First mead research, need some help.

[Nubsan]

Alright so i decided i was gonna get into mead making. Ive been doing alot of research in alot of different places and sometimes i cant make sense of it all as some information seems conflicting. For example i dont really understand if i should put honey in stages or not?

Im gonna try to start up a mead with just water and honey.

How often am i supposed to open it up and take a sample to check ABV?

Is GoFermPE and Ferm O enough nutrients for a batch? From what i saw it doesnt have enough PPM YAN with only those 2 ingredients but i saw it was a popular nutrient schedule, a bit confused by it.

I had a cider batch go bad due to oxidization and too much headspace, how do i avoid oxidization after transferring the mead to get rid of the lees.

When and how many campden tablets am i supposed to use?

Any "good" recepies that arent 20 years old and seem out of date?

Thanks alot and lets hope i dont mess this batch up

 

[MightyMosin]

For example i dont really understand if i should put honey in stages or not?

That is called step feeding and it is used when trying to max out the ABV. Generally you don't need to mess with that at this point.

Is GoFermPE and Ferm O enough nutrients for a batch? From what i saw it doesnt have enough PPM YAN with only those 2 ingredients but i saw it was a popular nutrient schedule, a bit confused by it.

They can be enough depending on how much you use. Use this to help you figure that portion out
https://www.meadmaderight.com/tosna-calculator

How often am i supposed to open it up and take a sample to check ABV?

Every time you open it up to feed it the nutrients. With the above linked TOSNA schedule, it would be 4 or 5 times... While you have it open, you can stir the mead to help it degas as well as rouse up yeast that might have fallen to the bottom. Once your airlock is pretty much not moving, you can open it again to check the gravity.

When and how many campden tablets am i supposed to use?

These are generally used 1 per gallon to help remove chloramine from tap water as you can't boil it out. I never use tap water and just purchase spring water from the grocery.

I had a cider batch go bad due to oxidization and too much headspace, how do i avoid oxidization after transferring the mead to get rid of the lees

If you have a one gallon carboy to transfer into, make a 1.25 to 1.5 gallon batch so that when you lose some, you will still have enough to fill your carboy. The FerMonster wide mouth fermenters are nice for this.

 

[CKuhns]

I second everything @MightyMosin has said.

There are a lot of recipes in the recipe thread. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forums/mead-recipes.80/
But I would start with a "traditional" mead utilizing TOSNA 3.0 and the suggestions above.

Its literally just 3 pounds of honey and enough spring water to equal 1 gallon Add your yeast and nutrients and away you go. This will give you about 13% alcohol if it ferments dry. This can be multiplied to as many gallons as you want. If you would prefer a lower ABV just reduce the amount of honey. I wouldnt go higher for your 1st attempt.

Good Luck

 

[MightyMosin]

I would add an additional comment to start with just over 2Lb of honey per gallon.

This restricts you to about 10%ABV which will do two important things.

The first is your wait for a palatable mead is shorter.

The second item is that it is possible to mix in enough O2 without using pure O2 to get the mead off to a good start.

I highly recommend this.

 

[Nubsan]

That is called step feeding and it is used when trying to max out the ABV. Generally you don't need to mess with that at this point.


They can be enough depending on how much you use. Use this to help you figure that portion out
https://www.meadmaderight.com/tosna-calculator


Every time you open it up to feed it the nutrients. With the above linked TOSNA schedule, it would be 4 or 5 times... While you have it open, you can stir the mead to help it degas as well as rouse up yeast that might have fallen to the bottom. Once your airlock is pretty much not moving, you can open it again to check the gravity.


These are generally used 1 per gallon to help remove chloramine from tap water as you can't boil it out. I never use tap water and just purchase spring water from the grocery.


If you have a one gallon carboy to transfer into, make a 1.25 to 1.5 gallon batch so that when you lose some, you will still have enough to fill your carboy. The FerMonster wide mouth fermenters are nice for this.

If im opening it up a bunch of times, wont that make it oxidize as im letting in alot of air? Do i not put on an airlock the first week of fermenting?

If i want to get a sweeter mead how would i go about that? Ive read some people use campden tablets to halt fermentation, some backsweeten with artificial sugars after its fermented dry, whats the best tasting method? I assume backsweetening is the simplest.

So as i understand what you meant, i should buy a 1.25 gallon so i can ferment in that, and then move into the 1gallon carboy?

