Are my calculations right?

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thorson138

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This 5 gallon batch of mead I'm working on I started on 8-27-09. I didn't take a hydrometer reading when I first started the must. I did however find online a way of calculating my OG considering the ingredients I have used.

Here is what I put together:

20lbs raw wildflower local honey(delicious!!)
4 gallons drinking water
1 pack lavlin D47 yeast
1 tsp yeast energizer (day 1)
1 tsp yeast energizer (day 4)
1 tsp yaest nergizer (day 8)

When I mixed the must I aerated vigorously by hand for 10-15 minutes.
I then pitched the yeast.
The next morning the mead was well into fermentation bubbling at a steady pace. I assume all is well.

On the 4th day I opened the fermentation bucket, added another tsp energizer, stirred the mead and re-covered.

On the 8th day I again opened the mead and added another tsp of energizer to the mead. I assume all is well... Still bubbling along.

I have been smelling around the airlock to see if the sweetness is dryin up at all. I don't know if this is an indication of progress, but it's what I do. hmhmhm

I noticed yesterday (9-7-09) the smell from the airlock was not quite as sweet as it has previously been.

The temperature where this mead is fermenting is at a fairly constant temp of 70*-72*f.

Any comments, suggestions, experiences with similar recipes??? This is a question for you... My calculations tell me my OG would have been around 1.170!! I want this mead to finish off sweet, but I don't want it to taste like syrup or straight honey out of the jar. I want it to be pretty sweet but not so sweet a couple bottles betwwen 5-6 people would make everyone sick.hmhmhm. Let me know what your experinces have been with this much honey and D47 yeast and sna. Thanks all!
 
yeah...that's way too much honey IMO. you never really need to exceed maybe 3.5lbs per gallon, and you used 5lbs per gallon.

1.170 seems a little high, but still very high. even with champaign yeast, I suspect it'll finish sweet.

i've never gone over 3lbs of honey per gallon of finished mead...so I can't give any experience on 5lbs/gallon
 
It's actually closer to 6 gallons I guess... 4 gal water along with basically 2 gal honey. Thanks for the reply!
 
I put 20# Honey to 4 gallons water to be OG 1.126 which is pretty much JAO levels upscaled to 5.7 gallons. I put that weight to 1.7 gallons, not 2 so thats where the divergence happens most likely. To get 1.170 you should have added only 2.5 gallons of water to the honey so I don't think you really are as high as you think you were to start with. You would have to finish near 1.019 to get your 14% ABV D-47 is said to be able to reach. Sounds better than having to hit 1.063 with your 1.170 starting gravity.
 
Thanks pdilley! That sounds much better than what I was thinkin. We'll see I guess. I do want and love good sweet mead but I don't want it to taste like syrup, ya know? Anyway, I'll keep updating on the status of this batch along the way. Thanks for your reply!
 

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