Show us your Mead in a photo!!!

I know, but I'm restless when it comes to bottling. It was CLEAR, so I bottled. Most of my meads, if clear at least two months in, get bottled and condition from there.

nitack said:

Looks good, but two months from start to bottle seems really quick. Or, maybe I'm just a lazy mead maker, because my stuff goes damn near a year in buckets and carboy a before I'm ready to bottle.

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Thank you, though. Props for being able to wait that long in a fermentor. I'd go crazy.

nitack said:

Looks good, but two months from start to bottle seems really quick. Or, maybe I'm just a lazy mead maker, because my stuff goes damn near a year in buckets and carboy a before I'm ready to bottle.

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Thank you, though. Props for being able to wait that long in a fermentor. I'd go crazy.

JJack887 said:

Thank you, though. Props for being able to wait that long in a fermentor. I'd go crazy.

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Haha... I really mean it when I say I'm just lazy. Lucky if I degas once a week early on. I'll leave it on the lees for months (which has never imparted a bad flavor). It is a set it and forget it process for me.

Strawberry mead.

All the work paid off. Just put the last labels on. I now have eight flavors sitting on my racks. Serrano pepper, Traditional, Blueberry, Pineapple Ginger, Orange Cranberry, Pumpkin Spice, Prickly Pear, and Anjou Pear.

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Lots of different meads...

Winter Mead (Cycer plus cranberry juice)
Started 12-12-15
Bottled 3-16-16

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1459477622.382840.jpg Gallon of cranberry buckwheat honey mead. Made on 12-18-15, bottled yesterday. 11.5%abv.

Will have to open one later, but one of my favorite mead related photos this year!!

I pealed 180 kiwi last weekend for my second batch of kiwi mead. 2013 batch of it turned out one of the best. This is the fruit and just racked it off the fruit today and added more honey.

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Cross posting this from the What are you drinking now? thread... 'Cause I was looking through my pics today and this is a darn pretty sight, if I do say so myself!
It's a 10 year old Muscadine pyment that I opened on Easter.....

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A little over a year old "Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Hydromel" lightly sweetened with cider.

My first Cyser, sweetened and kegged. I backsweetened with orange blossom honey to 1.012 and carbed it to about 2.6 volumes. The nutmeg is a bit overpowering, as the whole ferment took way longer than anticipated. But at 10% it's a very interesting beverage.

First mead still bubbling away after about a week, it's got me excited:

That looks awesome. Are those black dots in the neck vanilla seeds?

Yeah, the black bits from from the vanilla bean I put in there. Got everywhere the first few days when I was agitating/airating.

Maylar said:

My first Cyser, sweetened and kegged. I backsweetened with orange blossom honey to 1.012 and carbed it to about 2.6 volumes. The nutmeg is a bit overpowering, as the whole ferment took way longer than anticipated. But at 10% it's a very interesting beverage.

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Looks great. How much honey did u start with? What steps did you take to insure fermentation doesn't restart?

MarkKF said:

Looks great. How much honey did u start with? What steps did you take to insure fermentation doesn't restart?

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This was an odd project, in that I didn't ferment the honey and cider at the same time. I started with finished cider and step fed with enough honey to raise SG by about 48 points. Total additions were about 1 1/2 cups for a 3 qt batch. ABV would have been about 12% except that I diluted the secondary with more cider for top off. Next time I'll do them together with SG at 1.100 which should be about 1.3 lbs per gallon.

Sorbate and campden before sweetening.

mooney said:

I pealed 180 kiwi last weekend for my second batch of kiwi mead. 2013 batch of it turned out one of the best. This is the fruit and just racked it off the fruit today and added more honey.

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How big batch size was this? Just made my first kiwi mead myself, used about 2.5 pounds kiwis in 5 liters (1.3gal) batch. Hopefully turns out good, the smell in fermenter was amazing!

Vanilla apricot mead.

Pekkales said:

How big batch size was this? Just made my first kiwi mead myself, used about 2.5 pounds kiwis in 5 liters (1.3gal) batch. Hopefully turns out good, the smell in fermenter was amazing!

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This is my second batch I'm doing 23lt because my first batch was so good using 30 kiwi for 5l. It turned out amazing after 2 years.

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From left to right:
Plain mead, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry

Started as 1 big batch using a gallon of honey and almost 4 gallons of water and a handful of raisins, ended up being about 5 gallons in primary. Picked up some 12-16 oz bags of frozen fruit and racked the mead on top. Didn't leave enough headspace so that got a little messy. Left on the fruit for about 2 weeks. Planning to bottle around September

All 3 are being hit with finings. Greek honey, tazmanian leather wood honey both 2 yearsold and a strawberry and lime 6 months old but tasting good if a bit strong. Was meant to be sweet but dropped from 1.118 to 0.990 on bread yeast.

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mooney said:

All 3 are being hit with finings. Greek honey, tazmanian leather wood honey both 2 yearsold and a strawberry and lime 6 months old but tasting good if a bit strong. Was meant to be sweet but dropped from 1.118 to 0.990 on bread yeast.

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Two years old in the bulk ager. Oh that is going to be nice!

Strawberry Mead that's close to bottling, Maple Mead in secondary, Pumpkin Spice Cider in secondary.