What did you mean with mixing in enough o2 to get the mead off to a good start? Just shaking the bottle after i put honey and water in?

 

[Nubsan]

If im opening it up a bunch of times, wont that make it oxidize as im letting in alot of air? Do i not put on an airlock the first week of fermenting?

If i want to get a sweeter mead how would i go about that? Ive read some people use campden tablets to halt fermentation, some backsweeten with artificial sugars after its fermented dry, whats the best tasting method? I assume backsweetening is the simplest.

So as i understand what you meant, i should buy a 1.25 gallon so i can ferment in that, and then move into the 1gallon carboy?

What did you mean with mixing in enough o2 to get the mead off to a good start? Just shaking the bottle after i put honey and water in?

Also i have a question about clearing, do i just wait? will it clear itself? do i need pectic emzymes?

 

[MightyMosin]

While it is actively fermenting, it is putting off a lot of CO2 and oxygen isn't a concern.

I put an airlock on it, but I don't fill it with vodka until my last nutrient feeding.

So as i understand what you meant, i should buy a 1.25 gallon so i can ferment in that, and then move into the 1gallon carboy?

Correct... or just go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a food grade 2 or 3 gallon bucket in the paint section... that is where they are at. Use that as a very inexpensive fermenter where you can easily make larger than your carboy you will rack to and you have a lot of space for fruit additions if you go that route. I say get the 3 gallon size as it uses the same lid size of a 5 gallon, if I remember correctly.

What did you mean with mixing in enough o2 to get the mead off to a good start? Just shaking the bottle after i put honey and water in?

You can certainly do that. I would recommend a wine whip (think a paint stirrer) on a drill where you can really get a lot of O2 into the must.

If i want to get a sweeter mead how would i go about that? Ive read some people use campden tablets to halt fermentation, some backsweeten with artificial sugars after its fermented dry, whats the best tasting method? I assume backsweetening is the simplest.

Best tasting method is personal, though my choice is always honey... because I am making mead. Non fermentable sugars will work and I've heard that Erythritol is the closest to the flavor of table sugar, but I don't really know.

You have two ways to deal with this. The easiest is to let it go dry and the use Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium Sorbate to stabilize the mead. Wait 24 hours or more and then back sweeten with honey. I would suggest get a powdered Potassium Metabisulfite in place of Campden tablets as it is just easier to work with. You want a small digital scale accurate to at least 2 decimal points. IMO, get the best you can reasonably afford if you expect you will continue making mead for a while.

The other option for sweetness is to have enough honey in there so that when the yeast stop, there is left over sugars. If you want to go that route, I would suggest an ale yeast like SafAle S-04 and expect it to eat upwards of 14% ABV so you have to have more sugar in there to hit your desired sweetness. I mention this because it is an option, but I would really recommend the back sweetening because this method really requires a high O2 at yeast pitch and starting out you want something easy to deal with.

Also i have a question about clearing, do i just wait? will it clear itself? do i need pectic emzymes?

You will only need pectic enzyme if you are using fruits or fruit juice. For most meads time will clear stuff out. Mostly, but not always.

If your batch is only 1 gallon, you should be able to stick it in the refrigerator to "cold crash" it. That will help items drop out. If that and time isn't working fast enough, you will use fining agents. There are a variety of them available. My recommendations fall into two camps.

Vegan or not.
If you want vegan, then you will likely use Bentonite first and once it has done its job, you rack the mead to a new container and then use Sparkolloid. When Sparkolloid has done its job, you rack again to a new container. Expect each of these to need 1 day to 1 week depending on how cloudy your mead is.

If you don't care about vegan (probably don't as you are using honey from the enslaved bees) then I suggest Kieselsol and Chitosan. These work incredible. You stir in the proper dose of Kieselsol and then 1 to 6 hours later stir in the proper dose of Choitosan. The results are impressive in a very short amount of time. Give it a week or two for everything to drop out and then rack to another container.

In either case, you will want to have lightly stirred the mead to degas it of CO2 before using fining agents as they work so much better that way.

Bentonite is a special case where you can add it at the very beginning of fermentation and it will start working on stuff as it ferments. It really is a nice choice. I sprinkle in the recommended amount dry at the very beginning and don't bother making a slurry ahead of time.

Obviously some of this is going to require you to look these up and make your own determinations.

