First Mead Prep Questions

[MrTCS]

I've brewed a couple of beers so far and I'm researching mead now. There seem to be a lot of articles/blogs/how-to's out there that have conflicting information. Here are some questions I'm trying to clear up so far.

To begin I'm looking at a 5 gallon batch with 15lbs of honey. That would get me near 1.11 OG, if I use a yeast strain like Wyeast 3242 Chablis I would end up with a dry to medium sweet mead.

• Is a yeast starter necessary for mead? Pretty sure this is yes.
• I degas for for the first seven days, twice a day, and again before adding nutrients. Still the recommended action and timeline?
• Nutrients (Fermaid K and DAP) should be added at the beginning, and the 2/3 and 1/3 sugar breaks?
• 1/2 tsp DAP & 1 tsp Fermaid k for each addition, is this standard for each batch or does it change depending on what's being made?
• I've found a local place that will sell me wildflower honey for $8 a pound, good price?
• Am I dumb for spending $120+ on my first batch, how likely am I to end up dumping it?
• I've yet to see a basic timeline in everything I've read, how long, on average, is the mead in primary? Weeks or Months?
• Most beer brewers skip secondary now, does mead usually go into secondary still, and for how long on average?

Thanks in advance for any tips or feedback you can provide.

 

[SeppukuCoconuts]

$8 a pound is pretty expensive for honey. At least in my opinion. You can literally get a 60lb bucket for about that much. https://www.dutchgoldhoney.com/store/honey-varietals/60-lb-pails

Getting excellent honey will make better mead, but I would get something cheaper for the first one I made. Also, the style of mead will determine what quality of honey you should use. A Fruit mead, for example, you can get away with cheaper honey. I usually buy 5lb tubs at local grocery stores for $15 for fruit mead.

I would advise a recipe for your first mead. A good one will tell you if you have to make a starter, degass, add nutrients ect. Most people make JOAM first. I did. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=45152

Its fairly easy to make, but takes a looooooong time to age. Alot of meads take awhile to age. From what I've noticed the higher alcohol and the drier the longer it will take to age. I made a sweet low alcohol orange melomel with just OJ water and honey that tasted pretty good in less than 12 weeks. JOAM is usually 8months.

You are not likely to see a basic timeline for how long to leave mead somewhere. Its usually done by taste, and how clear it is. Some meads don't need to go into a secondary (JOAM), some go into second, third+ racking. Usually to clear, and bulk age.

The good news is that while it may seem complicated, so long as you have honey, yeast, water, and time chances are good you'll make something drinkable. Even stuff that comes out of the fermenter pretty bad can age into something good. I made a blackberry mead that was just terrible young. It got better as it got older.

I bottle my mead in beer bottles. I usually don't want to drink a ton of mead, since I usually make sweet desert mead, and I have lots of beer bottles.

No matter what you do, just be patient with it and I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[bernardsmith]

While many people start with JAOM, JAOM is a mead that is made counter-intuitively and works only because of the deep knowledge and understanding that Peter B , the creator of the recipe has of mead making. You cannot use his recipe as the basis for making any other mead. If you are really interested in making a first mead you could do a lot worse than using the "open source" recipes provided by Groenfell Meadery.
That said, the higher the starting gravity of a mead the longer that mead will take to be drinkable and there is a significant move today to make short meads (session meads) with ABVs of about 6% (about 1.5 lbs of honey in a gallon of must). Realize that a starting gravity of 1.110 will give you a potential ABV of about 14%. How many bottles of 14% alcohol do you expect to drink at a sitting? And if you are not careful this may stop overly sweet which you will have difficulty sipping. You want to make 5 gallons ? Mead ain't beer. Twenty five bottles is more than 2 cases of wine.

 

[MrTCS]

I was looking at five gallons mostly because I already have equipment for that size batches, and I figured if it turns out well I will be sharing some with friends and family. This leads to a follow up question, what is the average size most people here make?

 

[bernardsmith]

That's an interesting question but those coming from beer backgrounds may immediately think about making 5 gallons while others coming from wine making may think about smaller volumes (I might start a batch a week ) and novices may leap into larger volumes while seasoned wine makers may experiment with single gallon batches. There is nothing magical about 5 gallons - and the cost of quality honey is such that you may want to be pretty confident about your protocol before pouring 15 or even 10 lbs of honey into a primary fermenter (is that a brewer's carboy or a wine maker's bucket?), where if the mead has a high starting gravity it may be 6- 9 months or longer before it becomes drinkable although lower gravity short (session) meads may be ready in about the same time it takes to brew an IPA (but your "brew day" may take about 15 - 30 minutes from beginning to end).