The strawberry mead is dry, not too sweet and retains enough of the strawberry for a slight taste and distinct aroma. Coloring is magnificent.

The maple mead, when sampled, was delicious and will easily knock you on your butt.

Didn't get a chance to sample the pumpkin spice as there is still a lot of sediment dropping.

This was my first try at making mead. I made a very small, half-gallon batch, adding half an orange and a small bit of raisins. The photo is after siphoning off after 6 weeks of fermentation. It looks beautiful, but it tastes like dry white wine to me. I'm hoping it will improve with age.

Your jug looks exactly the way mine looked! I'm so happy to see that, since it was my first time making mead! Thanks!

Carla120956 said:

This was my first try at making mead. I made a very small, half-gallon batch, adding half an orange and a small bit of raisins. The photo is after siphoning off after 6 weeks of fermentation. It looks beautiful, but it tastes like dry white wine to me. I'm hoping it will improve with age.

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How much honey did you use? A 1/2 gallon would be around 1 to 1.5 pounds of honey. (ball park guess. Your mileage may vary.)
The general rule is 3 or 4 lbs. per gallon depending on how sweet you like it.
The color and clarity looks great! You can add honey and let it sit for a few more weeks if you want it sweeter provided all the yeast is gone.
A lot of people will say six weeks is too soon. Best to let it go for another month or two. If you bottle it the flavor will improve over time. (one year.)

Now that you've dipped your toes in the water, your next batch will be bigger. Try the JOAM recipe. It's great for beginners.

Thanks so much for your advice! I used 24 oz. of honey (1 1/2 pounds) for about a half gallon of water. So you're saying that if I add more honey to it, now that the yeast has all been spent, it will sweeten it up a bit and still be OK? I've already siphoned it off and bottled it. It's not bad - it's just a little to dry for my taste. Again, thanks so much! Carla

Carla120956 said:

Thanks so much for your advice! I used 24 oz. of honey (1 1/2 pounds) for about a half gallon of water. So you're saying that if I add more honey to it, now that the yeast has all been spent, it will sweeten it up a bit and still be OK? I've already siphoned it off and bottled it. It's not bad - it's just a little to dry for my taste. Again, thanks so much! Carla

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Well, depending on the strain of yeast you used, adding honey to your batch may start up fermentation again unless you used additives to subdue the yeast. Congrats on a nice clear mead. They do develop with age. I have a blueberry melomel that was a lot like red wine with some berry flavor that started getting a hint of sweetness on the finish... It was a little weird. I have a bottle I'm saving to see if that becomes more pronounced.

* 2 gallons of a hawaiian inspired melomel (pineapple, coconut, blueberry, vanilla, OB honey)
* 1 gallon 'breakfast bochet' (burnt honey, coffee, oak cubes, vanilla, bourbon)
* 1 gallon mixed berry lactomel
* 5 gallons blueberry hibiscus melomel
* 1 gallon blueberry hibiscus melomel w/ vanilla and oak cubes added


* 2 gallons of cranberry, ginger, citrus (lost a bunch of mead to dried cranberries. racking was a nightmare)
* 1 gallon lactomel
* 1 1/2 gallons mango+peppercorn

Carla120956 said:

Thanks so much for your advice! I used 24 oz. of honey (1 1/2 pounds) for about a half gallon of water. So you're saying that if I add more honey to it, now that the yeast has all been spent, it will sweeten it up a bit and still be OK? I've already siphoned it off and bottled it. It's not bad - it's just a little to dry for my taste. Again, thanks so much! Carla

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Yes. Adding honey after the yeast is gone is referred to as back sweetening. I imagine there can't be all that much left. Best to move on to your next batch with the experience learned.

bochet made with wildflower honey cooked for over 4 hours

I just bottled 1.5 gallons of a mango+peppercorn mead. It's around 8.5% ABV and after back sweetening to 1.014 it tastes amazing. It has some good pepper notes on the nose and at first taste but finishes with the mango and fruitiness from the orange blossom honey.

I think this deserves a larger 5 gallon batch soon.

1g apple cinnamon cyser
Pitched: 3/31/2016
Racked: 5/5/2016
OG: 1.110
Current SG: 1.012 (12.86% ABV)
Yeast: Cote des blancs

It was a lot clearer before I racked it. I need to refine my techniques I guess. Practice, practice...

Update: Here's how it looks in a bottle a few days later.

eigua said:

1g apple cinnamon cyser
Pitched: 3/31/2016
Racked: 5/5/2016
OG: 1.110
Current SG: 1.012 (12.86% ABV)
Yeast: Cote des blancs

It was a lot clearer before I racked it. I need to refine my techniques I guess. Practice, practice...

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And patience. Patience clears any mead.

I just transferred mine to fruit and spices. First time I've made a Mead. One gallon on Cinnamon Sticks, one on Boysenberries, one on Blackberries, one on Tart Red Cherries and one straight up (not in photo).

A picture of my first cyser (or any mead) after a few days of settling. Bottled today.

Hibiscus Tea in primary and Triple Berry (Strawberry, Red Raspberry and Blueberry) in secondary. On a beautiful spring day at Bottling and of course had to taste a bit.