 

[Teufelhunde]

I'm gonna be the outcast here and suggest to do a batch of Joe's Ancient Orange Mead for your first one. Really easy, hard to screw it up, good tasting Mead. Use that to get your feet wet and go from there....

 

[MightyMosin]

My only point against that is you are going by rote and not acquiring information on the how and why.

I have actually never made it, but I hear that it is pretty damn good.

 

[Nubsan]

While it is actively fermenting, it is putting off a lot of CO2 and oxygen isn't a concern.

I put an airlock on it, but I don't fill it with vodka until my last nutrient feeding.


Correct... or just go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a food grade 2 or 3 gallon bucket in the paint section... that is where they are at. Use that as a very inexpensive fermenter where you can easily make larger than your carboy you will rack to and you have a lot of space for fruit additions if you go that route. I say get the 3 gallon size as it uses the same lid size of a 5 gallon, if I remember correctly.


You can certainly do that. I would recommend a wine whip (think a paint stirrer) on a drill where you can really get a lot of O2 into the must.


Best tasting method is personal, though my choice is always honey... because I am making mead. Non fermentable sugars will work and I've heard that Erythritol is the closest to the flavor of table sugar, but I don't really know.

You have two ways to deal with this. The easiest is to let it go dry and the use Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium Sorbate to stabilize the mead. Wait 24 hours or more and then back sweeten with honey. I would suggest get a powdered Potassium Metabisulfite in place of Campden tablets as it is just easier to work with. You want a small digital scale accurate to at least 2 decimal points. IMO, get the best you can reasonably afford if you expect you will continue making mead for a while.

The other option for sweetness is to have enough honey in there so that when the yeast stop, there is left over sugars. If you want to go that route, I would suggest an ale yeast like SafAle S-04 and expect it to eat upwards of 14% ABV so you have to have more sugar in there to hit your desired sweetness. I mention this because it is an option, but I would really recommend the back sweetening because this method really requires a high O2 at yeast pitch and starting out you want something easy to deal with.


You will only need pectic enzyme if you are using fruits or fruit juice. For most meads time will clear stuff out. Mostly, but not always.

If your batch is only 1 gallon, you should be able to stick it in the refrigerator to "cold crash" it. That will help items drop out. If that and time isn't working fast enough, you will use fining agents. There are a variety of them available. My recommendations fall into two camps.

Vegan or not.
If you want vegan, then you will likely use Bentonite first and once it has done its job, you rack the mead to a new container and then use Sparkolloid. When Sparkolloid has done its job, you rack again to a new container. Expect each of these to need 1 day to 1 week depending on how cloudy your mead is.

If you don't care about vegan (probably don't as you are using honey from the enslaved bees) then I suggest Kieselsol and Chitosan. These work incredible. You stir in the proper dose of Kieselsol and then 1 to 6 hours later stir in the proper dose of Choitosan. The results are impressive in a very short amount of time. Give it a week or two for everything to drop out and then rack to another container.

In either case, you will want to have lightly stirred the mead to degas it of CO2 before using fining agents as they work so much better that way.

Bentonite is a special case where you can add it at the very beginning of fermentation and it will start working on stuff as it ferments. It really is a nice choice. I sprinkle in the recommended amount dry at the very beginning and don't bother making a slurry ahead of time.

Obviously some of this is going to require you to look these up and make your own determinations.

Do i stir with the paint mixer before i add the yeast or does it not matter?

Just to clarify so i dont misunderstand, at the start i can use a (much?) bigger vessel than what the batch size actually is, because the fermentation will start in a couple hours and co2 will block the oxygen?

I think ill go with backsweetening with honey as that does seem like the best tasting option. Do you have a general mead yeasts? I looked up some sweet mead yeasts and noticed Wyeatt something something, but i also read something else about it somewhere that its not very good for some reason?

I checked up on some fining agents as my fridge isnt large enough for my carboys, havent decided which one ill buy yet. Wont need it yet for a while so ill do some more research. Is there no off-flavor when using kieselsol and chitosan?

If i dont cold crash/use fining agents, will the mead taste yeasty as i assume it will still be around in the mead?

If i make a dry mead, should i still add campden and sorbate after fermenting is done or is that only necessary if i want to backsweeten it.

Thanks alot for the help with my questions

 

[Barzahl]

Do i stir with the paint mixer before i add the yeast or does it not matter?

