I have a melomel recipe for one gallon that reads as follows: 2-pounds of honey, 1-peach, 1-lime, 1/2-orange, 1/3-cup dextrose(brewing sugar), 1-package wine brewing yeast (any kind will do), enough water to top up to the 1 gallon mark. My question is, what is brewing sugar and can it be replaced with regular sugar in this recipe? As I'm new to mead & melomel making any and all suggestions about the sugar being used will be a great help. (The yeast I have on hand is EC-1118 if that makes any difference.) Thanks
Brewing sugar in a melomel
- Thread starter 63lewis
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rowsdower44
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Brewing sugar is typically corn sugar/dextrose. From my experience, its finer than table sugar and dissolves faster.
Table sugar or cane sugar should be fine for your recipe but no matter what sugar you use, it has to dissolve in order to fully incorporate itself in your must. Whenever method you use to heat up your honey in order to dissolve it in your must, you can incorporate your sugar then and it will be fine.
Table sugar or cane sugar should be fine for your recipe but no matter what sugar you use, it has to dissolve in order to fully incorporate itself in your must. Whenever method you use to heat up your honey in order to dissolve it in your must, you can incorporate your sugar then and it will be fine.
fatbloke
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It sounds to me like a recipe of dubious provenance. Why would you want to add a different type of fermentable sugar ?
A mead is honey/water with yeast and nutrients etc a melomel adds fruit to that, though there's specific types with different names like a cyser which is honey and apple juice or a pyment which is grape juice and honey. Brewing sugar/corn sugar/dextrose/glucose or whatever you want to call it does nothing other than increase % ABV. You should likely leave it out and replace it with more honey.
The yeast you have isn't ideal as it will blow a lot of the aromatics and finer flavouring elements straight out the air lock. A better one would have been 71B but if the ec1118 is all you have then it will have to do.
Expect the batch to ferment dry though and most likely need stabilising and back sweetening. .....
A mead is honey/water with yeast and nutrients etc a melomel adds fruit to that, though there's specific types with different names like a cyser which is honey and apple juice or a pyment which is grape juice and honey. Brewing sugar/corn sugar/dextrose/glucose or whatever you want to call it does nothing other than increase % ABV. You should likely leave it out and replace it with more honey.
The yeast you have isn't ideal as it will blow a lot of the aromatics and finer flavouring elements straight out the air lock. A better one would have been 71B but if the ec1118 is all you have then it will have to do.
Expect the batch to ferment dry though and most likely need stabilising and back sweetening. .....
Thanks to everyone for your reply's and information. As for the "dubious provenance" of the recipe, I found it on the internet, so I would not know about it's provenance. I'm very new to this mead making and I'm reading this forum and asking questions to learn how things work or will not work. Thanks again, Lewis
fatbloke
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Lots of **** too.
I would suggest a visit to the front page of gotmead forums and check out the link to their "NewBee guide" (left hand yellow dialogue box) and you'll find answers to most of the common questions for the new mead maker and chapter 6 includes the JAO recipe which is a mix of straight forward grocery store ingredients and simple, repeatable technique.
Plus you'll understand more about recipe formulation and ingredients....
wildozarkwine
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I have noticed that stabilising and back sweetening is very common. In my past wine making I have just added small amounts of sugar as the wine became dry until the alcohol killed the yeast and then sweetened to taste.
Is there any reason that this is a bad practice? Other that not wanting really high ABV of course.
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fatbloke
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No, step feeding extra honey like that is fine. Just that there are a few commonly used yeasts that go 16 or 18 percent. The higher the strength generally, the longer the ageing/mellowing period.....
It can be a little confusing with meads mind, wines are a bit easier as the musts generally have more natural nutrient and pH buffering ability. You have to be aware of that so you allow enough nutrient and make sure you've some K carbonate to hand if the pH swings too low....
I have added "sugar " to my beer brews before. Typically I get common sugar and turn it into Candi Sugar, by cranking it. I am sure if google DIY Candi Sugar you will find instructions on cranking it.
I would not add sugar to honey personally, I would tend to use more honey instead, the honey I have right now is 95% sugars anyway.
If some-one was to theorize that by adding sugar one can get a higher ABV without the need for extra aging, I would consider that, but otherwise I would add extra juice or honey instead.
I would not add sugar to honey personally, I would tend to use more honey instead, the honey I have right now is 95% sugars anyway.
If some-one was to theorize that by adding sugar one can get a higher ABV without the need for extra aging, I would consider that, but otherwise I would add extra juice or honey instead.
