Moob Nead.

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Boomer

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Headed to LHBS tonight. Can someone give me a list of what I'd need to make a really basic mead? I'm going to use my bottling bucket that came with my starter kit since I keg. I plan on letting it sit for a good 6+ months. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Really basic mead: Honey, water, yeast.

:D

Seriously, you'll have to figure out what you're trying to accomplish (sweet, semi, dry -- traditional, melomel, metheglin -- etc.) and then we can probably give you a bit more guidance. I'd also sugget that you read Hightest's FAQ up at the top of the Mead Forum; that'll give you some guidance on how much honey to use, what yeasts to consider, and what to do about nutrients.
 
Moob Nead???



Noob Mead.


As for the FAQ, I read it a few times, pretty good info. I guess I'd like it to be pretty sweet so the wife can enjoy it as well. I'll look it over a bit more before I head down there. I'm really focusing on beer right now, so the lower the maintenance, the better. I figure if the bucket is just gonna be sitting there, it may as well be making something.
 
Then I'd recommend doing something like brewdogskip's recipe, letting it finish dry, then after it has cleared and aged a couple of months you can consider backsweetening it if you want it to be sweeter. It is actually easier to get a mead dialed in on exactly the level of sweetness that you want using backsweetening, than by trying to hit a target final gravity. Unlike with beer, with mead ALL of the sugars from honey are fermentable, so given a reasonable starting gravity almost any yeast can use up all the sugars in the must.
 
Honey, water, yeast, yeast nutrient/energizer/DAP, campden tabs, 1 carbouy with bung & airlock, hydrometer, plastic tubing, and eventually bottles & either a corker or a capper with corks/caps. That's it. Regards, GF.
 
This is the first thing I ever fermented. I heartily recommend it (it tastes best after ~6mos+ aging). Of course if you're actually going out to buy the ingredients, you may as well get wine yeast instead of bread yeast.

Ancient Orange Mead (by Joe Mattioli)
1 gallon batch

3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet)
1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller rind and all)
1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)
1 stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)
optional (a pinch of nutmeg and allspice )( very small )
1 teaspoon of Fleishmann’s bread yeast ( now don't get holy on me--- after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)
Balance water to one gallon

Process:
Use a clean 1 gallon carboy
Dissolve honey in some warm water and put in carboy
Wash orange well to remove any pesticides and slice in eights --add orange (you can push em through opening big boy -- rinds included -- its ok for this mead -- take my word for it -- ignore the experts)

Put in raisins, clove, cinnamon stick, any optional ingredients and fill to 3 inches from the top with cold water. ( need room for some foam -- you can top off with more water after the first few day frenzy)

Shake the heck out of the jug with top on, of course. This is your sophisticated aeration process.

When at room temperature in your kitchen, put in 1 teaspoon of bread yeast. ( No you don't have to rehydrate it first-- the ancients didn't even have that word in their vocabulary-- just put it in and give it a gentle swirl or not)(The yeast can fight for their own territory)

Install water airlock. Put in dark place. It will start working immediately or in an hour. (Don't use grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away in the 90's)( Wait 3 hours before you panic or call me) After major foaming stops in a few days add some water and then keep your hands off of it. (Don't shake it! Don't mess with them yeastees! Let them alone except its okay to open your cabinet to smell every once in a while.

Racking --- Don't you dare
additional feeding --- NO NO
More stirring or shaking -- Your not listening, don't touch

After 2 months and maybe a few days it will slow down to a stop and clear all by itself. (How about that) (You are not so important after all) Then you can put a hose in with a small cloth filter on the end into the clear part and siphon off the golden nectar. If you wait long enough even the oranges will sink to the bottom but I never waited that long. If it is clear it is ready. You don't need a cold basement. It does better in a kitchen in the dark. (Like in a cabinet) likes a little heat (70-80). If it didn't work out... you screwed up and didn't read my instructions (or used grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away) . If it didn't work out then take up another hobby. Mead is not for you. It is too complicated.
If you were successful, which I am 99% certain you will be, then enjoy your mead. When you get ready to make different mead you will probably have to unlearn some of these practices I have taught you, but hey--- This recipe and procedure works with these ingredients so don't knock it. It was your first mead. It was my tenth. Sometimes, even the experts can forget all they know and make good ancient mead.
 
mead was the first thing i ever made...at the tender age of 17! (don't worry I'm an old fart now).

don't use the bucket. mead really should be done in glass, or if you have to, a better bottle.
plastic's fine for short term...6 months is WAY too long.
 
mead was the first thing i ever made...at the tender age of 17! (don't worry I'm an old fart now).

don't use the bucket. mead really should be done in glass, or if you have to, a better bottle.
plastic's fine for short term...6 months is WAY too long.

+1

I'm only using a plastic jug for the very very primary fermentation.

when I rack in two weeks, it's going to be to my glass carboy, and hopefully by the time I'm ready to rack again (another month) I'll have bought another glass carboy.
 
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