My First Simple Mead

Ok I just bought 15lbs of Orange blossom honey (good price from Northern) and thought I would run my process by the forum readers before I actually do it. Reminder this is my first mead and I have very little knowledge of this besides what I have read here so stop me if I am making a mistake.

1) Heat 3 gallons of water (DO NOT BOIL)
2) Add 15 lbs of Honey to dissolve
3) Add to 6 gal Carboy
4) Add 2 gallons cold water (mix)
5) When solution is about 70 degrees F Add Redstar Chamagne Yeast packet
6) Add one cup warm water/Yeast nutrients solution
7) Repeat step 6 in a week.


So this is my basic idea/process I was also thinking after a month I would rack to a secondary for 2 more months. Any pointers you all could offer would be great.

Thanks

That sounds basically right. I'm in the middle of my first mead as well and I used a very similar process. I suspect that you'll want to age it longer, but your brew process sounds fine to me.

Thanks,

Yeah I plan to age in the bottle for a year but I guess I can throw another month onto the secondary stage.

More likely that you will consider throwing many months into the secondary stage. Meads are usually not done fermenting and clear in 2-3 or even 4 months sometimes.

Your best bet is to assume 1-2 months in primary and another 4-5 in secondary before even thinking of putting it near a bottling bucket.

That long till bottle time huh. I guess the Hydrometer reading is the only true test if something is ready for the bottle.

Good thing I bought another carboy just for this project so I can a least still brew my beer.

On a side note do you all think a blowoff tube will be needed with the primary 6gal carboy?

Well, unlike beer - mead isn't just ready to go once the hydrometer stops. There's aging and clearing to take into consideration. Unlike beer - a few weeks in secondary doesn't just magically clear up a mead. Sometimes it takes weeks or months. Plus, if using a good champagne yeast that will fully dry out a 15# batch of mead - that things gonna have a LOT of aging to do to get the heat out.


Of course, if you follow the hightest method and SNA (see FAQ at the top of the mead forum) - you're likely to get a mead ready slightly faster.

Patience, Patience, Patience.

You can boil all the water before hand, just cool it down before you add the honey.