Bray's One Month Mead

[nickwoo]

im about a month and a half into my first bomm. I have racked to secondary at 30 day mark then a week later added 2 vanilla beans and 5 oak cubes. Right now mine is pretty bland with a vanilla end and it is pretty "hot" if you understand that. Not sure if it is supposed to be blandish but thats what i got.

Also what size oak cubes do you use i only found 1/2 in at my store.

 

[cmhaynes]

I'm about to start on my next couple of BOMMs, and I have a few questions regarding nutrient additions:

1. How would I adjust the nutrients for a 2.5 gallon batch with an OG of 1.088?

2. How would I adjust the nutrients for a 2.75 gallon batch with an OG of 1.057?

3. I want to experiment with steeping some crystal malts for these, and I was wondering if that would decrease the amount of nutrients needed due to whatever nutrients (if much at all) is supplied by the malt?

 

[loveofrose]

1. How would I adjust the nutrients for a 2.5 gallon batch with an OG of 1.088?

1.5 tsp Fermaid K + 0.75 tsp DAP upfront, 1.06, & at 1.03.

2. How would I adjust the nutrients for a 2.75 gallon batch with an OG of 1.057?

1.5 tsp Fermaid K + 0.75 tsp DAP upfront & at 1.03. This one will be really light on flavor and body. I hope that is what you want.

3. I want to experiment with steeping some crystal malts for these, and I was wondering if that would decrease the amount of nutrients needed due to whatever nutrients (if much at all) is supplied by the malt?

No decrease. Same amount of nutrients. Steeped malt doesn't really give a lot of nutrients. Let me know what you use and how it turns out for you. I've had good luck with crystal malts.



Better brewing through science!

 

[loveofrose]

im about a month and a half into my first bomm. I have racked to secondary at 30 day mark then a week later added 2 vanilla beans and 5 oak cubes. Right now mine is pretty bland with a vanilla end and it is pretty "hot" if you understand that. Not sure if it is supposed to be blandish but thats what i got.



Also what size oak cubes do you use i only found 1/2 in at my store.

That is the only size the cubes come in. Prepare to be amazed at how oak changes the mead. Wonderful match.


Better brewing through science!

 

[nickwoo]

alright I will wait and see what happens to the flavor. In the mean time im going to start a batch of sweet mead.

 

[9mmruger]

I started a BOMM yesterday, and it is perking away this morning.

 

[cmhaynes]

2. How would I adjust the nutrients for a 2.75 gallon batch with an OG of 1.057?

1.5 tsp Fermaid K + 0.75 tsp DAP upfront & at 1.03. This one will be really light on flavor and body. I hope that is what you want.

3. I want to experiment with steeping some crystal malts for these, and I was wondering if that would decrease the amount of nutrients needed due to whatever nutrients (if much at all) is supplied by the malt?

As for #2, I was planning on steeping 12 ounces of a lighter crystal malt to provide some flavor/body. Also, I'm going to do a hop stand with one ounce of whole leaf Cascade and then dry hop it with the same amount. Hopefully that will make up for the lack of flavor.

I'll keep you posted on the outcomes with the crystal malt. I plan on using some special B and caramunich on the 1.088 one, and I'm going to add oak and vanilla as well.

 

[ChrisVZ]

Just started a batch of this on Sunday. Already off to a good start. Just wasn't expecting the sheer volume of CO2 that I got on my first de-gassing at 12 hours after pitching. It blew all the water out of my airlock and into my face. Then the lid popped open when the airlock couldn't keep up. I've never experienced it happening that violently. Luckily no mead was lost. Otherwise seems to be doing great.

 

[9mmruger]

Just started a batch of this on Sunday. Already off to a good start. Just wasn't expecting the sheer volume of CO2 that I got on my first de-gassing at 12 hours after pitching. It blew all the water out of my airlock and into my face. Then the lid popped open when the airlock couldn't keep up. I've never experienced it happening that violently. Luckily no mead was lost. Otherwise seems to be doing great.

Happened to me last night too!

 

[threeway]

should be called BOMM and messy.

