Finally gonna start a mead on Friday. Advice very welcome.

[firstRWD]

This is gonna be my first batch of anything. I originally got into this to brew beer, which I haven't done yet, but my girlfriend got into the idea of mead. We went and picked up 2 1gal glass carboys(basically just glass jugs), the airlocks, Wyeast's Dry Mead yeast(what the LBS had), and 5lbs of what is supposed to be good local white clover honey. It says that for flavor, it's been warm strained, but not overheated or force-filtered and there may be particles of beeswax and pollen in it. I assume those are perfectly fine to have in the mead and will just drop to the bottom of the carboy when it settles?

Anyway, the thing I need the most advice on is if this will make something decent with a basic water/honey/yeast mixture or if it would be highly advisable to add something else to it. Will it be bland or something if we just do a very basic mead or will it still result in a good mead? I was gonna keep it basic since it's my first batch, but since I'm doing two gallons in separate carboys, I could add something simple to at least one of them if you guys think I really should.

And thank you to everyone here. Basically all of the info I've gathered so far has been from searching around your old threads. You've already been a help.

 

[tweake]

wheres your yeast nutrient ??

 

[firstRWD]

I've read about yeast nutrients, and read recipes with them. I thought it was just to help things along, but not necessary. I'm just trying to keep it simple since this is the first time I've ever fermented everything. Do I need a nutrient? If not necessary, how advisable would you say it is? Also, the "smack pack" that the yeast comes in contains a nutrient to start the yeast off healthy and active, and it's enough for a 6gal batch(I'm doing 2gal). Does that make any difference in the fermentation part and need for nutrient addition?

 

[Insomniac]

I would say just adding some nutrient at the start to help things along is probably easier in the long run than not bothering. Its not needed, but without it the yeast can struggle to finish or take ages getting there.

 

[ExoticMeadMaker]

It says that for flavor, it's been warm strained, but not overheated or force-filtered and there may be particles of beeswax and pollen in it. I assume those are perfectly fine to have in the mead and will just drop to the bottom of the carboy when it settles?

heavy bits like wax will settle out usually in the primary. I usually find that some pollen starts to collect on the surface in the secondaries. Just rack below that.

Anyway, the thing I need the most advice on is if this will make something decent with a basic water/honey/yeast mixture or if it would be highly advisable to add something else to it. Will it be bland or something if we just do a very basic mead or will it still result in a good mead? I was gonna keep it basic since it's my first batch, but since I'm doing two gallons in separate carboys, I could add something simple to at least one of them if you guys think I really should.

a traditional- water, honey, nutrient, yeast has a surprising amount to flavor to it. However you could always add fruit to the secondary fermentation later on if you change your mind.

 

[firstRWD]

Well thanks for the input on the nutrient. I guess I'll have to get back to the LBS and see what they've got for a nutrient. I've read that more yeast is better, and it's OK to use a yeast pack "intended for up to 5gal" in my 2gal batch of mead. Is there a particular amount of nutrient I should use, or is it the same idea as the yeast?

 

[firstRWD]

heavy bits like wax will settle out usually in the primary. I usually find that some pollen starts to collect on the surface in the secondaries. Just rack below that.

a traditional- water, honey, nutrient, yeast has a surprising amount to flavor to it. However you could always add fruit to the secondary fermentation later on if you change your mind.

Thanks. And I guess I'll probably just stick to the simple version then. Maybe add a little bit of vanilla or something to one of the two carboys just to get a direct comparison of how additions affect it.

 

[roadymi]

Well thanks for the input on the nutrient. I guess I'll have to get back to the LBS and see what they've got for a nutrient. I've read that more yeast is better, and it's OK to use a yeast pack "intended for up to 5gal" in my 2gal batch of mead. Is there a particular amount of nutrient I should use, or is it the same idea as the yeast?

IF your LHBS is not nearby you can make energiser at home.

Take ordinary bread yeast and boil it in a small amount of water to kill it.
I would think a packet would be plenty for your 2 gallons.

Purchased energizer should have instructions but I believe it is 1 tsp / gallon

For ultimate results do a search on this site for SNA (staggered nutrient additions) There may be a sticky for it at the top of the Mead page.

 

[TheBrewingMedic]

If you are planning on using 5 pounds in a 2 gallon batch be aware that it will be a real light must, your OG will be around 1.08 or so (if you don't have a hydrometer yet, get one, it's an invaluable and very inexpensive tool in meadmaking/brewing). Using a yeast strain that is meant to make a dry mead like the smack pack you got will take it very very dry which isn't a bad thing if you like very dry beverages, but if you are looking for even a hint of residual sweetness you will probably want to up the amouint of honey used. The "standard" as much as we can call it is about 3 pounds of honey per gallon of must. Or when all is said and done you can stabilize and add more honey to bring the sweetness level up to where you want it, if you do.

