New brew

[Rabiddoughnuts]

I have looked into making honey mead before but never yet attempted to make it and some of what I have seen on here conflicts with what I have read other places so any help would be appreciated
First is that I read honey has to be heated and filtered to ferment but it seems like that is not so and if not what would be the point of heating?
Second I have heard many different things on how temperature effects fermentation and was wondering if there is an ideal temp or range what would it be
And I am fairly new to this so any explanations on acronyms would be appreciated I already have too many jammed in my head might as well have some I actually want to know

 

[Bhunter87]

You heat water to mix with your honey so your honey isn't sittin on the bottom but mixes well with a lighter consistency and so you can steep additives in it (cin clove whatever).. 160 degrees seems to be a pretty average temp to heat to.

Between 65-75 is a good ferment temp however I lean towards the warmer. Mine is sitting at 74 and fermentation started in about an hour and a half. Still rockin away.

 

[ExoticMeadMaker]

Most around here prefer to use the no heat method or warm method as to not destroy the flavors and aromas of the honey, which is very important when making traditional meads. Heating killss any microbes, bacteria, etc and makes it easier to mix. But because honey has natural anti bacterial properties so heating IMO, and many others, is not needed .
Temps vary from yeast strain to yeast strain, I prefer lalvin because of all the published data sheets which specifies the optimal fermentation temps. Too warm of a fermentation can cause fusel alcohols(Hot) to cool of temps will slow down.

 

[Matrix4b]

I think that Exotic said it best.

1. Temp really is up to you. Heat it enough to fully disperse the honey into the water. That is my suggestion. That way it is less time before you toss the yeast, less it needs to cool down.

2. Ferment temp is really up to you, be mindful of the yeast that you are using. Some yeasts produce fusels or those "Hot" alcohol tastes. I would take a look at the yeast you plan to use, it should have a temp tollerance range. Usually this is anywhere from 63-75 but it varies. Lavin D-47 for example you do not want to go over 70 degrees temp or below 62. At the low end the yeast goes dormant, at the high end it produces the "Hot" Flavors. The best advice I have is look at the type of brew you are wanting to do, many different yeasts add a character to the brew, then look at your ferment area. If the temps match up with the type of yeast you wish to use then you're good. Yeast choice is contributing factor to the final flavor just as honey type, fruit type and treatment, and the water's mineral content or other water factors.

Some things that affect flavor are negligible and you don't need to go deep into it for a good brew. Like the water, if you are using tap, distilled, or bottled it does make a little difference in the taste but best keep those factors for when you are perfecting your brewing, not just starting out.

As Exotic said, the no-heat method is preferred to keep the characteristics of the honey intact, roughly, as well as other factors. It is also quicker, easier. The old method was to boil the honey but that method has been found not needed. This isn't beer that needs to have a boil/mash to extract the grains. Rather almost like an extract brew without the need to boil for hops.

Good luck.

Matrix
(What anacronyms to you need defined?)

 

[Rabiddoughnuts]

I plan on making a plain honey mead to start out with till I have figured how the different methods effect it and what I prefer and I appreciate everyone's help that should satisfy my curiosity for now thanks

 

[Bugeaud]

You should use EC-1118 if you want to go dry. In my opinion.

 

[liquidavalon]

You should use EC-1118 if you want to go dry. In my opinion.

I have just started a new batch using EC-1118 for the first time. What a BEAST of a yeast!!! It is awesome!!! Taking off within 2 hours. I did use nutrient and energizer...but whoa!

Thumbs up for ec1118...my only decision now is that I want a sweet mead, not dessert, but sweet. So debating weather I should let it go to 1.000 and then backsweeten with honey or stop it at 1.010 - 1.020. My SG was 1.108.

 

[tweake]

temp wise try to keep it under 75. a lot of yeasts start to make hot alcohol when above that. but also keep in mind minimum temp the yeast will work at.
basically mead you want to ferment cool.

ec-1118 is an ok yeast for beginners. like a lot of the other champagne style yeasts it has a wide temp range, low nutrient requirement and generally will ferment anything.
however ec-1118 is not a great yeast taste wise. others like k1v-1116 are far better.

your not going to stop ec-1118. only way to get a sweet mead is to let it ferment it bone dry, then rack it off the yeast, stabilize and then backsweeten.

 

[liquidavalon]

your not going to stop ec-1118. only way to get a sweet mead is to let it ferment it bone dry, then rack it off the yeast, stabilize and then backsweeten.

Good to know. That is what I will do. What gravity is considered 'bone dry'?

 

[tweake]

under 1.000 or until it stops fermenting.
ec-1118 needs a lot of aging so forget about it for six months at least.

