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You had 21 lbs in 5 gallons (SG ~1.151) go dry? That yeast must have been an absolute beast.

You can never read too much about brewing and mead

From other posts I've seen on here and GotMead, it seems like it's pretty common for some of the raisins to stay floating.

I degas thoroughly, then sprinkle the nutrients in slowly. There is generally a brief pause, and then you hear the mead start to go crazy (and occasionally foam up). After it calms down, I sprinkle a little more. Others suggest mixing the nutrients with some spring water or some of your must in...

1 gallon mesquite + buckwheat cherry cyser 3 gallons oaked OB traditional 616 + 1 + 3 = 620

Yeah, that's looks like yeast junk. I have 3 gallon traditional going right now, and it has a nice yeasty film on top. It's in primary though, so that's to be expected. If it's still going and hasn't showed signs of clearing, I'm guessing you probably racked too early. What yeast are you using...

TOSNA = "Tailored Organic SNA" It was developed by Sergio Moutela over at Melovino Meadery. Basically, it's a staggered nutrient schedule using amounts of Fermaid O specific to the needs of the yeast based on the starting gravity of your must (there's some major temperature control and...

Some of this is going to be due to yeast selection (some yeasts are more prone to fusel production and need a longer time to age), but a lot of this is due to poor fermentation management and lack of nutrients. The reason the BOMM (regular strength) and TOSNA protocols can produce meads so fast...

The simplest way to start is probably with a JAOM (Joe's Ancient Orange Mead; see sablesurfer's link above). That should get you something drinkable in under 6 months (it will continue to get better with age, though). While your JAOM is going, try to make a BOMM to learn more about current mead...

A lot of people use Fermaid K + Diammonium Phosphate (DAP). Part of the preference for Fermaid K is that the ingredients are public. According to ScottLabs, it contains the following: Magnesium Sulfate Calcium Pantothenate Inactive Yeast Thiamine Folic Acid Niacin Diammonium Phosphate Others...

I never heat my honey, unless it's crystallized, and even then it's only enough to liquefy it. I also only add potassium metabisulfite (k-meta, Campden, etc) if I'm stabilizing or if I'm racking something a melomel.

Water is fine for topping a little headspace, but a lot of people keep some dry traditional (like an orange blossom) around to top up with.

Correct, when your fermentation is finished (use a hydrometer), it is safe to bottle. If you bottle before it is clear, though, you will end up with a ton of lees in the bottle. It will clear naturally in a few months, or you can cold crash it as you said. Then, rack one last time if there's...

I always airlock with vodka when fruit flies are afoot. They're pretty bad this year, so even my BOMMs get airlocked immediately, instead of waiting 7 days.

Gratus said 3 lbs of honey per gallon of juice, not 3 lbs of apples. I was responding to that.

I definitely agree with starting with a cyser, but 3 lbs per gallon of juice is going to result in way too high of an OG for someone who has never made mead before. Assuming the juice lands somewhere between 1.035 and 1.050, the SG of the must would be somewhere between 1.143 and 1.159. While...

Yeah, I think cooking the honey like this somehow makes it clear faster. Also, 71B-1122 is a pretty quick finisher. It's used a lot in the production of vins nouveau (literally "new wines"), which are wines generally meant to be sold in the same year the grapes are harvested.

Two or three weeks should be long enough for your mead to extract the flavors and color from your fruit, weather it sinks or not.

I'd like to add that in addition to salting after fermentation is complete, look at some gose recipes to get an idea on amounts, and then start with half (or less) of what you think you'll need. It's really easy to add salt, but pretty much impossible to remove it.

Depending on where you are in Illinois, you should be able to find stuff by B. Nektar, Crafted, and Redstone, as well as some other miscellaneous brands. I haven't had anything from Redstone yet, but I like most things I've had from B. Nektar and Crafted (both have won medals at the Mazer's...