General Mead recipe

[1up23]

Making my second ever batch of mead and its a peach-blackberry vanilla mead.

Primary fermentation
24 pounds honey
5 gallons spring water
(A lot of honey, i know. I like my mead sweet. And correct me if i'm wrong, but more honey=more sugar= more alcohol, right?)
6 peaches
6 packs of blackberries
(Going light on fruit in primary, just to give it a little taste alteration)
Handful of raisins for tannins
Yeast energizer
Yeast nutrients
Lalvin 71b-1122 yeast
A few dashes vanilla extract
A little lemon juice for extra avidity

Okay, i got that done today.
When i rack

Secondary fermentation
Add a lot more peaches
Add a lot more blackberries
(I want more peach flavor than blackberry, but i have no determined amount for each. Any suggestions?)
Add vanilla beans
(Again, no determined amount. Figured i'd get a jar of them and throw them all in)

What do you guys think?

 

[RegarRenill]

Is this a 5 gallon batch? My worry is that you may have added too much honey upfront. If there is too much sugar, the yeast could have a hard time starting or die from the toxic environment. Now, 24 lbs gives you a potential ABV of 23%, which is far above 71b's rated level, so it should definitely be sweet...maybe too sweet. You're looking dessert wine levels (1.040) even if it takes it to 18% ABV. For future reference, a better methodology would be to decide on an ABV and add enough honey to reach that. Ferment to dryness and stabilize, then add additional honey to sweeten to a desired level. OR, if you don't want to plate it's chemicals, add enough honey in the beginning to close to the rated alcohol tolerance for the yeast and when it gets down to 1.010ish add enough honey to bring it back to 1.020. Repeat this process until it stops fermenting (you will have killed the yeast by alcohol poisoning, what a way to go!). SNA is vital for the second method to avoid off-flavors from stressing the yeast excessively.

 

[1up23]

Yes, this is a 5 gallon batch. So i started to feel a little concerned reading your comment about possibly building a toxic environment with too much honey, but my airlock is bubbling up which leads me to believe the yeast is live and well. Is this an incorrect assumption? Thanks.
And i actually dont have a hydrometer or a way to measure gravity. I'm still in my noob faze, this is my second time making mead and my first time i had help from a friend. I'll for sure invest in one after my next batch

 

[1up23]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421069531.712227.jpg
Results from one day later

 

[1up23]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1421070080.673684.jpg
And here's what it looks like after adding more yeast nutrients and stirring

 

[RegarRenill]

Looks good. I definitely recommend getting a hydrometer. The "watch for the bubble" method is extremely inexact. Also, for future batches involving fruit, a mesh bag like a grain bag or a paint strainer bag would make life a lot easier. 5 gal size 2 packs are less than $5 at Home Depot/Lowes. Wash out and sanitize and you can reuse a bunch of times. Quart bags are useful for spices, too.

 

[1up23]

Good call on the mesh back. I didnt realize they were so cheap at home depot. I looked online and saw some outrageous price of like 15 bucks

 

[noblesquirrel]

That honey amount is fine, if big. Good nutrient protocol and degassing will keep it going. I'd be more concerned with it farting out than any issues with starting. Just an aside, you're probably not going to notice the peaches in that. It takes a tone to get the flavor and a lot of people use apricots instead to get "peach" flavor.

 

[1up23]

What is degassing, and why would it fart out? Also, how would i fix it if it went out, add more yeast?

 

[passedpawn]

Sorry pal, but you have to be 21 to be a member here. I've put your account in cold storage for 2 years. See you then.