Not using any nutrients puts you in a "Show" mead verse "Traditional" mead category, it'll work and can be very good but will require more patients as the yeast has to work harder and sort of fend more for themselves for nutrients, it'll be like you trying to live off of just sugar coated rice cakes for awhile, it'll keep you going but won't be long before you're not feeling so great and start getting slow and sluggish. Your ferment will do the same, the yeast will be rocking from the juice used in the smack pack at first, kind of like if you started off on redbull before diving into the rice cakes, but that'll be used up and the ferment will slow down, it'll get there but not nearlly as efficiently as with some nutrient additions. You can always pick up a pack of cheap bread yeast at the grocery store, simmer it in like a cup of boiling water for about 10 minutes then cool and add that to your must, it works as food for the good yeast if you can't easily go get some nutrients at your lhbs.

About your LHBS, they can be a great source of information, especially for beer and frequently wine, however thats where their knowledge base usually lies. Mead has it's own quirks and nuances slightly different than either, so the advice you will get from them will probably be more appropriate for wine than mead.

As a beginer asking questions here or other forums, checking out the newbee guide at gotmead.com (link below) and Ken Schramms book "The Compleat Meadmaker" are great places for answers. The book is a bit dated as far as methods and such but the technical info on fermentation and different ingredients is still amazing.

http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=108&Itemid=14

Good luck and welcome to the mead obsession...

 

[Matrix4b]

One concept new mead makers don't really discover early is Oaking.

Oak the mead!

There are some threads here on oaking and over on gotmead.com/forum that are very useful. It helps add complexity and some smoothness to it.

Matrix

 

[TheBrewingMedic]

One concept new mead makers don't really discover early is Oaking.

Oak the mead!

There are some threads here on oaking and over on gotmead.com/forum that are very useful. It helps add complexity and some smoothness to it.

Matrix

Good point, the tannins also help with clarifying the mead and giving it some brightness.

Oh and another thing that sometimes is forgotten is recommending a good notebook, take notes on every step and ingredient for later reference, either for trouble shooting or replicating something great

 

[tweake]

I would say just adding some nutrient at the start to help things along is probably easier in the long run than not bothering. Its not needed, but without it the yeast can struggle to finish or take ages getting there.

i'll annoy the oldies by saying please ignore this.

Do I need a nutrient? Does that make any difference in the fermentation part and need for nutrient addition?

nutrients are critical for good fermentation. without it there be a range of problems from not fermenting to poor flavors.

.
a traditional- water, honey, nutrient, yeast has a surprising amount to flavor to it

as medic as mentioned thats a show mead ie a "show off" mead. "see i can ride with no hands"
best left to the pros

IF your LHBS is not nearby you can make energiser at home.

Take ordinary bread yeast and boil it in a small amount of water to kill it.
I would think a packet would be plenty for your 2 gallons.

For ultimate results do a search on this site for SNA (staggered nutrient additions) There may be a sticky for it at the top of the Mead page.

i understand that it doesn't make a good nutrient as most of the goodness is locked up and the yeast cannot use it. but it does help in the later stages.

the best thing you can do is to follow the SNA and understand WHY you do it that way.
i will avoid mentioning amounts to be added because that depends a lot on the product you use.

 

[opus345]

I would start with JOAM. You have the equipment and you don't need any additional LHBS stuff.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/joes-ancient-orange-mead-49106/

Here the link to the thread. You don't need to read the whole thread to get going. Stick to the basic recipe to get one started and then read the rest of it. I started with the basic JOAM in one jug and then I fine tuned it for another.

Here is a pic and recipes I used for my first batches.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/show-us-your-mead-photo-294571/index22.html#post4019622

I am just finishing up with the primary for the Blueberry Mead recipe posted by mgayer and flyweed.

 

[firstRWD]

I'm not interested in a JOAM, as I'm not really a fan of oranges and big fruity drinks, but thanks for posting another option.

Thanks a lot to everyone. Especially the link to the other mead site. For some reason I hadn't found that on my own and it's perfect for a newbie. Lots of info gathered into one source, written simply. That's very helpful. I have more confidence making this tomorrow after your suggestions and links. I'll update here on how everything went once I know I've got a successful mead bubbling away in the primary.

 

[saramc]

In regard to any additive, read your label because additives are not equivalent just because they are in the same category. Hence, 1 yeast nutrient does not equal measure for measure for another yeast nutrient. Ex: Yeast nutrient made by ScottLab vs LDCarlson will have a different instruction set.

Oaking has been mentioned, you brought up vanilla (use beans please), can consider adding frozen/thawed berries (raspberry mead is a favorite), flowers/herbs, etc.

