Just started a mead that’ll take a while, need a quick sparkling recipe

[Sean75]

Newbie here. I just started a D47 mead, aiming for big residual sweetness and 12-14 abv. Used 12 lbs honey and 3 gallons water. I’m told it will need around a year to age.

Need something to keep me busy and happy during that long wait. Pretty soon I want to start something quick, lite and sparkling, maybe even with some floral notes if I can pull it off. Something my wife and I can both enjoy. Is the BOMM the way to go?

Any suggestions?

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Sean75 and welcome. BOMM is certainly one way to go but the truth is that any session (low ABV) mead if made using good practices, can be enjoyed weeks after pitching the yeast. The key factors are an ABV of around 5%, you don't stress the yeast; you provide the yeast with all the nutrients they need and you look for flavors you like. One good source of recipes (in my opinion) is Groennfell Meadery. They publish their recipes online because they know that the secret is not in the recipe but in the quality of the ingredients. That said, they DO stress their yeast by fermenting at higher temperatures because they argue that with less flavor coming from the honey (less honey per gallon at lower ABVs) they want the esters and other compounds produced by the stressed yeast to add complexity to their meads.

 

[Seamonkey84]

I love watching Ask the mead maker lol. I follow the BOMM (Brays one month mead)protocol for my batches, but tosna works with more yeasts. Using those protocols makes just about any mead/wine good to drink sooner.

 

[CKuhns]

Agree with all of the above.

Goennfell recipes do work well. Consider trying one of those but substitute Kviek HotHead yeast. The tart cherry with a gallon of juice vs. half gallon and a little acid to taste turned out really nice.

Then clarify, keg or bottle carbonate. Drinkable in a month and really good in 6 to 8 weeks.