want to try my 1st meed

[avm221]

Ok so I have been brewing beer for a few years and thought that I should try and make a berry meed. Im thinking a small batch about 1-2 gal

I would like it to no be to dry. I need some advice:

Per gal of meed how much honey do I need?

How much head space will I need during fermentation?

Im thinking of adding about 1/4 of the berries in at primary the rack on top of the rest for secondary?

How much frozen berries should be enough?

Im thinking of a white wine yeast does right?

In beer I have never added a yeast nutrient is their anything I need to know about this? Any other supplements I need to add?

What should I shoot for a original gravity?

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

1. Depends on how much alcohol you want 3lbs per gallon will get you ~14%
2. I fill my 1 gallon carboys up to the middle of the "One Gallon" embossing for primary ferment.
NOTE: but with a berry mead, and putting a bunch of berries in, do your primary in a bucket and fill up your carboys to the top for secondary aging.
3. You can do whatever combo of berries you want. If you're fermenting all the berries, I'd just put it all in primary to avoid haveing to rack a bunch of times. (the more you rack the more you lose).
4. Using Ken Schraams meadmaker book as reference 3lbs of fruit per gallon will be a medium fruit flavor and 5lbs per gallon for a strong flavor.
5. Yeah any wine yeast should do well, as long as you know it can reach dry, so you can control the sweetness later.
6.YES, nutrients are a big part. With beer all the grains and other stuff provide yeast with most everything you need, but honey is just sugar which is what yeast ferments but it doesn't have any nitrogen or anything else the yeast want. Brew stores sell "yeast nutrient" and 1tsp per gallon will do. You should also look into Staggered nutrient addition.
7. Shoot for an OG that at a FG of 1.000 will give you your desired Alcohol by volume. Then backsweeten to your desired sweetness.

to backsweeten. Rack to a new container over Sulfites (campden tabs, 1 per gallon) and potassium sorbate (1/2 tsp per gallon). Then wait a week and add a honey and water mixture into your mead til you reach your desired sweetness. Then bottle and age when CLEAR as can be.

 

[avm221]

So adding the sulfate kills the yeast? And prevents it from eating more sugar? I was thinking of trying to prime it for a little carbonation in the bottle. Will that still work after using the sulfate? How long does the fermintation take? How long in primary, secondary? Then how long should should it sit it a bottel before I open one

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

Yes, but you need both sulfite and sorbate together, or they may not work. Sweet and carbonated is tough with meads as yeast will eat any sugar, and you'll get bottle bombs.
If you have a keg, you can force carb it.

So if you're just bottling, your choices are:
1. Dry and carbed
2. Sweet and still
3. Dry and still

As far as time frames, you really just listen to your yeasts. It's near impossible to predict pre-batch. Secondary isn't actually a second ferment but more of an aging vessel that is off the bulk of the lees (sediment, the trub of mead), where it can age for several months. Fermentation is done when the gravity gets to around 1.000 or hasn't moved for a few weeks and isn't too high (too high may be a stuck ferment and not finished).

Then as time goes on it will age and improve flavors, you can bottle it when you can read a newspaper through the carboy.

There are some quicker mead recipes (usually lower in abv less than 10%) Called hydromels, that are usually done in 30-60 days. There are also a few other quick recipes floating around

JAOM is an all time classic beginner recipe.

 

[RegarRenill]

Well, to bottle carb, you could sweeten with a nonfermenable sugar like Splenda to your desired sweetness then prime and carb, but you'll lose some of the honey aromatics and flavor that way...if you carb in wine bottles make sure to use champagne bottles, corks, and wires to make sure there aren't any, um, "accidents", lol

 

[avm221]

i was thinking about bottling in 22oz beer bottles because i have lots of them around. but it sounds like carbonating it might be a little hard with out giving up my keg which is always full of beer, thats ok ill just make a still berry meed and it will be good, i just figured why not try it make it.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

bombers are just fine for bottleing, and they hold carbonation if you do go that route.

 

[avm221]

most likely ill use the 22oz bombers, because i dont have a way to do a cork but i got a friend with a corker so well see what happens when i ge there

 

[avm221]

Well I started a 1gal batch, 3lbs of honey 1gal water, ill add the berries in secondary when I move it off the yeast cake. It seems to be doing well so far.