 

[fossilcat]

I agree with what bernardsmith said about JAOM - it's a one of a kind process in mead making. A delicious novelty, but if you want to follow a successful standard in mead making you'll want to ignore everything about JAOM.

This is my 3rd season (year) making mead. My typical meads start with an OG between 1.11 and 1.12 - usually finish between 14% and 16%. I've had low gravity (short) meads and while tasty, I prefer the boldness of high gravity meads. I'd rather sip than drink; I like to drink in company rather than alone (although, that doesn't stop me from drinking alone; you just have to plan your afternoon accordingly :rockin: ). My meads are typically ready to drink after about 2.5 months, are even better at 6 months, and have never made it past a year (except my first one - see below). I start making mead in November when the temp drops and expect to have a variety of different meads ready to bring to camp by May.

There's an infinite variety of mead - it's what attracted me. For me, I don't want to "waste" my honey on single 5 gallon variety when I can make 2, 3, 4, 5 different types of mead with the same amount of honey. I typically make 2.5 to 3 gallon batches, allowing a 1/2 gallon or so to top off rackings. I'll do a base 5 gallon batch and split it into 3 to 5 different flavors. I have 7 varieties totaling 11 one gal carboys on my table in the basement right now and am planning 3 more meads starting this weekend.

I can't tell you what this group generally prefers, only what I do and why. I also share with my family. They always ask if I'm bringing mead, they can't wait to try a new flavor and they pick favorites and defend their choices. They'll ask if I'm planning on making more of "their" mead. Even my mother (she likes the sweeter ones).

I started with the recipes from this site's recipe forum. Now I create my own recipes. And I started with 5 gallons like you're planning. That batch didn't start tasting good until the 2nd year. The next batch was 3 gallons and tasted better sooner. Now I make 1 and 2 gal batches - and that's what I'm sticking to for the foreseeable future.

So to answer some of your other questions in no particular order:
- There is no timeline. Your fermentation is done when there is no longer a change in your gravity readings. Typically, 2 weeks to 6 weeks depending on OG, SNA, degassing, temp, additives, pH, etc...
- You're gonna need a yeast starter for a single smack pack for 5 gals. Check out www.denardbrewing.com for a complete primer on mead making.
- JAOM is the only mead that doesn't use secondary
- You're on the right track with nutrient additions: www.denardbrewing.com
- I aerate 2x per day (stirring as aggressively as possible without slopping mead out of the bucket - or use a drill) until foaming subsides significantly (around 1/2 sugar). Then I decrease my stirring aggressiveness and frequency until I don't make a sound about 1x per 2 days until the end of primary. I let it settle for a few days before racking off the lees.
- In my opinion you're not stupid for spending any amount of money on mead unless your stealing from the mortgage.

 

[Drewed]

• Is a yeast starter necessary for mead? Pretty sure this is yes.
  Yes
• I degas for for the first seven days, twice a day, and again before adding nutrients. Still the recommended action and timeline?
  Go off of hydrometer readings rather than days
• Nutrients (Fermaid K and DAP) should be added at the one beginning, and the 2/3 and 1/3 sugar breaks?
  Yes
• 1/2 tsp DAP & 1 tsp Fermaid k for each addition, is this standard for each batch or does it change depending on what's being made?
  It can. You want to cut down if you add fruit
• I've found a local place that will sell me wildflower honey for $8 a pound, good price?
  No. And wildflower is nothing special.
• Am I dumb for spending $120+ on my first batch, how likely am I to end up dumping it?
  Yep, spend less on ingredients and buy a couple of 1-3 gallon carboys or buckets
• I've yet to see a basic timeline in everything I've read, how long, on average, is the mead in primary? Weeks or Months?
  Weeks to months, but go off of gravity readings. When it is stationary for a week or so, then rack into secondary
• Most beer brewers skip secondary now, does mead usually go into secondary still, and for how long on average?
  Yes, and for long as it takes. The secondary is often when flavors are added, and or bulk aging takes place. I've heard of people going years in the secondary for bulk aging, but it think that's excessive.