 

[VikingVixen]

Hi! I tried this recipe and I am maybe mixed up. I have reached a point at 24 days where I decanted into the "aging jug"- I didn't want it to go in brown bottles where I couldn't see it at all aging. I decided to taste it as it was much lighter but not completely clear at all. It was kind of watery and dry for sure, but it is also a bit fizzy? Is that weird? I put a vanilla bean in there, but I am not sure if I should dump it and start over or try something? I put some more honey in there, and shook it and got a lot of air out of the jug. I've put the airlock back in and put it back in the closet until I figure out what to do about it. I'm a little bummed I wanted it to be ready for Christmas.

 

[Complete_Amateur]

Hi! I tried this recipe and I am maybe mixed up. I have reached a point at 24 days where I decanted into the "aging jug"- I didn't want it to go in brown bottles where I couldn't see it at all aging. I decided to taste it as it was much lighter but not completely clear at all. It was kind of watery and dry for sure, but it is also a bit fizzy? Is that weird? I put a vanilla bean in there, but I am not sure if I should dump it and start over or try something? I put some more honey in there, and shook it and got a lot of air out of the jug. I've put the airlock back in and put it back in the closet until I figure out what to do about it. I'm a little bummed I wanted it to be ready for Christmas.

The fizz is normal, and not anything to worry about. It really just means fermentation is continuing. It will still with time (not under pressure) and with degassing (like shaking, stirring, or swirling the contents).

I would never dump anything unless it was undrinkable after substantial aging.

If you like the taste, there isn't anything that should stop you from serving it. However, and especially after making a honey addition, it will improve with at least some aging.

Since aging isn't an option by tomorrow, if it tastes good enough to enjoy, I would do the following:

1. Make sure the honey is completely dissolved. This might be hard to do if you just spooned it into the jug cold/room temp. Make sure you let the contents settle for an hour or two after agitating, or put it in a refrigerator to help speed up settling.

2. Rack into a clean vessel. Airspace won't be as much of an issue since it won't spend a lot of time there, so a larger container will be just fine (two, half-gallon containers might be better if you want to keep one to age/blend the flavors of the new honey).

3. Put it back into the refrigerator to clear/drop any remaining yeast and suspended solids and rack/bottle. With a recent honey addition, the mead may remain slightly cloudy/hazy for a while, but it will still be drinkable.

This is not ideal, and the mead may not be at its full potential, but if you like the taste and really want to server it for Christmas, who cares? I have done this for a very similar reason, and really no seemed to notice or care and enjoyed/complimented it all the same. And, if it isn't good enough after all this, you can still let it age and serve something else.

 

[nickwoo]

Here is a video of me making my first bomm, let me know of anything I can do better!
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6frlthA5CuE[/ame]

 

[HawleyFarms]

Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison - pretty sulfury and funky. After 2 months it was better and still better than wine yeast.

I noticed that you had tried 3724 and was curious if you had kept tasting it beyond 2 months.

I know it won't qualify as a bomm or cyser bomm, but I just had another 5 gallon bucket of honey given to me. I happen to have some belle saison sitting in the fridge and was curious if you or anyone else have tried it.

Thinking of trying your bomm recipe with it. Not really looking for exceptional at 1 month but drinkable in a couple months would be fine.

 

[loveofrose]

I noticed that you had tried 3724 and was curious if you had kept tasting it beyond 2 months.

I know it won't qualify as a bomm or cyser bomm, but I just had another 5 gallon bucket of honey given to me. I happen to have some belle saison sitting in the fridge and was curious if you or anyone else have tried it.

Thinking of trying your bomm recipe with it. Not really looking for exceptional at 1 month but drinkable in a couple months would be fine.

Wyeast 3724 never became drinkable even after a year, but I don't really like saison beers either. If you do, go ahead and try it.



Better brewing through science!

 

[loveofrose]

I was asked to write an article series for homebrewtalk.com. Below is the link for the first article in the series. It is an especially good read for those new to mead making.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

Cheers!

Bray


Better brewing through science!

 

[cmhaynes]

How much potassium carbonate should I add for a 2.5 - 3 gallon batch?

 

[cmhaynes]

How much potassium carbonate should I add for a 2.5 - 3 gallon batch?

For example, for a 3-gallon batch, do I just multiply the amount for one gallon by 3 and so add 3/4 tsp?

