My first mead

I made up my first batch of mead yesterday. I used 1 gallon of sourwood honey and used distilled water with the right salts and chalk etc to replicate Edinburgh water. Used white labs sweet mead yeast WLP720, goferm and fermaid-k. Did the no boil method to preserve the honey aromas. My OG was 1.115.

Ok next time I go to aerate my mead I gotta remember to degass it. Wow it was a volcano and what a mess.

seabeemech1970 said:

I made up my first batch of mead yesterday. I used 1 gallon of sourwood honey and used distilled water with the right salts and chalk etc to replicate Edinburgh water. Used white labs sweet mead yeast WLP720, goferm and fermaid-k. Did the no boil method to preserve the honey aromas. My OG was 1.115.

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Well, that doesn't look too bad at all. Though I'm at a bit of a loss as to why you might want to replicate Edinburgh water ? More importantly, you got the "right" sweet mead yeast. I've not heard of any problems with that one, unlike the Wyeast sweet mead yeast which is a PITA !

I've heard good things of sourwood honey, but it's certainly not usually available here, unless it's under a different name.....

With that SG, well if you get a drop of 115 points, you'll have about 15.5% ABV (I don't know if it's a yeast what will go further than it's tolerance, which I understand is 15%)

seabeemech1970 said:

Ok next time I go to aerate my mead I gotta remember to degass it. Wow it was a volcano and what a mess.

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I know it's being pedantic, but I don't call it de-gassing at this stage, as the point of stirring/agitation isn't to remove the gas, that happens through pressure build up anyway, it's to get some air/O2 into the mix.

Your comment about the eruption suggests that you've already got this in a carboy type fermenter......... one of the reasons people often start the process in buckets, is to reduce the chance of the eruption/mess etc i.e. a 1 gallon batch in a 2 gallon bucket usually prevents that - though I like to take a bit of the ferment out (about a pint or so), then blitz it in a sanitised liquidiser and add it back in gently (actually I do that with some of the must before pitching the yeast as well).

If you just like to start your batch in a carboy, then it's often least hassle to put it in a sink first and stir gently, once the foam starts to rise, stop stirring until it's calmed down some and then repeat, until it's had a good aeration.

Finally, if you haven't already read it, here's the link to the the Gotmead NewBee guide. It's worth the effort of reading it through as it's got a lot of helpful info for the newer mead maker.......

Good luck with your efforts, and keep us informed........

Just degassed my mead. Took a gravity reading came out to 1.100 SG. Then I fed the yeasties with 4 grams OG fermaid-k. Then have it about 2 mins of aeration. This morning the yeasties are just eating away

I'm kind of curious as well. Why are you replicating Edinburgh water?

For that matter, how DID you replicate Edinburgh water?

Penguinetti said:

I'm kind of curious as well. Why are you replicating Edinburgh water?

For that matter, how DID you replicate Edinburgh water?

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Since we all know that water and its make up contributes alot to beer, wine, etc. I felt it would make a more authentic european mead.
I used distilled water as a base water then used the numbers from beersmith water tools to replicate the water from edinburgh.

ahh... well alright then. I haven't checked out beersmith at all. Maybe I'll take a closer look.

Yeah beersmith is great

Just took a SG measurement my mead is at 1.033 down from 1.115. Brewed it on 15 Jan and its the 5th of Feb. I'm still getting airlock pops about every 5-7 seconds. My question is when should I transfer to a secondary? What and when should be my next thing I with it?

are you fermenting it in a carboy or bucket?

In a carboy

wait till ferment is finished and the yeast drops. then rack it off the yeast.

Does it sound like everything is going good with my mead?

hard to say if everything is good or not but i do not think it matters as it fairly late to do anything.
best thing is to let it finish.

Ok I took a measurement last my mead is at 1.010. I'm thinking I need to transfer it to a secondary and give it some sorbate and such to stop it the abv is 15.1. What do you guys think?

I'm still unclear about adding sorbate. Should I add it when I transfer it to secondary or when I bottle it?

Just racked my mead into a secondary. Tasted it and seemed a little dry. SG was 1.009. When should I add sorbate

It's normal to leave it be at this stage. Test gravity twice a week, when you've had 3 identical readings its finished, then you rack it off the lees then add sulphite and sorbate (not just sorbate on its own) and let it clear.

fatbloke said:

It's normal to leave it be at this stage. Test gravity twice a week, when you've had 3 identical readings its finished, then you rack it off the lees then add sulphite and sorbate (not just sorbate on its own) and let it clear.

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When I transferred it I tasted it and it seemed very dry especially when I compared it to a taste of chaucer. I have about a half pint of sourwood I'm holding back to backsweeten. I'm trying to aim for a semi sweet mead. Got any advice

seabeemech1970 said:

When I transferred it I tasted it and it seemed very dry especially when I compared it to a taste of chaucer. I have about a half pint of sourwood I'm holding back to backsweeten. I'm trying to aim for a semi sweet mead. Got any advice

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When I back sweeten with honey, I get it racked off the sediment once I'm happy that the ferment has finished. Then I hit it with sulphite and sorbate too stabilise it, the I mix the sweetening honey with water 50/50 then once I've taken a hydrometer reading, I add a little of the "syrup" (about 100 mls) and then stir it in gently, to make sure its properly mixed in. Then measure gravity again. I'd be aiming for between 1.010 and 1.020 as that's the area I like my meads. If you did that but have a little taste you'll find the point where you like the level of sweetness.

I do the sweetening at this point, because honey can cause a haze (protein I believe) and its a PITA to clear it only to get a haze and have to clear it a second time.

Then I just let it clear over time while its ageing......

Thanks.

fatbloke said:

When I back sweeten with honey, I get it racked off the sediment once I'm happy that the ferment has finished. Then I hit it with sulphite and sorbate too stabilise it, the I mix the sweetening honey with water 50/50 then once I've taken a hydrometer reading, I add a little of the "syrup" (about 100 mls) and then stir it in gently, to make sure its properly mixed in. Then measure gravity again. I'd be aiming for between 1.010 and 1.020 as that's the area I like my meads. If you did that but have a little taste you'll find the point where you like the level of sweetness.

I do the sweetening at this point, because honey can cause a haze (protein I believe) and its a PITA to clear it only to get a haze and have to clear it a second time.

Then I just let it clear over time while its ageing......

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Just for a 4 gallon batch hoe much sulfite and sorbate should I add.

seabeemech1970 said:

Just for a 4 gallon batch hoe much sulfite and sorbate should I add.

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normal dose is: 1 campden tablet and 0.5 tsp potassium sorbate per gallon