 

[liquidavalon]

under 1.000 or until it stops fermenting.
ec-1118 needs a lot of aging so forget about it for six months at least.

Six months? And I suspect this is before bottling.

 

[tweake]

depending on temps and nutrition of course. ec-1118 does tend to make a hot brew that takes a long time to age out.
so leave it for ages which will also make sure its fermented completely. 6 months may be overkill but that depends on how slow its been fermenting.
aging time 6-12 months.

 

[liquidavalon]

Mead is the liquid of patience =)

 

[Golddiggie]

however ec-1118 is not a great yeast taste wise. others like k1v-1116 are far better.

your not going to stop ec-1118. only way to get a sweet mead is to let it ferment it bone dry, then rack it off the yeast, stabilize and then backsweeten.

IME, not at all true. My first traditional mead batches were using regional wildflower honey and EC-1118... I formulated it so that it would finish NOT dry. EC-1118 left little, if any, [yeast] flavors with the honey really coming through. Of course, the honey was strong in flavor to start with which, IMO, is really important (almost critical).

My first batches went to 18% (my goal) and I knew they would need to age for a year, or so, before putting any into a glass. Another case where patience is seriously rewarded.

I also made a blackberry melomel at the same time. Using D47 and it wasn't all that good earlier (at about 8-9 months old).

Essentially, don't tread mead making like you would brewing beer.
Some basics I've picked up from people doing this for more than a few years...
1. Don't heat the honey. Keeping it under 110-100F is considered better than going warmer. Even IF you do think you need to pasteurize the honey, keep it as low as possible (~140F would be the absolute highest I would go).
2. Select honey that you enjoy the flavor of.
3. Ingredient quality is critical. Quality in, quality out.
4. Be selective about which yeast you pick. Treat it right and you'll be well rewarded. Most mazers I know use Lalvin strains for their yeast.
5. Depending on how strong you want to make the mead, you have options for nutrient additions. You can select to step-feed it nutrient, but stop at/by the 1/3 break point (where 1/3 of the sugars have been consumed by the yeast).
6. If you're going for a high ABV batch, plan to step feed it the honey as well. Start off formulating to about 14%. Once it's been fermenting a bit (don't let it go too far, stop when it's about 1/2 way through) start feeding it more honey. You'll need to figure out the end volume, including the additional honey when you start the batch. Start with the same amount of water you would have initially, but less honey. It's not that difficult once you think about it a bit.
7. If you're not going to use the above method, then you'll want to make sure you use enough yeast, and get it going before pitching it into the high gravity must. Otherwise you can shock the yeast and it will have serious issues.
8. Mead needs more nutrient than beer does. Basically, even though honey contains a good amount of sugar (about 70-80% sugar content) it contains little of the other things yeast need in order to do their thing. This is why you add nutrient and/or energizer to a must.

I also found the forums on the Got Mead? site to be [normally] very helpful. The calculator tool on the main site is also a good starting point for formulating how much honey to get the mead to meet your goal.

 

[Bugeaud]

I also found the forums on the Got Mead? site to be [normally] very helpful. The calculator tool on the main site is also a good starting point for formulating how much honey to get the mead to meet your goal.

gotmead.com ??? Pffft. Haha jk. They are okay but too many people I sort of like it more on HBT because it is a more personal community and experience, for me anyways.

 

[Golddiggie]

gotmead.com ??? Pffft. Haha jk. They are okay but too many people I sort of like it more on HBT because it is a more personal community and experience, for me anyways.

They can be helpful, when they want to be. Unfortunately, some of them have been making mead for so long that they don't remember how newbee's feel.

I know a few people from the site and communicate with them offline more these days. There's one, Canadian mead wench in particular, that seems to enjoy doing odd things with Chevy parts.

 

[tweake]

IME, not at all true. My first traditional mead batches were using regional wildflower honey and EC-1118... I formulated it so that it would finish NOT dry. EC-1118 left little, if any, [yeast] flavors with the honey really coming through. Of course, the honey was strong in flavor to start with which, IMO, is really important (almost critical).

My first batches went to 18% (my goal) and I knew they would need to age for a year, or so, before putting any into a glass.

and what did i say that wasn't true?

you didn't stop the yeast, you let it ferment out. also you aged it for 12 months as i mentioned. hot isn't related to yeast flavors. also being sweet tends to hide a lot of bad tastes as well.

its very hard to stop such a rocket yeast at the normal 12-14% range. cold crashing can work to a degree but it doesn't always stop where you want it.
hence its just easier to let it ferment out.

 

[Rabiddoughnuts]

This is probably common knowledge but ime and IMO? And I planned on making a sweet mead and preferably a little stronger and was wandering any good yeasts for those goals and and what energizers or nutrients are needed thanks again for all the help