Vanilla Mead

Thats what the op's recipe called for. I used d47 instead, after reading some threads where people claimed the d47 produced a mead that is drinkable sooner.

is it done? how did it come out?

I just checked the gravity tonight, down to 1.05 from 1.124. It's only been 8 days in the primary. Fermentation was slow to start. I had no gravity drop for the first 48 hours. I aerated with my lees stirrer and did followed the stagered nutrient additions up till 1.08. I will probably wait at least 10 days before I rack it, maybe a little longer as I don't see any harm in letting it sit a full 2 weeks on the beans.

Nice, so your around 10% abv right now. I excited to try this one next week when taxes come in, need a few more carboys. I also want to add some orange zest for a little extra flavor. how much is your fg gonna go down you think?

Goal is around 1.010. Not sure if the yeast will make it that far or not, my starting gravity ended up a little higher than expected. Getting down to 1.010 would put it at 15%, just above the d47 rating of 14%.

Visibly, fermentation looks strong right now. Decent amount of krausen buildup with vey little trub accumulating at the bottom. I have been fermenting in the basement which sits around 62 degrees. I might bring the bb upstairs-66 to 68 degrees to try and keep it going.

Update**

Racked to the secondary today. Gravity reading was 1.020, so sitting right around 13.6% right now and closing in on the manufacturers listed alc tolerance. I hope over the next few weeks a few more points get knocked off.

I racked to a 5 gall glass carboy and lost a lot more than anticipated. I think what I will do is make up a one gallon batch, let it ferment and use it to top off my carboy. I have 5 lbs of leftover honey and a full box of the tea bags, so it should work out nicely. I will probably only use 2.5lbs of honey in the gallon top off batch--dont want to add any sweetness incase the my gravity does not drop much more in the full batch.

how much did you loose? overflow?

No overflow, I was very careful when aerating an adding nutrients. The split beans were pretty plumb, they absorbed more than I though they would. I lost just a touch over .5 gallons to the beans and trub. Overall not bad, I just did not anticipate the loss to the beans.

How many times are you supposed to rack? The OP says 3 times (secondary after 7-10 and then rack again after 3 weeks and keep there for another 2-3 weeks) but i wasnt sure if that was right (seems kind of excessive but im new to mead).

I went 18 days before I racked out of te primary since I didn't have an open carboy. I will rack again once the mead is still, or I the lees get any thicker than 1/4 of an inch. Any additional rackings after that would only be because of lees build up or if it is not clearing.

From my understanding, racking keeps the mead off the dormant yeast on the bottom and helps to clarify.

Start a one gallon batch yesterday. Used 1 vanilla bean, 5/8 oz of extract, 1 tea bag, everything else divided by 5. Forgot to take an initial gravity reading. Its been bubbling away since the airlock was put on.
This will be my first high strength (>7%) mead, so it'll be good to see how it goes and how long it takes.

Went ahead and racked again and combined the full batch with the one gallon top off batch I made separately. The color has really changed, and the top is starting to clear. I did not take a gravity reading when I racked, I will wait to take another. Here is a pic as it sits now.



Still on the fence about using any fining agents to help with clearing.

lost heat for four days (long story) and room temp where the mead is stored went down to 8°C for that time. Its been warm (20-21°C) since then. Bubbles have slowed down to almost none existing, but still pressurized. Hoping it will still be OK.

going to try this next week. will be my 1st real mead, and my 1st large batch. im thinking of adding oak chips to give it a barreled taste. hope i dont mess this up, and all goes well!

Vanilla mead all finished, looks like high life, tastes like the fields of elysium. Disappointed that vanilla and the earl grey didn't come through better, but it's so tasty it doesn't really matter.

Did you have trouble getting yours to clear? Mine is still a little cloudy after 10 months and a few rounds of finings.

Mine came through very clear right up until i stirred up sediment, no finings used. Maybe a difference in the yeast used?

Couldi get a one gallon recipie. Im not exactly sure if u just divide everything by 5 or if sumthings stay the same.

I just did a one gallon of it tonight (left one) and just divided everything by 5ish(give or take)

I am relatively new to making mead (I've only made 3 batches) but am very curious and have the amount of honey I need to make this recipe. At my local homebrew shop, I got everything I need but am curious about the YEAST ENERGIZER and NUTRIENT. I purchased Fermaid K and Go-Ferm and am wondering at what point these should be added. I read through all 5 or 6 pages and it wasn't ever mentioned, so just wondering if these should both be added during primary or secondary or one during each or what? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Add your nutrient and energizer in the primary. I add mine in equal proportions, the first when pitching, second and third additions I do at the 1/3 and 2/3 sugar breaks (when fermentation is 1/3 of the way done and 2/3 of the way done)

Ok, a few monre questions for you.

The recipe calls for "12.5 G." Of go Ferm, is that grams?

Also, you say you add it during the beginning, middle and end of fermentation. How do you determine the "middle" of fermentation. Is that just based off the amount of days that it sits in primary or based off the bubbles coming from the airlock or what?

Thanks a lot

Most people determine that based off of the "sugar breaks", not days or bubbles. For example:

Starting gravity of 1.120
1/3 sugar break is when the must reaches 1.074 (meaning 1/3 of the residual sugar has been converted to alcohol)
2/3 sugar break is when the must reaches 1.036 (2/3 sugar converted)

This is also assuming the your must will stop fermenting at 1.00. Usually this is not the case and your must finishes drier than 1.00, so the actual sugar breaks would be a little different, but only by a few points, and it most likely doesnt matter.