 

[loveofrose]

For example, for a 3-gallon batch, do I just multiply the amount for one gallon by 3 and so add 3/4 tsp?

Yes, that is correct.



Better brewing through science!

 

[cmhaynes]

So today I made a 2.5-gallon BOMM with some steeped crystal malts. After steeping the malt, I boiled the half-gallon of wort for about 5 minutes to kill off any bugs. Right before turning off the heat, I tossed in the nutrients and potassium carbonate without hydrating them first. Wow, it foamed like crazy!! I should have known better. Worse than the foaming was the smell, and the fumes were really intense. I'm guessing that was the DAP.

Could I have scorched the nutrients, and if so, would that have reduced their effect in any way? Could that horrible smell show up in the finished mead? Nothing was burnt on the pot or anything, so maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed.


**Never mind. I was just unnecessarily worrying over something.**

 

[threeway]

I have a one month old BOMM. I carried it outside a few days ago to cool it off and hopefully cold crash it to clear it a bit faster. It's rather dark/cloudy

apparently when I brought it in i must have spilled water out of the airlock and didn't notice for a couple days. Is it toast? should I worry? frown.

 

[loveofrose]

No worries. Put liquid in the airlock and it should be fine.


Better brewing through science!

 

[Genghis]

For a 2.5 gallon batch, would you recommend a starter, or just pitch directly?

 

[buzzerj]

Bray used a starter in a 2.5 gallon batch of his Perfect BOMM so his recommendation would be yes. In his 5 gallon recipes, he recommends a 1.5 liter starter. In a 2.5 gallon recipe, the starter doesn't have to be that big. You will always be better off making a starter, even in smaller batch sizes, but if you are making gallon batch sizes, a pint starter is already 1/8 the must volume. But in a 2.5 gallon batch, a liter starter is not too much and would be more than adequate providing the yeast are perking away on the honey in there. Even a 500 ml (pint sized) starter would be good as long as you add say at least a 1/2 tsp Go Ferm to get the yeast off to a good start. Let it crank 24 hours before you mix up your must. Use 1 tsp Go Ferm if the starter is a full liter. If you help the yeast at the start, you maximize the chances for an effective fermentation and that's exactly what you want to do.

 

[Beek]

I have a couple questions. First, can I pretty much take any mead recipe and use the BOMM process with 1388 and the SNAs? Obviously they can't be huge meads as the ABV should be <12% but it'd be nice to look for any mead recipe and rock the BOMM with it.

Second question, can I make the one gallon as kind of a starter? That way I'd have a couple bottles plus a high enough cell count to pitch in a five gallon batch. I've done this with beer and loved it. But I'm just wondering if the yeast would be too stressed because of the higher alcohol content. I've made a few meads. I love them. I'm a commercial beekeeper so it goes hand in hand with that. But I love beer and I really like how beer takes a lot less time than a standard mead. So I'm very interested in doing a BOMM. Plus I'm giving a mead/honey presentation to my brew club in June and would love to have a few options available. Thanks!

 

[slaithe]

Basically.... just add sugar tell its x potential alcohol + you're deseried sweetness....


Edit, use potential alcohol calculater and hydro meter to figure that out....

Example: yeast one + 5 gal organ cider 1 + 12 lb organic raw hunney 1 = grate! @ 2 weeks prime and drink of gods at 2 weeks of sec. Just stupid good after bottling @ 14.5 tp 14.9 % for this yeast as it was maxed out


Example2: yeast 2 + 5 gal cider 1 + cider 3 + 12 lb honey 1 = way too sweet! Should have been around 9.8 to 11.2 abv for this DIFFERENT yeast.

Sorry i didn't log the SG and FG numbers... but example 2 has a much higher fg but basically the same sg. Thanks to different yeast.

Okay (have some actual numbers on this one, yay!)

Example 3: yeast 1 + 5 gal cider 1 + 12 lb honey = Super dry with a grate mead taste hint after 2 weeks prime and 2 weeks kegged.
SG = 1.151
Fg = 1.004 corrected to 1.006
Abv = 14.6%

Was too dry for my liking but still a lil better then store bought... will NEED to sit with some actual aging time. Yes it's drink-able. .. lots of friends loved it as is, but it's an embarrassment compared to example 1.

