first time mead questions

Hey all, I started my first batch of mead on 3/2/13, just 15lbs local wildflower honey in 5 gallons of water, d-47 and staggered nutrient addition. It's started to clear (I think) and I transferred it to secondary this past weekend on 4/21, and I'm wondering: do I need to add a clarifying agent or will it clear completely on it's own? Also when I transferred it to secondary I took a small sample for tasting and noticed that it had what I would describe as a harsh bite to it...I assume I'm being impatient and tasting it at this point is a poor indicator of how it'll taste after aging, but I just wondering if this is commonplace. I'm paranoid, can't help it. Thanks for any input guys!

No need to worry about any of that. Clarifying agents are useless in mead IMO. The mead will clear on its own just fine. It may be 2-4 months before it is brilliantly clear depending on the yeast used but it will clear.

Most all traditional meads are a bit hot young. Now in your case you used D47 yeast. That is a great yeast for traditional meads but there is a drawback. You need to keep the fermentation temps lower than 68*F and closer to 60*F is best. If it goes above 68 the that yeast produces fusel alcohols. That stuff is really harsh and it will fade a little with time but not a lot.

If your temps were too high then possibly cutting the meads abv down to around 10% rather than the 14% it is probably at and stabilizing/back sweetening will help improve this and cut down on the fusel hotness.

If the temps were fine then just give this time. Rack again some time in the end of may and again in the end of June if any sediment has dropped. Then it should be safe for bulk aging. Taste it again around September and be amazed at how much it has changed. It will blow your mind lol.

Hi Arpolis, how do you go about finding this information on Yeast? I am a couple days in my first ever mead and I used D47 as well. We've had some hot days and after your statement I am convinced I am going to have a hot mead.

Are there any yeasts that "enjoy" hotter weather?

Just searching through these forums focusing on yeast names is great. Checking out the lalvin yeast chart for their most popular yeasts gives a lot of info like temp ranges and yeast characteristics.

lalvin yeast chart

Lalvin K1-v1116 is a very forgiving yeast I have used in several meads. I also really like lalvin 71b which I let ferment at whatever temp my house gets to. My house stays around 70*F - 73*F with spikes for a few hours up to 78*F if my wife plays with the thermostat.

If you think you can't cool down your mead in time and think this will be too hot/harsh to drink, there is always a way to save mead. If you want to talk shop on how to turn it around then post a new thread or post here if the OP doesn't mind with your exact recipe and how long your mead has been going.

Thank you. I won't hijack and will start a new thread in the coming days if it gets bad

Thanks for the input guys. I think my fermentation temps were around 63-65 degrees for the duration. I've put the carboy in the basement which is usually right around 58-60 degrees since I figure most of the fermentation will have worked through, plus it's a slightly lower temperature. I'll wait this one out and see where we're at! I'm happy to hear that my observations are normal, I figured all was well but hearing it from experienced folks gives me some peace of mind.