First mead

[ZZander]

Hi I'm looking for advice on my first mead. I know a beekeeper that is harvesting now that will sell me honey in a five gallon bucket around 2.00 a lb. I've got lalvin d-47 yeast and want to make a batch but I'm nervous about my honey/water ratio. I was going to do 20 lbs of honey for five gallons. Is this high?

 

[Liamthebear]

I think that would be very sweet. I used the d-47 with 3 lbs per gal but i like dry myself.

 

[ZZander]

I'm looking to make a slightly sweet mead and add vanilla beans into the secondary, can you give me advice on lbs/Gal to achieve this? Sorry i new to mead making and brewing in general, I've only made a few Malt extract beers with my father.

 

[Liamthebear]

Honestly I'm not sure. Never made sweet mead myself. You should start by deciding how much alcohol you want in it. The d-47 hits about 15%. If that's good then figure much honey needed to hit that. I think the three lbs to one gal will hit that. From there anymore added will sweeten it (yeast dies before it consumes it all. If you want less alcohol less honey. When fermentation is done stabilize and back sweeten.

 

[ZZander]

Ok I can figure that out I appreciate the advice.

 

[Golddiggie]

Use the calculation tool here to get an idea of how much honey to use in the must. Just remember to add enough water to GET to the 5 gallon mark (not add 5 gallons of water to the honey amount).

Also, D47 is rated for 14% ABV. Don't assume it will go higher than that.

Read up on how to treat a mead must on the Got Mead forums, which is better for newbee's than many other sources.

BTW, 15 pounds of honey, in a 5 gallon must will get you to about 14% ABV. You can add a little more if you wish, but be careful there. It's better to have the yeast fully ferment and then add honey to get the sweetness you will want than to try to do it at the start. I'd also advise not back sweetening to what you want, but go a bit short of what you want. Mead will age out so that it appears to gain sweetness even though it technically doesn't. If you back sweeten it to where you want it before bottling, chances are it will be too sweet a year, or three, later.

Also, give the mead TIME. 9-12 months for a 14% mead is not uncommon. The longer you give it before going to bottles, the better, in fact.
Above all else DON'T heat the must up beyond 100-110F. Don't boil it, or pasteurize it (neither is needed, and you'll lose a lot of what makes the mead great if you do). I'd also go with a later honey harvest if you have a choice. Late season honey is typically stronger in flavor than mid season harvests.

 

[fatbloke]

Plus if you're using D47, don't alllow the ferment to get above 70F, as its known to produce a lot of fusels above.that.

 

[Golddiggie]

Use the readily available information about Lalvin yeast strains...

Without knowing where the OP is located, it's impossible to say if he can maintain the must, using D47, in the right temp range. With a fermentation chamber it wouldn't matter though.

 

[ZZander]

I'm in southeast Idaho and I can keep it cool enough for that in my basement.