Not sure I oxygenate first but also before each nutrient feeding

Just to clarify so i dont misunderstand, at the start i can use a (much?) bigger vessel than what the batch size actually is, because the fermentation will start in a couple hours and co2 will block the oxygen?

Yes

I think ill go with backsweetening with honey as that does seem like the best tasting option. Do you have a general mead yeasts? I looked up some sweet mead yeasts and noticed Wyeatt something something, but i also read something else about it somewhere that its not very good for some reason?

Never tried a Wyeast, Lalvin d47 is considered a good all around yeast for traditionals, qa23 is good for meads with tropical or citrus flavors, 71b is good for meads with berries

I checked up on some fining agents as my fridge isnt large enough for my carboys, havent decided which one ill buy yet. Wont need it yet for a while so ill do some more research. Is there no off-flavor when using kieselsol and chitosan?

Never tried them

If i dont cold crash/use fining agents, will the mead taste yeasty as i assume it will still be around in the mead?

A couple of times I tasted one of my meads before it cleared and IMO it tasted a little beery

If i make a dry mead, should i still add campden and sorbate after fermenting is done or is that only necessary if i want to backsweeten it.

It's not necessary

 

[D the Catastrophist]

If im opening it up a bunch of times, wont that make it oxidize as im letting in alot of air? Do i not put on an airlock the first week of fermenting?

If i want to get a sweeter mead how would i go about that? Ive read some people use campden tablets to halt fermentation, some backsweeten with artificial sugars after its fermented dry, whats the best tasting method? I assume backsweetening is the simplest.

So as i understand what you meant, i should buy a 1.25 gallon so i can ferment in that, and then move into the 1gallon carboy?

What did you mean with mixing in enough o2 to get the mead off to a good start? Just shaking the bottle after i put honey and water in?

To answer your last question first- yes. At the start you want oxygen. So whether that is sealing the lid with a solid bung and shaking the crap out of it, or getting a drill with a sanitized whip attachment, you want it well oxygenated. Over oxygenation is only an issue later.

Once in primary, If the fermentation is still ongoing, your mead is offgassing enough co2 to protect it from oxygen. The potential for oxygenation is later, once you have transferred it to secondary where it can sit for a loooonnggg time. That is where excessive headspace is an issue.

I use a combination of the one gallon widemouth glass fermentation containers, and wide mouth mason jars of various sizes( from 8 oz to 32 oz). If you get the fermentation lids for the Mason jars, you can pop the rubber bung out and slide a standard airlock into the hole. By doing this is I have 'extra' after primary I can keep it and use for topping up later.


Here are some Fermentation Lids for Wide Mouth Mason Jars https://a.co/d/jlq7Oyy

 

[MightyMosin]

Do i stir with the paint mixer before i add the yeast or does it not matter?

Just to clarify so i dont misunderstand, at the start i can use a (much?) bigger vessel than what the batch size actually is, because the fermentation will start in a couple hours and co2 will block the oxygen?

It probably doesn't matter if you mix before or after yeast pitch, but I always do it before as I am mixing the honey into the water until completely dissolved. I use use this item.
https://morewinemaking.com/products/lees-stirrer-stainless-plastic-blades.html
The blades are replaceable which is nice.

I think ill go with backsweetening with honey as that does seem like the best tasting option. Do you have a general mead yeasts? I looked up some sweet mead yeasts and noticed Wyeatt something something, but i also read something else about it somewhere that its not very good for some reason?

Yeast selection is a whole deal all by itself as you may pick one over another based upon what you are attempting to create. I have a large-ish post on yeast. The end has some selection notes.

Most wine yeast will do well as they are use to an acidic envnironment. SafAle S-05 and US-05 also both work well. As a general pick, it is hard to go wrong with Lalvin 71B.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/my-yeast-notes.703752/

I checked up on some fining agents as my fridge isnt large enough for my carboys, havent decided which one ill buy yet. Wont need it yet for a while so ill do some more research. Is there no off-flavor when using kieselsol and chitosan?

If i dont cold crash/use fining agents, will the mead taste yeasty as i assume it will still be around in the mead?

The fining agents will settle to the bottom with the sediment, pollen and other particulates that they are scrubbing from the mead. You will need to give them some time to settle out or you may taste them. Two weeks is usually fine.