2 Gallons of Goldenrod Honey...What to do?

I would really like to make a mead. Never tried it but it sounds wonderful. A guy I work with owns an apiary and sold me 2 gallons of honey (he calls it goldenrod and it's from South Louisiana) for $40. This seems like a decent price however during my research I have not found any recipes for Goldenrod Mead. More specifically...only goldenrod honey. Is there a good use for goldenrod honey? I have read its buttery. Is it fine on it's own or does it need to be blended. Furthermore...he said that it was 12 pounds per gallon. Is there some variation I can use to make several 5 gallon batches? Most recipes I come across state more or less than 5 gallons and I'm not sure how to measure the weight of what I'm pulling from the jar. Thanks for everyone's help in advance.

EB

EisBerg said:

I would really like to make a mead. Never tried it but it sounds wonderful. A guy I work with owns an apiary and sold me 2 gallons of honey (he calls it goldenrod and it's from South Louisiana) for $40. This seems like a decent price however during my research I have not found any recipes for Goldenrod Mead. More specifically...only goldenrod honey. Is there a good use for goldenrod honey? I have read its buttery. Is it fine on it's own or does it need to be blended. Furthermore...he said that it was 12 pounds per gallon. Is there some variation I can use to make several 5 gallon batches? Most recipes I come across state more or less than 5 gallons and I'm not sure how to measure the weight of what I'm pulling from the jar. Thanks for everyone's help in advance.

EB

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okee dokee...

best way to go about this is to just go for it

read the sticky at the top of the mead fourm, for valuable mead info and start comencin' to fermentin'

and if a gallon of the honey weighs 12 pounds then divide 12 by 4 and you get the weight of a quart of the honey = 3 pounds, a pint will be 1.5 pounds 3 pounds is about right per a gallon of mead. to find a quart of honey try this: I'm sure you have a measuring cup in your kitchen that measures 1 pint - two of those will be a quart... don't forget to sanitize the measuring cup be fore you measure out the honey and definitely don't forget your yeast nutrient!

I don't know the specific price of Goldenrod Honey, but I get my honey at a health food store for $25 a gallon, just under 12 lbs.

I remember getting a gallon for $8 just 10 years ago...

I've made lots of 5 gal batches of meads using only 1/2 gallon of honey so there are a lot of variables to consider, especially how strong you want the mead to be. I prefer it light and not high in alcohol, say 5-7%, which is very drinkable for just about anyone.

homebrewer_99 said:

I don't know the specific price of Goldenrod Honey, but I get my honey at a health food store for $25 a gallon, just under 12 lbs.

I remember getting a gallon for $8 just 10 years ago...

I've made lots of 5 gal batches of meads using only 1/2 gallon of honey so there are a lot of variables to consider, especially how strong you want the mead to be. I prefer it light and not high in alcohol, say 5-7%, which is very drinkable for just about anyone.

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different strokes for different folks I like a drink that sets you on yer' butt at about 12-14 percent.

but he is definitely right! lots of veriables - different yeasts, different honeys, different amounts of honey, adding of fruits, juices or spices, still or sparkling, hell... even selecting a particular brand of bottled water or tap water from different communities can have a noticible effect on the outcome of your drink... so the only way to really do it "wrong" is to not sanitize your equipment and infect a batch and render it undrinkable... just read and try to implement Hightest's reccomendations (found stickied at the top of the mead fourm) best you can, and you'll succeed in a mead.

I'll echo again read the stickies for really good info on making the best mead.

As for recipe, a basic mead may be 1 gallon of honey, 4 gal of water, fermented with Lalvin D-47 yeast. And ofcourse add the nutrients at the correct times. This will make a basic dry mead, you can bottle it still or carbonated.

Or you could do a similar recipe but add a can or two of Oregon fruit puree for a fruit mead.

With either of these you could stabilize and backsweeten to make a sweet version of the same.

I've never made mead with goldenrod honey, but I do know that goldenrod honey varies wildly in flavor. The local goldenrod honey is a darker amber color and has a bit of a bite. I would not call it buttery, but I would expect goldenrod honey from Louisiana to be very different from Ohio honey.

Good luck and enjoy the mead.

Craig