Mead and fruit question plz

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Brandon O

Knapsnatchio
HBT Supporter
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
1,176
Reaction score
54
Location
Tempe
I am making a 3 gallong batch.
Using 10lbs honey
Wyeast sweet mead yeast
3.5 lbs fresh strawberries


10 lbs honey in a 3 gallon batch will give me 10.9 abv. I know the sweet mead yeast craps out at about 13%.
Question, Will this recipe come out sweet or do i need more fruit?

I will be racking onto 2lbs bannanas after 1 month.
 
I am making a 3 gallong batch.
Using 10lbs honey
Wyeast sweet mead yeast
3.5 lbs fresh strawberries


10 lbs honey in a 3 gallon batch will give me 10.9 abv. I know the sweet mead yeast craps out at about 13%.
Question, Will this recipe come out sweet or do i need more fruit?

I will be racking onto 2lbs bannanas after 1 month.

Hi Brandon O: You might want to check your OG on that mead must, I think it'll have a significantly higher gravity than you might think. Your ratios (10 lbs in 3 gal) works out to 3.333 pounds honey per gallon; the ratios I used in a sack mead were 20 pounds in 6 gal. For 3.333 lbs per gallon, same ratio... The OG on that sack mead was 1.150, for a PA reading of approx. 19.5% ABV. I think your must's OG will be pretty close to that. Just thought this info might be useful. Regards, GF. :)
 
beercalculus.com shows 10.9% for 3 gallons of water and 10 lbs.

Anyone else can confirm or deny 10lbs honey in 3 gallons water abv?
 
Using the www.gotmead.com calculator http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=745&Itemid=16
I get an OG of 1.122 with 10# of honey in 3gal of must. For a potential ABV of 16.53%.

It may be that beer calculus is adding 10# of honey (almost 1 gal) to 3gal of water and then calculating the attenuation of 75% (common beer attentuation). I think this might get you to 10.9%. However honey is completely fermentable and the yeast will ferment until they hit their alcohol tolerance.

Your current recipe will finish very sweet.

I would recommend using a yeast like Lalvin D-47 or 71B to take the wine to about 14%. This will still leave a very sweet mead but is probably a little better for a fruit mead.

Craig
 
okay, I see where I went wrong with the calculation.

I already pitched sweat mead yeast on it. Should I wait till it craps out and repitch? What would be good to repitch with?
 
okay, I see where I went wrong with the calculation.

I already pitched sweat mead yeast on it. Should I wait till it craps out and repitch? What would be good to repitch with?

How recent did you pitch? It is probably better to get the yeast you want in the must early than to wait until the first one peters out.

However you can just go with the sweet mead yeast and make sure you treat it right. Lots of aeration the first 3-4 days. Step addition of nutrients and constant temps. It should leave a very nice sweet mead. It may be sweeter than you originally intended but it may be exactly what you want.

I tend to prefer to work with what you have rather than mess with it in an attempt to "fix" the mead. I would just see how it turns out. Maybe consider making a dry mead you could blend with it if it ends up too sweet.

Craig
 
okay, I see where I went wrong with the calculation.

I already pitched sweat mead yeast on it. Should I wait till it craps out and repitch? What would be good to repitch with?
I miscalculated too, I was dissolving 20 lbs of honey into water TO MAKE 6 gallons, not actually INTO 6 gallons, this was why my OG was so much higher: more honey = less water = higher OG = higher ABV. Sorry about the miscalculation, but hopefully I was able to help. Regards, GF. :)
 
How recent did you pitch? It is probably better to get the yeast you want in the must early than to wait until the first one peters out.

However you can just go with the sweet mead yeast and make sure you treat it right. Lots of aeration the first 3-4 days. Step addition of nutrients and constant temps. It should leave a very nice sweet mead. It may be sweeter than you originally intended but it may be exactly what you want.

I tend to prefer to work with what you have rather than mess with it in an attempt to "fix" the mead. I would just see how it turns out. Maybe consider making a dry mead you could blend with it if it ends up too sweet.

Craig

Well when I get home tonight it will be 24hrs into pitching. I will be able to hold the temp at a consistent 68 degrees and I'll just stay with the sweet mead yeast.
I think you are right, I will probably want it sweet. This is my first mead and I figure I can always dilute it down if need be.
 
Back
Top