It's reliable, quick, and creates no off flavors. It can ferment up to 18% alcohol so, if you like it sweet, you need to stabilize and back-sweeten or start with a lot of honey. I prefer the latter.

All the Best,
D. White
 
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