I use a refractometer to determine where the must is at. I know they are not as accurate as alcohol is produced, but mine has never been more than a few points off from my hydrometer, which is just fine for determining approximately where the must is at for nutrient additions. I still use the hydrometer for final gravity, but everything in between is refactometer.

so after reading through the 7 pages of peoples comments the only tasting notes ive got on this are that they wish the earl grey and vanilla would have come through better??

has anyone else tasted this? does the vanilla come through better as it ages compared to the first time tasted?

I can't give tasting notes right now, but I have 5 gallons of this and it is almost ready to be bottled. I made it last January, so almost a full year of bulk aging and it is still not completely clear. I think in another 3 weeks to a month it should be ready. When I bottle I will update this with how it tastes, along with a few pictures.

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I started mine the week before thanksgiving and it cleared right after the new year. Haven't bottled it yet but samples have it finished at .998 and tasting very well. Not very heavy on the vanilla as i would have expected with that much vanilla extract. I didn't get anything from the tea. Slightly sweet with smooth finish. will make this again.

Also, i didn't use any finings as it cleared well by itself.

I am surprised yours cleared that fast. I still have not bottled mine and I made it Jan 29 of 2013. It is just about clear enough to bottle now, but it took forever to clear.

Does anybody think this would be good bottled with priming sugar in beer bottles and bottle carbed?


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Just started this today, here's hoping it turns out. This is my first time making a major mead (I have a JOAM started a week ago as my only other mead making.)

I've added a little extra vanilla (another pod), and just over 7.5kg of a clover honey from a local apiary, as they didn't have fireweed. On the flip side I think I added a little too much water. At any rate, my starting gravity was on the low side compared to others here, coming out at 1.108.

I will report back with results, and will be testing regularly to figure out the 1/3 and 2/3 breaks. (This bit is new, so I'm guessing that means 1.072 and 1.036.)

Any updates on how this mead turned out, or is turning out? I'm about ready to start a 3-gallon batch.

I'm thinking that when i was tasting it in january i should have hit it with some sulphites and bottled. this did not taste nearly as good last time i tried it. i'll be bottling it soon and hopefully time will make it better.

So just started this brew. Have it sitting in a bucket at the moment. If I wanted to carbonate this would i follow the trick of just adding 1/3rd cup sugar before bottling?

Thank you for posting this. I modded the recipe a little, but the results were simply impressive.

NZ-beekeeper said:

Thank you for posting this. I modded the recipe a little, but the results were simply impressive.

Click to expand...

care to show what your recipe ended up being?

I didn't have any vanilla extract on hand, plus only 1 pod (for a 1 gallon batch). I used Lalvin 1118 or 1119 - can't remember, I think 1119. I used Dilmah single origin Ceylon black tea. Racked after 2 weeks, bottled 2 weeks after that. Plus no fireweed honey (I spent time in AK in 2010, would LOVE to go back. Here in NZ we get manuka honey instead. My bees' honey is kanuka - a close relative of manuka, and other mixed native (to New Zealand) bush honey).

Nothing special, but I did like the end result.

This stuff is delicious. Not much sense of the Earl Grey, but the vanilla is absolutely perfect!!

I made a 3-gallon batch in April 2013 and found this vanilla mead to be barely drinkable, even after 19 months. I tried to like it, but is was a chore to finish a bottle. OG was 1.130; FG was 1.000.

I took the remaining 6 bottles today, poured some out into a large glass measuring cup, and added 3/8 cup of Manischewitz Concord Grape to each bottle, and filled the bottles back to about 2.5" from the top with the excess from the measuring cup and re-corked. The Manischewitz helps to hide the vanilla taste.

wheathead said:

I made a 3-gallon batch in April 2013 and found this vanilla mead to be barely drinkable, even after 19 months. I tried to like it, but is was a chore to finish a bottle. OG was 1.130; FG was 1.000.

I took the remaining 6 bottles today, poured some out into a large glass measuring cup, and added 3/8 cup of Manischewitz Concord Grape to each bottle, and filled the bottles back to about 2.5" from the top with the excess from the measuring cup and re-corked. The Manischewitz helps to hide the vanilla taste.

Click to expand...

Was something off about it or was it just not to your taste?

madwilliamflint said:

Was something off about it or was it just not to your taste?

Click to expand...

Good question. As far as I know, there is nothing off about it. I followed the recipe exactly, so it was just my taste. In hindsight, I should have made a gallon batch first, just to see if I would like it or not.

Edit to add: I'll admit, it kicks a** buzz-wise, even before my doctoring.

What was the outcome of those who brewed the vanilla mead? I usually buy a half pound of vanilla beans every month and make my own extracts from rums, bourbons and straight vodka. I have about 28 8 oz bottles and 1 quart jar currently aging. I have about a dozen un-split beans preserving in a jar of vodka. I am eager to try this using my extracts, and was curious how a rum or bourbon extract might work. Oranges and vanilla go very well together, so was thinking of doing a 1 gallon JAOM and adding the beans plus the extract in place of the spices. Might use a touch of nutmeg though.