Understanding Gravity in a BOMM

[WarBeard1980]

I've watched some videos on YouTube of people making BOMMs, and their result was a dry mead (dryer than even what they expected). For my first mead, I want it to lean closer to sweet. I'm going 3lbs of Goldenrod honey for my 1 gallon batch. I understand that 3lbs is towards the top end. I don't want to blow it out of the water with sweetness, but I am looking for a nice dessert wine with a strong abv and a complex flavor.

Do you think BOMM is the way to go on this, and am I in the ballpark here in my concept? What do you think my original gravity point should be, and where should it finish?

Thanks and cheers! :rockin:

 

[bernardsmith]

Within reason, WarBeard1980, the starting gravity is not critical. What most mead makers and wine makers do is ferment dry - so that the final gravity hits 1.000 or even lower and then they rack to remove almost all the active yeast cells. They then chemically stabilize the mead or wine by adding K-meta and K-sorbate and then they can add however much sweetener they want to sweeten the wine. A gravity of about 1.010 is a semi sweet mead and that will take about 4 oz of sugar per gallon.

 

[loveofrose]

Sure. Use this recipe as a model with whatever honey you have:
https://www.denardbrewing.com/blog/post/Sweet-meadowfoam/

In my testing, the ABV tolerance of Wyeast 1388 is about 15.7% if all honey is added upfront. This equates to about 120 points. When you start at 1.140, you end sweet at around 1.020.

For really complex flavor, I suggest the Acacia Rose BOMM or T'ej BOMM on the same site.

 

[WarBeard1980]

Sure. Use this recipe as a model with whatever honey you have:
https://www.denardbrewing.com/blog/post/Sweet-meadowfoam/

In my testing, the ABV tolerance of Wyeast 1388 is about 15.7% if all honey is added upfront. This equates to about 120 points. When you start at 1.140, you end sweet at around 1.020.

For really complex flavor, I suggest the Acacia Rose BOMM or T'ej BOMM on the same site.

Dr. Denard,

I was listening to an interview series on YouTube that you featured you from GotMead.com. Buried in that conversation, you mentioned some yeast strains that gave you a "Chimay"-like quality. Chimays happen to be one of my favorite beers, and I am very interested in experimenting with a mead with those qualities. I didn't quite catch the brand or name of the yeast strain you used. I believe you said there were two brands with the same name. Do you recall which one gave you those results? On a side note, I noticed that WYeast has a "Trappist" ale yeast, but the Flocculation is high. Is flocculation an issue in mead?

Thanks for the earlier feedback as well.

 

[loveofrose]

The yeast is Abbaye ale by lallemand. For full tasting notes, see here:
https://www.denardbrewing.com/blog/post/DryBOMMAromatic/

Flocculation just means how well the yeast clears when fermentation is over. If you cold crash, all yeast flocculate well!

 

[bernardsmith]

Flocculation just means how well the yeast clears when fermentation is over. If you cold crash, all yeast flocculate well!

Is there no relationship between how well flocculating a yeast is and it's ability to ferment? In other words, are yeasts that flocculate well as likely to ferment say, sucrose (or the sugars that yeast dis-prefer when given a choice between them and glucose) compared to those yeasts that don't clump? Or is flocculation simply a characteristic of a strain of yeast that is useful to those seeking to harvest the creatures?