First Mead

[dustinthompson85]

Alright, been reading and reading and there is so much it almost overwhelming. Looking for a very simple first mead that is on the sweet side. 5 gallon batches are doable. What is the most basic recipe available that someone has been happy with?

Process questions; Boil no boil? Yeast nutrients? There are so many opinions.

I want to get into Mead since my dad keeps bees and think it would be a fun activity for the two of us.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Check out Brays one month mead (BOMM) pinned at the top of this forum. Just stir or swirl the must to degas before nutrient additions.
No boiling unless you need to for the water, then let it cool before mixing. You don’t heat up honey any more than necessary to make it easy to pour.

 

[madscientist451]

Mead doesn't need to be boiled.
Use go-firm protect when you re-hydrate the yeast.
Don't add yeast nutrient right away, wait 24 hrs.
Use the modern de-gassing and staggered nutrient method and
start with 1 gallon batches until you get some experience.
Making beer strength ABV mead will give you something you can drink sooner, full strength mead is usually better after some aging.
Check out the "best mead practices" episode on basic brewing radio, its got almost everything you need to know:

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/2/8/9/289...68583582&hwt=34f38ccc69b8007b91ce60af470a8f22

And a blog post from Ricky the meadmaker:

https://www.groennfell.com/blog/making-mead-at-home-an-incredibly-contentious-article

 

[dustinthompson85]

Thanks!