First mead; going in blind

[badlee]

Hi all
I am looking at making a mead with an OG of about 1.070-1.075 that will be carbonated(bottle conditioned)

I have DAP and Fermaid K.
I also have Champagne yeast and Wilko's universal white wine yeast.

I was thinking of adding some strong green tea for tannins and a bunch of orange rind,maybe cinnamon,maybe some oak chips.

If any of you great folks out there could give me some pointers,I would most appreciate it.
Cheers

 

[SkeletorMob]

Well I'm very new into mead making. Only one recipe is in secondary. But I have been reading a lot so can input from reading knowledge not from experience. But since your experimenting blind anyways and seem comfortable doing so, I would make two or 3 gallon batches and play with ingredient levels. Be careful with rinds of fruit as they impart a lot of bitterness. Cinnamon is a joy usually one or two 3 inch sticks to a gallon does a good flavor. I've seen oak most reccomenneded at secondary and for about a week or so to taste. Anyways here some quick input before much more experienced fellows join in!

 

[FrodeM]

With an OG of 1.075 you'll end up with a very dry mead with very little of the honey-flavour, so keep that in mind when considering additions. With the amount of honey you plan for it's very easy to overrun any of the flavours from the honey.

Increasing bitterness is usually a way of balancing sweetness and sourness. Since you plan on carbonating, a little bittering might work in counter the acid from the CO2. Be aware there will be little else to balance the bitterness so be carefull to not overdo it.

 

[badlee]

Thank you for that,very much.
I had overlooked the "dryness" aspect of it up til now.

 

[Dr_Floyd]

Just remember, you cannot bottle carbonate a sweet mead without pasteurization. If you want it bottle carbonated then you'll need it to be dry which may effect what additional ingredients you use so think it through and decide what quality is more important. You can pasteurize though, hit up the cider forum and there should be a sticky forum post about the process.

 

[badlee]

I was leaning towards the dry side,thank you.