Double IPA stile mead

[KTbrew]

I don't know if there is a name for mead with hops added yet. I've been planning a mead that which is hopped like a double IPA for a while. I know brewing very well so I have an idea of what the hop schedule will need to be. I'm thinking of going with an OG. 1.105 to 1.110.

I was thinking of doing a 60 minute boil with maybe 1/4 of the honey, then adding the rest of the honey when its cool to preserve the flavor.

Hops- Should I increase or decrease an of the hop additions in a mead? I'm worried that the bitterness might come across way too strong.

Yeast- I was thinking of using 1118 and back sweetening. I've used Nottingham ale yeast in meads before with good results. Whatever I use I want it to be very neutral.

Any advice from your experiences is helpful.

 

[bernardsmith]

What is your planned FG for this mead? Beer is sweet so the bitterness balances the sweetness, Mead can be brut dry so any bitterness may not be balanced. But as an experienced brewer you know , a) that you can boil hops for 10 - 15 minutes to extract flavor rather than bitterness and b) there is no need to boil any honey as full utilization of hops depends not on the presence of sugar but on a slightly acidified water which you can make with the addition of a few drops of lemon.
Why are you aiming for "neutrality"? You could do worse than pitch Belle Saison yeast.
Oh, and I would assume that a hopped mead is simply a metheglin ie a mead flavored with herbs or spices.

 

[KTbrew]

What is your planned FG for this mead? Beer is sweet so the bitterness balances the sweetness, Mead can be brut dry so any bitterness may not be balanced. But as an experienced brewer you know , a) that you can boil hops for 10 - 15 minutes to extract flavor rather than bitterness and b) there is no need to boil any honey as full utilization of hops depends not on the presence of sugar but on a slightly acidified water which you can make with the addition of a few drops of lemon.
Why are you aiming for "neutrality"? You could do worse than pitch Belle Saison yeast.
Oh, and I would assume that a hopped mead is simply a metheglin ie a mead flavored with herbs or spices.

For the final gravity my plan was to ferment it as dry as possible and back sweeten to my liking. As I've never done this before I don't know what that final gravity will need to be. My concern is that the bitterness and flavor of hops may be perceived as way stronger in mead than in beer. I don't want to have to back sweeten to 1.040 for balance because I hate beers that are thick and sweet.
Good point on boiling the honey. I'll probably switch to a water only boil.
As far as yeast is concerned, I can't stand Belgian IPA's. Most wine yeasts have a fairly expressive character when it comes to ester and phenol production. If you ferment a beer with them it will taste more like a Belgian beer than you might expect. This can potentially be a good thing but not with hops in my opinion. I want these hops to taste like they would taste in a good double IPA with little interference form yeast profile.

 

[biochemedic]

I've been wanting to reply to this thread, as I've done a few meads along this line...been busy and today's the first chance I had to sit down and post.

I would consider hopped mead a metheglin as well...

If you want to do some background reading, there are numerous threads if you search "hopped mead" or "hop metheglin," but check out this older thread where we had discussed hopped meads...it has some details from one of the recipes I used in the past, which is, I think, pretty much right on with what you are looking at doing.

Basically, I boil half the honey with the hops, and add the rest of it as I'm cooling (after it gets down to ~100-110*F). Boiling honey is one thing that bernardsmith and I disagree on. Interestingly, the recipe on Meadist that he referenced in the linked thread follows the same general idea (boiling half of the honey). I take it as true that boiling honey doesn't "ruin" it, and may actually carry some advantages (although it's not necessary certainly), but I do take advantage of the fact that I'm adding some of the honey later. I also do a lower ABV 15 min boil hopped mead that I came up with as an offshoot of the 15 Min Pale Ale recipe. That one the entire amount of honey is boiled, but I do stabilize and backsweeten, which also gives you back some additional honey character.

When you think about back sweetening, it doesn't take much to balance a fairly high amount of IBUs. Figure that many DIPA's have a FG of 1.010 to 1.012 or even less...I generally target about 1.010-12 for the backsweetening level, but YMMV based on your particular tastes...you may want more or less, so I'd start lower, and add more if you need. I also like a bit of acid in that mead as well, and I think the acid addition would benefit any hopped mead (assuming some residual sweetness).

I've never used 1118, but I seem to see a lot of comments that it's a beast, and can blow off a lot of aromatics with it's vigorous fermentation. Like I said, though I've never used it... I tend to like Wyeast Dry Mead strain for a good, neutral fermentation strain, but the downside is it's liquid, so you really should make a decent size starter if you're looking at an OG upwards of 100. (I would use at least 10, it not 15 grams, of rehydrated dry yeast for a mead that size.)

Finally, I'm assuming you are aware of the differences between beer and mead fermentation, the need for nutrients, etc? If not, check that out for sure before you brew....

 

[KTbrew]

I've been wanting to reply to this thread, as I've done a few meads along this line...been busy and today's the first chance I had to sit down and post.

I would consider hopped mead a metheglin as well...

If you want to do some background reading, there are numerous threads if you search "hopped mead" or "hop metheglin," but check out this older thread where we had discussed hopped meads...it has some details from one of the recipes I used in the past, which is, I think, pretty much right on with what you are looking at doing.

Basically, I boil half the honey with the hops, and add the rest of it as I'm cooling (after it gets down to ~100-110*F). Boiling honey is one thing that bernardsmith and I disagree on. Interestingly, the recipe on Meadist that he referenced in the linked thread follows the same general idea (boiling half of the honey). I take it as true that boiling honey doesn't "ruin" it, and may actually carry some advantages (although it's not necessary certainly), but I do take advantage of the fact that I'm adding some of the honey later. I also do a lower ABV 15 min boil hopped mead that I came up with as an offshoot of the 15 Min Pale Ale recipe. That one the entire amount of honey is boiled, but I do stabilize and backsweeten, which also gives you back some additional honey character.

When you think about back sweetening, it doesn't take much to balance a fairly high amount of IBUs. Figure that many DIPA's have a FG of 1.010 to 1.012 or even less...I generally target about 1.010-12 for the backsweetening level, but YMMV based on your particular tastes...you may want more or less, so I'd start lower, and add more if you need. I also like a bit of acid in that mead as well, and I think the acid addition would benefit any hopped mead (assuming some residual sweetness).

I've never used 1118, but I seem to see a lot of comments that it's a beast, and can blow off a lot of aromatics with it's vigorous fermentation. Like I said, though I've never used it... I tend to like Wyeast Dry Mead strain for a good, neutral fermentation strain, but the downside is it's liquid, so you really should make a decent size starter if you're looking at an OG upwards of 100. (I would use at least 10, it not 15 grams, of rehydrated dry yeast for a mead that size.)

Finally, I'm assuming you are aware of the differences between beer and mead fermentation, the need for nutrients, etc? If not, check that out for sure before you brew....

Thanks for all of the info! You've given me a lot to read and think about. I do understand the fermentation differences. I was a bit concerned about hop aroma and flavor being blown off and manipulated. I'm going for Pliney The Elder with honey. We shall see how it turns out.