Vanilla Spiced Methiglin

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TrekMedic

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So, a few words about this:

1 - I had 2 lbs of raw honey leftover from making my JAOM back in January and mixed it with 5 lbs of newer raw "fall wildflower" honey. I split the two into 1 gallon of show mead and 1 gallon of methiglin.
2 - If I didn't trust the supplier and my tastebuds, I'd swear I was using molasses! I've never seen honey that dark and thick!
3 - Yes, the Original SG really is 1.21! I tested it three separate times.

Now, the recipe:
3 1/2 pounds of honey (see note 1)
1 gallon spring water
1 cinnamon stick
2 medallions of candied ginger, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp ea - ground cloves, allspice, nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (see my post about extract vs bean)

Process:
I mixed the 2 pounds raw honey and 5 lbs "fall wildflower" in a sterilized pot with about 4 cups of water and heated through just to thin it out. I did scoop off some foamy scum off the must before bottling it.
I placed equal amounts of the nutrient and energizer (per the bottle directions) into sterilized 1 gallon carboys. The spices and vanilla were added to one carboy.
The must was equally divided between the two carboys (trust me, as a paramedic, I'm unbelievably OCD about measurements).
I bloomed 2 separate amounts of the D47 (1 tsp in one cup of warm water) and pitched 1 each onto the carboys.

Within 12 hours, the methiglin practically exploded and I ended up clearing out the airlock 4 times before it calmed down! :mad:

The Show Mead is kinda just bubbling along.

Question for the pros: anything in the spice mix that might account for the massive difference in reaction to the yeast? :confused:
 
Here are the pics:

The Methiglin is on the left.

Pic 1 is right after I pitched the yeast
Pic 3 was 12 hours later (overnight)
Pic 2 was 24 hours after that

Note the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the show mead,...

Mead 3.jpg


Mead 1.jpg


Mead 2.jpg
 
Last edited:
I racked the methiglin last night. REALLY hot right now, with no real spice or vanilla tastes. The color is an awesome dark amber (apologies for not getting pics when it was still in he carboy).

Quick question to anyone bothering to read this:
This is the first time I've used Lalvin D47 (heck, it's only my second gallon!). It cleared much quicker than the Fleischmann's I used in my first JAOM, but it seems to me that it left a lot more sludge on the bottom that the JAOM. Is this normal? I'm willing to chalk some of it up to the ground spices, but seriously?

PG Methigilin 1.jpg


PG Methigilin 2.jpg


PG Methigilin 3.jpg
 
I'm letting it rest in my basement right now. I won't open it or check until the end of the summer.
 
Wow, the dark honey is certainly unusual, but it's been known to happen. Like you said, you trust the source. Yeasts have different properties. According to Ken Schramm Lalvin D47 takes longer to age and is a good choice for medium to dry meads. It has to have a lot of nutrients and can get stressed but it's heat tolerant (50 to 86 degrees) and delivers 12-14% ABV.
I had to re-read the chapter about yeasts in the Compleat Meadmaker. D47 is my go-to yeast when brewing, but other strains are better suited for fruit and high sugar content. PH is also a factor. I don't measure for PH and I need to get in that habit.
Here's my .02: The candied ginger, it's coated in sugar. The spices more than likely gave it a bit more oxygen and stuff to chew on.
Did the mead smell funny while fermenting? Stressed yeast smells a little like kerosene to me.
I made a vanilla mead six months ago, except split and soaked two beans in vodka and added them in the last two weeks before I bottled. They turned out fantastic, your mileage may vary.
I'm very curious to see how yours turned out. Let us know how it goes and post pictures because I'm almost certain yours will change color and clarity.
 
I know caffeine will do that. Made some beer with expresso. It was done with the primary in a day and a half. I have used canel spice before (nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, licorice). Never had a problem. One starter may have had more yeast cells than the other
 
Wow, the dark honey is certainly unusual, but it's been known to happen. Like you said, you trust the source. Yeasts have different properties. According to Ken Schramm Lalvin D47 takes longer to age and is a good choice for medium to dry meads. It has to have a lot of nutrients and can get stressed but it's heat tolerant (50 to 86 degrees) and delivers 12-14% ABV.
I had to re-read the chapter about yeasts in the Compleat Meadmaker. D47 is my go-to yeast when brewing, but other strains are better suited for fruit and high sugar content. PH is also a factor. I don't measure for PH and I need to get in that habit.
Here's my .02: The candied ginger, it's coated in sugar. The spices more than likely gave it a bit more oxygen and stuff to chew on.
Did the mead smell funny while fermenting? Stressed yeast smells a little like kerosene to me.
I made a vanilla mead six months ago, except split and soaked two beans in vodka and added them in the last two weeks before I bottled. They turned out fantastic, your mileage may vary.
I'm very curious to see how yours turned out. Let us know how it goes and post pictures because I'm almost certain yours will change color and clarity.

OK, that makes sense!
No, it didn't smell like anything weird during the fermentation process.
The last two pics were after I racked and filtered it. Come August, I'll make my first post-fermentation taste test.
 
Almost forgot, Fleischmann's is primarily used for making bread. That's why it's so unusual for a mead recipe. When I first read it, I thought it was a joke, but it works. JOAM breaks a lot of rules in mead making, but it's a good beginner recipe precisely because it breaks those rules. The stuff you see on the bottom of the bottle is dead yeast cells. It tastes bitter, but it's ultimately harmless. People call it by different names such as lees, must, cake, icky yucky stuff... but it's all the same. Dead or dying yeast cells.
 
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