First Mead

[stonecutter2]

I started my first gallon of plain mead on 2/2 (I have some JAOM about ready for bottling, too).

I put 3lbs of clover honey in a 1 gallon jug, then topped off with spring water from the grocery store. I also added some LD Carlson Yeast Nutrient (1 tsp) and LD Carlson Yeast Energizer (1/2 tsp). Then I shook it up really well.

Yeast is Lalvin D47. I sprinkled the dry yeast into the must. Fermented in my basement with ambient temp of 60-63F, fermometer strip indicated 64-66 during fermentation.

OG: 1.120
SG: 0.997

I think this baby's done, what do you think?

I tasted a sample this morning and it's got a subtle flavor, nothing unpleasant, a little hot after going down. SO drinkable for 16% abv! I would have thought it would be dryer at 0.997, but it's really not that dry. Does that sound right?

The top of the mead had some white foam (bubbly, not furry or stringy) that seemed to stick around, but nothing smells or tastes funny. I'm guessing it's a remnant of some of the krausen and either energizer or nutrient. I had some good foaming going on during the height of fermentation, it was snaking up the airlock but didn't cause issues.

So - anything sound unusual to anyone?

It's still cloudy, so I'm planning to rack off into secondary to get it off the lees and let it clear up.

Thanks for any input you can provide!

 

[Arpolis]

Sounds good so far. It is probably at it's ABV limit so should be done.

Meads tend to have a residual sweetness unlike some fruit wines. I don't know if it is psycho somatic or if there is science behind it.

Feel free to leav this on the lees for 45 - 60 days. D47 adds some citrusy notes when left on the lees for a couple months.

 

[stonecutter2]

Sounds good so far. It is probably at it's ABV limit so should be done.

Meads tend to have a residual sweetness unlike some fruit wines. I don't know if it is psycho somatic or if there is science behind it.

Feel free to leav this on the lees for 45 - 60 days. D47 adds some citrusy notes when left on the lees for a couple months.

Awesome, thanks for chiming in!

Funny you say citrus, because I could swear there was some sort of very slight citrus twang to the aftertaste when I tasted just a bit this morning.

 

[Arpolis]

Yea that should get a little stronger if you leave it in the lees but don't go much over 3 months because if you get autolysis to happen then you get some funky flavors there.

 

[stonecutter2]

This is at almost 2 months, but still appears cloudy yellow. Should I rack it into secondary to get it off the lees? If I do, i'll have some air on top of the mead...so I'm not sure how to top it off to reduce that headspace. Would I add more honey? Some spring water?

 

[Arpolis]

Yea some meads seem to take forever to clear. What you could do is rack off the lees and mix this with a crushed Camden tablet (potassium metabisulfate) and 1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate. That will stabilize the mead so it does not ferment further. Then add 50/50 honey/water to top off to about an inch or two below the top of the jug/carboy. Make sure to check gravity so as to not ever sweeten the mead. Depending on your tastes you may like the mead only slightly sweetened at 1.004 or may like a sweeter mead at 1.010. For reference a JAOM usually ends in the 1.030 range of sweetness.

If you really want to clear this mead quicker. Then after topping off and back sweetening a little you can siphon off about 3/4 of a cup and heat it in the microwave for a couple minutes and then add 1 1/2 tsp of bentonite. Mix it up super super well. I use a blender to mix up bentonite on high speed for 2-3 minutes. Poor that back into the mead and do no mix it in. Leave it alone and it should be clear in jus a few short days.

 

[stonecutter2]

Yea some meads seem to take forever to clear. What you could do is rack off the lees and mix this with a crushed Camden tablet (potassium metabisulfate) and 1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate. That will stabilize the mead so it does not ferment further. Then add 50/50 honey/water to top off to about an inch or two below the top of the jug/carboy. Make sure to check gravity so as to not ever sweeten the mead. Depending on your tastes you may like the mead only slightly sweetened at 1.004 or may like a sweeter mead at 1.010. For reference a JAOM usually ends in the 1.030 range of sweetness.

If you really want to clear this mead quicker. Then after topping off and back sweetening a little you can siphon off about 3/4 of a cup and heat it in the microwave for a couple minutes and then add 1 1/2 tsp of bentonite. Mix it up super super well. I use a blender to mix up bentonite on high speed for 2-3 minutes. Poor that back into the mead and do no mix it in. Leave it alone and it should be clear in jus a few short days.

Cool, thanks!

I think I might just bottle it up and put it in a dark place. It'll clear eventually, and at least this way it's off the lees.

 

[fatbloke]

Cool, thanks!

I think I might just bottle it up and put it in a dark place. It'll clear eventually, and at least this way it's off the lees.

Correction, it's off the "gross lees". As long as it's cloudy there's still more that can drop out.

One of the reasons for clearing completely is to do with yeasty taste, but also there's the aesthetics of having a nice clear glass full.

More pleasing to the eye if fully clear before it goes into the bottle, as you will get some coming back into suspension when pouring it if you don't........

Your batch, so up to you.