The Bee's Lees provides a great assortment of Mead recipes: http://brewery.org/library/beeslees.html

 

[firstRWD]

I'll definitely read the instructions well when I go to pick up the nutrient. And I'm actually pretty excited about trying oaking, so I will be trying that. I don't think I'm going to on this recipe, though. And I'm only going to use vanilla beans. I've read about that. One of my hopes is that I can do a good oak/vanilla/perhaps buttery mead. Kind of like a chardonnay only in mead form. My girlfriend and I might try a blackberry mead simply because we have a big blackberry patch near our apartment and were thinking it might be cool to use fresh blackberries straight off the plant, but I don't think we'll do much in the way of fruits. We're more interested in traditional and spiced meads. Going to check out those recipes now. Thanks.

 

[tweake]

leave the oaking to last.
the reason for that is so you get to taste what a basic mead is like just after fermented and what its like as it ages. you can always add oak later on that way you get to taste the DIFFERENCE.

certainly read the label of any additive. nutrients instructions on the packages are generally for wines. for mead the rough rule of thumb is to double it. also i would pay close attention to the micronutrients.
wine guys stager their nutrients, mead is no different expect mead has none of the nutrients that grapes have.

 

[firstRWD]

Well, I think I did OK for my first try except for one important part. I screwed up, forgot to check my temp until right After I dumped the yeast in, and therefore pitched at 90 degrees. It's been ~5hrs and still no bubbles on the top of my mead. Did I likely kill my yeast or do I just need to be patient and wait to see if something happens? If I did kill the yeast, from what I read it seems like I can just re-pitch, but will that affect the flavor?

 

[Midnight]

I'm gonna catch flak for this, but I've pitched in the low 90's before and things worked out alright. Granted, it was just once, but I remember getting bubbles within 12 hours...
YMMV

 

[firstRWD]

Cool. I guess I'll just have to sit back, be patient, and hope for the best.

 

[ExoticMeadMaker]

I doubt it hurt anything, you should be fine.. 5 hrs and not seeing any signs of fermentation is norm, in my experiences seeing signs within the first 12hrs is abnormal..12-36 hrs seems to be the normal wait time..72 hrs plus is usually when I would get concerned. I also like to shake the bucket every couple hrs to help spread out any yeast colonies that maybe forming in one area. I'm not sure if this actually helps out in the real world, but it makes sense in my head lol

 

[TheBrewingMedic]

You should be fine, the recommended rehydration temps of most dry yeast is 104*-109* so pitching at 90* isn't bad, you just don't want to ferment at that temp., you'll get some funky stuff out of the yeast.

 

[firstRWD]

Awesome. I'm glad to hear the multiple day wait time. I was getting a little concerned when there was still no action this morning. Now I see why I read so many threads of people telling newbies to just relax.

 

[firstRWD]

So I've still got no visible yeast action at all. Should I try repitching yet or keep waiting?

 

[TheBrewingMedic]

So I've still got no visible yeast action at all. Should I try repitching yet or keep waiting?

Looking back at the dates, you originally pitched the yeast on friday?

Before loading up on more yeast, especially if you were considering a different strain and starting a turf war in your mead....

First....check hydrometer readings, see if there is any change, bubbles don't always equate to ferment and no bubbles don't always mean it's not.

Second...Give it a good stir/shake/swirl, like really foam it up good, especially if you haven't been doing at least daily aeration/degassing (depends on your p.o.v. as to which it is) get some CO2 undisolved and some more O2 in the mix.

Third...After giving it a real good mix up, if you haven't been feeding it with the daily shake/stir, give it another dose of nutrients, about half what the package instructions were for the volume, give it another good mix.

Finally....after 1,2, and 3, give it til tomorrow, repeat step 1, then start thinking about rehydrating and repitching some yeast.

Mead is about patience, from one batch to another you can only loosely predict it's actions, even if the recipes are identical. A degree or two temperature wise, the ever so slight variations in honey sugar content from one harvest to the next, yeast packets that are older or fresher, a bee sneezes on the other side of the planet and your barometric pressure fractionally changes.....there are so many variants. Give it time and opportunity to do it's thing with a little support (ie: daily aeration and staggered nutrients). You'll have a kick a$$ mead before you know it.

 

[firstRWD]

Alright. Going to check hydrometer, shake the hell out of it, and give another small dose of nutrients now.

 

[firstRWD]

Looks like it was just fermenting silently! I guess maybe it was just a matter of me expecting more visual signs, or it's going slowly. In any case, shaking it showed that it is indeed fermenting away. As soon as I started shaking, it started foaming up on top almost to the opening in the jug(few inches). I had just pulled out the air lock and put my thumb over the hole to shake it up and when I pulled my thumb off I got a nice big spray of mead mist. Thanks for the shaking and patience advice. Do I just wait until it clears to start checking it with the hydrometer to see if it's ready for secondary?