first mead

[habs20]

Hi All,

Start my first mead yesterday.

1 gallon glass jug with airlock
3 lb honey
distilled water
handful of raisins 20-30

Dissolved honey in warm water then added to jug with raisins. Top off with more distilled water and let cool. pitched yeast cotes des blanc. Is there anything else I should do or have done? Hoping for a medium sweet finished product.

Thanks!

 

[mccann51]

Aerating your mead is a good idea; helps the yeast get up to a nice population level to ferment the must.

 

[AsianMead]

I've heard that yeast cotes des blanc is need cool temp in fermentation.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Start practising patience.... A hefty mead like that with high gravity yeast will produce a rather dry mead that will take a long time to be ready to drink, but when it is I'm sure your like it.

 

[huesmann]

1.108 is high gravity?

 

[habs20]

Realy do not want it to go to dry, I was hoping to keep some of the sweetness. I could kill fermentation at some point before it goes to dry.

 

[mccann51]

1.108 is high gravity?

Relatively high. If it goes dry, that's 14% ABV, which definitely isn't low.

 

[huesmann]

Realy do not want it to go to dry, I was hoping to keep some of the sweetness. I could kill fermentation at some point before it goes to dry.

Then monitor your SG and campden/sorbate it before it goes below about 1.020.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

A dose of yeast nutrient & DAP (diammonium phosphate) will give your yeast the essential nutrients that are lacking from most mead musts, especially since you used distilled water. The raisins will help, but I'm not sure if they'll help enough. Regards, GF.

 

[habs20]

Thank you everyone for the great advise and support. It is going pretty strong as far as the air lock. 3-4 bubbles a minute. I check the SG yesterday and it was 1.120 which seems low as I just started it last Saturday.