RC-212 vs. Ale Yeast for Short Mead

[landsknechte]

I wanted to do another short mead, this time with cherries. My plan is to have it be somewhere between 5%-8% ABV. My question is:

I have had ale yeast suggested. I have Nottingham ale yeast available for purchase at the LHBS. I hear good things about it. I have on hand Bourgovin RC-212, itself good for red wine (even lighter, younger reds) as well as darker berry/cherry fruit wines.

I've made a couple decent batches with the Bourgovin. Mind you, these were 12+%. Which would work better for this case?

 

[Drewed]

Make one of each and let us know how it goes?

 

[Burquebrewer]

I just made a great pyment with ale yeast. Is used the Belgian Antwerp strain and had great results. I got a bit of the yeast character in there, which is definitely nice. A little spicy and a little phenol, but not too much. The fruitiness from the yeast played well with the white grape juice I added. I fermented at 68F.

It came out right about 10.5% ABV and even after a month tastes very smooth. I'm definitely adding it to my list of yearly makes.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I wanted to do another short mead, this time with cherries. My plan is to have it be somewhere between 5%-8% ABV. My question is:

I have had ale yeast suggested. I have Nottingham ale yeast available for purchase at the LHBS. I hear good things about it. I have on hand Bourgovin RC-212, itself good for red wine (even lighter, younger reds) as well as darker berry/cherry fruit wines.

I've made a couple decent batches with the Bourgovin. Mind you, these were 12+%. Which would work better for this case?

If you only want a max of 8% ABV, I'd go with Nottingham. I think the RC-212 would take it too dry & would likely strip out a lot more flavor.
Regards, GF.

 

[bernardsmith]

What yeast is not able to ferment bone dry , a honey must made with significantly less than 2 lbs of honey in each gallon? The issues, I would argue, are how clean the yeast strain works and what flavor highlights are you looking for that the yeast might emphasize or mask...

 

[landsknechte]

Well, if it was going to enhance anything, I'd like it to bring out more of the cherry and it's colour. I have heard Nottingham is neutral.

 

[Burquebrewer]

Nottingham provides a clean, neutral fermentation, for sure.

 

[Burquebrewer]

Let me know how it comes out. I have some Nottingham on hand and some all natural cherry juice as well.

 

[landsknechte]

Let me know how it comes out. I have some Nottingham on hand and some all natural cherry juice as well.

Well I committed a terrible sin. I used bread yeast. Naw, I expect it will be fine, because the Starting Gravity was 1.046 with the cherries and clover honey. So that's like 6% or so. I have read a bunch of places bread yeast is good even up to 10-12%.

I even added some nutrient in there for good measure. I expect a dry or perhaps slightly sweet mead. Bread yeast was what I had on hand and was a suggestion in a video I watched. Bread or ale yeast. I'll just cold crash it to get rid of any yeast floaties,

 

[landsknechte]

The ingredients list:

-500 grams of Clover Honey
-5 or 6 grams of Fleishman's Active Dry Bread Yeast
-5 or 6 ounces of Bing and Montmorency cherries pureed with water
-3/4 tsp of D.A.P & 1/8 tsp of Yeast Energizer
-Enough spring water to make 1 U.S. gallon

As I said, starting gravity was about 1.046 and within 24 hours we have tons of co2 production. Not surprising, given that bread yeast does that to help bread rise. However, there is minimal to no krausen.

I don't expect the world's finest mead. I just want something decent tasting in under a month or so.

Update: @ around 25 hours in, we are already down to 1.022 according to my triple scale hydrometer.

 

[Burquebrewer]

I don't expect the world's finest mead. I just want something decent tasting in under a month or so.

I've been experimenting quite a bit with meads fermented with ale yeast and had a lot of success with super tasty meads, clear and ready in a month or two.

I'd suggest you give it a shot in the near future, you won't be disappointed!

 

[landsknechte]

I don't expect the world's finest mead. I just want something decent tasting in under a month or so.

I've been experimenting quite a bit with meads fermented with ale yeast and had a lot of success with super tasty meads, clear and ready in a month or two.

I'd suggest you give it a shot in the near future, you won't be disappointed!

I started a Sima (lemon-raisin) inspired short mead today with the Nottingham I got yesterday. Hopefully it works out nicely.

Update on the bread yeast cherry short: Given that I was using the gallon bottle and a balloon for an airlock, it's not the most high tech set up. However, The hissing, bubbling sound is starting to dissipate a fair bit. Pretty sure it's at 1.000 or very close right now, just a few hours shy of three days.

 

[landsknechte]

Okay, so, went to rack the bread yeast cherry. Smelled totally rank, dumped it. Oh well **** happens.

 

[bernardsmith]

There was no good reason to have dumped your mead. That it may have smelled "rank" is something to investigate and not quickly dump. The issue may have been stressed yeast but there is a cure for that. The other cause may have been that bread yeast does not clear as quickly or as effectively as wine or ale yeasts - in dough it does not have to and so it has not been cultured to flocculate as well as ale or wine yeasts. That may have created the "rank" odor. Three days fermentation is incredibly short. Yeast produce all kinds of byproducts that can take yeast weeks - sometimes months to clean up. Patience is in fact the secret ingredient that is in every good bottle of wine.. Your cherry short may have been a winner if you had had a little more patience..

 

[wildmazer]

agreed. i've had a number of things that smelled relatively foul at some point in the process that were excellent when done.

 

[landsknechte]

Eh, fair point. Oh well I am only out like $8-$10 bucks.

 

[AkTom]

Dude, here's a Gibb smack upside your head ;-). I use bread yeast all the time for mead and it's great. Read Jacks Apricot mead recipe. Same thing for him. Worked out great. It will for you too if you talk nice to it.