Brand new and have honey greater than 18.5% water

[AndrewG]

I just acquired a pail full of honey where the moisture level was too high and seems to have already started to ferment judging by the slight winey scent to it

Can I turn this into mead? Do you add water first and get it to the desired pre-fermentation specific gravity? Or just brew it as is? I'm thinking add water but just double checking

Do you leave it and allow natural yeasts to do the job? Or do you put in a yeast pouch? What kind? Last time I checked the local u-brew stores here didn't sell mead yeast. Is it better to try to obtain some or can I use something like champagne or Montrachet yeasts?

Lots of questions I know but I'd love to take advantage of this if I can

I've dabbled in wine making years ago so I know the basics but just never made mead before. I still have a couple of carboys I can use and probably an airlock or two around somewhere.

One more question

If I'm adding yeast should I be killing off the other little yeasties with metabisulphite?

Thanks very much in advance!

 

[NZ-beekeeper]

I made a bochet out of a batch of suspect honey taken off one of my hives after winter. I don't have a refractometer, but the smell, well it smelled like the honey storage shed, like you say, "winey".

Boiling the honey for up to an hour will kill any wild yeast, and the burnt-ness masks any off flavours. I would definitely recommend doing at least a 1 or 2 gal batch and see what you get.

As for making normal mead, I'd try to use lalvin 1118 or Vintners' Harvest SN9. Both are hardy and *may* be robust enough to kill off wild ones, but I'll leave the verdict open on that, other HBTers may be able to correct this. In my neck of the woods, I don't think there is even such thing as 'mead yeast', but all yous in the States have way better access to those kind of things than poor little NZ-down-under.

The flavour of fermenting honey is quite different...sickly sweet with a subtle hint of "eew", but still nice enough to at least have a crack at making mead, which is fermented honey after all.

All I would do is add water to 1.100 or thereabouts, rehydrate your yeast before pitching and maybe some nutrients. You could have a go at boiling the must (pre yeast of course!), but even in the presence of lots of water, honey loves to foam up when heated, which makes it inconvenient when doing a 5-6gal batch. I would not personally use K-meta. I don't know how to use it in a must without killing the yeast you will pitch into it. If practical, make a small batch first, and freeze the rest of the pail. This will stall any unwanted fermentation so you can get on with controlled fermentation in your own time.

Good luck with it!

 

[AndrewG]

Thank you NZ beekeeper

Canada here and local yeast selection isn't great

 

[NZ-beekeeper]

That may be so, but you will almost certainly be able to get Lalvin 1118

 

[garlicbee]

We use our runny (over 18.) to make mead with no trouble. Try your brew your own store, they should have a few types to choose from.