First time mead questions!

[Mattekat]

I've tried my hand at homebrewing a few times but have never made mead before and have a few questions.
If I want the abv to be around 15% how much honey per gallon should I use? I planned on using champagne yeast since it is aggressive but if I should get a different type I will.
I am also wondering if anyone has done a buckwheat honey mead before and if it turned out well. It is my favourite type of honey but I can see it's tangy bitterness either being very good or very bad after fermentation. Maybe I should be using a simpler wildflower honey for my first attempt?
The last question I have is whether or not it matters if I use raw unpasteurized honey or not?
Any help would be great! Thanks!

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Mattekat - and welcome.
a starting gravity of about 1.115 has a potential ABV of about 15%. One pound of honey mixed in water to make 1 gallon will raise the gravity of the water to 1.035 - so you want more than 3 lbs of honey per gallon.
Buckwheat on the East Coast makes a very... um ... earthy mead. Many people do not view such mead as delicious.
Raw honey tends to possess more nuanced flavors. Pasteurization removes those flavors (heating honey above about 90F is viewed as poor practice today.
You can certainly use a champgane yeast but the more aggressive a yeast the more flavors and aromas the yeast blows off. You might want to consider a yeast such as 71B or 47D or perhaps an ale yeast (Safale US-05) or DV10...
Last point: honey has no nutrients and yeast NEED nutrients if they are not to be stressed (and so either stall or produce off flavors and compounds). You need to add nutrients.