First mead successful thanks to HBT

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Hello to all meadmakers on this forum. First off, a thank you to all that have posted through the years and that this information helped me with finally deciding to give things a go (hardest step it seems) and therefore permitted me to make my first mead very successfully. I have been a beekeeper for 3 years on a recreational scale so it's one more way for me to use my honey

I thought I'd share my process and brewing notes that have produced a very drinkable result that I have been enjoying with a few friends.

On september 29th, I cobbled together ± 13.7 pounds of honey from various half containers that would have needed to be filtered but that I otherwise kept putting aside to do other things. So for this first batch, I also had a mix of propolis bits and wax thrown in with the honey. Mixed up with tap water to about 20L.

So an OG of 1.100

This next step is in my opinion my only 'mistake' on the batch, in that, I was still earlier on in my reading so I decided to add campden tablets to the must.

Waited a day for that to be all done and pitched rehydrated D47 yeast, along with 2tsp of energizer yeast nutrient (it's the brown/beige stuff my lhbs sells as compared to the white 'yeast nutrient'. By the next afternoon, I had visible fermentation on top of my must (which I decided to primary-ferment in a bucket due to my winemaking background and having no idea how active a fermentation mead would produce)

Oct 5th, SG of 1.070 - stirred to aerate
Oct 11th, SG of 1.045 so added half teaspoon of energizer yeast nutrient
Oct 15th, SG 1.035 - I removed most of the wax and other particles that were floating on the fermenting mead and then racked to a carboy to continue fermenting.
Oct 21st SG of 1.020

Nov 21st SG 1.015 that's been holding steady. I racked it into a clean carboy as I wanted to cold-crash to help with clarity as at this point, I am hoping to have it ready to bottle by Christmas. The crash helped with clarity.

Bottled on Jan 2nd due to lack of time. I am very satisfied with my first mead



For the moment, there is a huge difference in taste between having it cold or room temperature. When cold, the alcohol taste is present, as opposed to room temperature is much more complex and smooth.

So, being so happy with my first batch, I decided I better get another one going with more leftover honey. For this batch, I melted down the crystallized honey from wax cappings that I'd not cleaned yet and added more honey to get it up to proper gravity. I am ever so happy to have found a way to use up honey that I otherwise have to 'clean' from wax cappings and that I therefore often put aside for later.

So, second batch is again with D47 yeast, with an OG of ± 1.110. Went for another 20L start size that I put into a 6 gal/23L carboy for fermentation and will rack to a 5gal in a month or two once most activity is finished.
 
Your off and running! Nice job on keeping it simple and using quality ingredients.
As a hobby beekeeper, I have employed a system of crush and strain through a bucket strainer. Then the cappings get topped with water while in the bucket.Stir to dissolve and strain again. This gives me cappings must for mead. If their is too much, it gets frozen in gallon jugs for future use.
If I had followed your method of making a traditional first, my first couple meads would have been so much better.
 
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