Exaple 1 obviously had a more sugars and less water in that 12 lb of honey source 1. Aka slightly higher SG number.... *perfect* FG

Example 2 i had to oxiginate a lil' to sour it a bit to get rid of some of that excess sweetness. (Lots of extra sugar, aka high FG)

Example 3: is the opposite result of exaple 2. (Except id give this one a "passing" mark and Ex2 a "failing")
And has a FG that's a little low. About 1.006.

Keep in mind this very specific to yeast and sugars i used at specific ferm conditions.... and VERRY subjective to how MY taste buds like it. Also, even though example 1 was amazing BEFORE i bottled it. It was freaking celestial AFTER bottling and aging for a few months.

So in conclusion, basically your sweet meads or sack mead or what ever you want to call it (cyzer for me) won't HAVE to be aged like your typical/traditional DRY meads which really NEED to aged...but will still benifit.

I suggest starting with a sweet mead yeast, cider yeast, or some people really like ale yeast (i don't, find they tend to leave a yeasty beery flavor behind that I'm just not fond of) and avoiding the wine yeasts most folks seemed to be going for (like lavvlen? and redstar?) with the more traditional dry meads...

And ingredient quality does matter.... but you don't have to go crazy and brake the bank. It really can be THAT eazy if you let be.

Also you will need to add nutrients, its a necessity i find.
I recommend reading the complete mead maker. And NOT step feeding your first couple times.... Keep It Stupid Simple at first.






Really hope that helps. Sorry it took so long and i dont have all the numbers, but it's really pretty simple. Cheers. And thanks.

 

[loveofrose]

I have a couple questions. First, can I pretty much take any mead recipe and use the BOMM process with 1388 and the SNAs? Obviously they can't be huge meads as the ABV should be <12% but it'd be nice to look for any mead recipe and rock the BOMM with it.



Second question, can I make the one gallon as kind of a starter? That way I'd have a couple bottles plus a high enough cell count to pitch in a five gallon batch. I've done this with beer and loved it. But I'm just wondering if the yeast would be too stressed because of the higher alcohol content. I've made a few meads. I love them. I'm a commercial beekeeper so it goes hand in hand with that. But I love beer and I really like how beer takes a lot less time than a standard mead. So I'm very interested in doing a BOMM. Plus I'm giving a mead/honey presentation to my brew club in June and would love to have a few options available. Thanks!

The answer to both questions is yes. In addition, you can start with a gravity of 1.12 and still go dry. I've even step fed to 19% ABV!

In my signature is a link to my mead article that helps new mead makers. That should help for your brew club.

Cheers!








Better brewing through science!

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

 

[Aristaios]

Hi Bray,

Thanks for putting this all together. I have a question for you.

I'm thinking about brewing another gallon on BOMM but want to stop the fermentation early to keep the abv lower and the residual honey in to make it super drinkable.

Have you done this before? Just potassium sorbate and camden tablets right? Anything else I should be aware of?

Also I pitched my first gallon 10 days ago SG 1.1, missed the 2/3 sugar break, but got the nutrients in at the 1/2 on day 6. I just checked today and its at 1.021 so I missed the 1/3 too! This ferments very fast! I'm gonna let it go and see the results of just one dose at 1/2.

At 1.05 on day 6 it was delicious! Just a little sweet. Today on day 10 at 1.021 its less sweet, but a little salty? Does that make sense?

Thanks again,
Max

 

[TeufelHundenM198]

Bray,

I'm curious about the Potassium needs of yeast. Is there a recommended amount you have per lb of honey used or per gallon of must?

 

[loveofrose]

Have you done this before? Just potassium sorbate and camden tablets right? Anything else I should be aware of?

That should work. Cold crash first to stun the yeast, then treat with sulfite. Admittedly, I never do this because sulfites don't treat me well. Check out morebeer.com or lallemand site for proper dosing.


At 1.05 on day 6 it was delicious! Just a little sweet. Today on day 10 at 1.021 its less sweet, but a little salty? Does that make sense?

It's just too young. The first 30 days have drastic changes in taste. Day 30 is very drinkable; Day 90 is wonderful; >Month 6 is phenomenal.



Better brewing through science!

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html