conducting an experiment between bread yeast vs sweet mead yeast in mead

[virginiawolf]

This is inspiring. Nice work.

 

[Onihige]

Due to some lack of planning and thinking I didn't get one. Planning to test with a refractometer in December though

Um, isn't a refractometer only used before fermentation? It can't do FG.

 

[Insomniac]

It can, but the reading needs to be adjusted based on the OG.

 

[STLExpat]

It can, but the reading needs to be adjusted based on the OG.

Fortunately I was able to get that.

 

[STLExpat]

Well, opened them up tonight for the family Christmas party. The bread yeast batch was pretty popular, the family members who tried it could distinctly taste the honey first, the orange in the middle, and the cinnamon on the back end. The liquid yeast batch came out good, but the flavors weren't as distinct (the honey was there, but the orange, vanilla and cinnamon were hard to detect), tasted more like a sweet white wine than anything. Overall they were a success, but I think the bread yeast won out on flavor with the family.

 

[Arpolis]

Very cool. Thank you for the work. Such a great read.

 

[nitack]

Well, opened them up tonight for the family Christmas party. The bread yeast batch was pretty popular, the family members who tried it could distinctly taste the honey first, the orange in the middle, and the cinnamon on the back end. The liquid yeast batch came out good, but the flavors weren't as distinct (the honey was there, but the orange, vanilla and cinnamon were hard to detect), tasted more like a sweet white wine than anything. Overall they were a success, but I think the bread yeast won out on flavor with the family.

Joe wins again... The recipe is a staple for a reason. Plenty of people try to swap out the bread yeast for wine yeast, thinking that they can outsmart Joe, who explicitly says don't do it.

 

[STLExpat]

Joe wins again... The recipe is a staple for a reason. Plenty of people try to swap out the bread yeast for wine yeast, thinking that they can outsmart Joe, who explicitly says don't do it.

I agree, my family was very surprised that I used everyday ordinary bread yeast in it, definitely going to be using that from now on and making the Christmas mead a yearly thing

 

[WVMJ]

Apples to Oranges, each yeast has to have its optimal growing conditions for you to determine which yeast is better. You used the bread yeast the best way to ferment with it, the other you forced to grow like you would the bread yeast instead of how it prefers to grow. A better experiment would be to make the same must and innoculate with each yeast at its optimal growing conditions to figure out which makes the best mead. WVMJ

 

[Baalzamon-Moridin]

Well after lurking for so long I shall post.
2 batches complete.
1) 350g economy honey, 500g sugar, 500ml value apple juice and 4tbsp bread yeast.
2) 100g honey as above, 500g sugar, 500ml value apple juice and 2tbsp bread yeast.

Left for 2wks, added more sugar ~200g to each and some raisins.
Another 2wks and tried. Tastes like fortified wine and not bready at all.
So decanted 3/4, and added more yeast, sugar and water to remnants.

Cheap second batch or disaster?

 

[Baalzamon-Moridin]

My next batches will be:
honey, raisins and bread yeast
honey, sugar, raisins and bread yeast
sugar, raisins and bread yeast.