Making the move from Beer to Mead!!

[Darth_Malt]

So I've been brewing for a little while, 6 batches in, and I'm looking to try my hand at mead. My roommate isn't a beer drinker, so I'm hoping mead will get him more into the hobby (I need an assistant brewer sometimes ). We've discussed what style of mead and what flavors we want to go for, and we've come up with a Biscuit and Honey Braggot.

Now being my first mead, I'm going on book knowledge from The Compleat Meadmaker. Obviously I'm going to use Biscuit Malt to get the biscuit flavor/aroma, steep them in water before I dissolve the honey. I'm looking for input on pretty much the rest of the recipe. Things like any specific type of honey, preferably a common one. Any other grains that may work well, or other sugars and/or spices that may work well with the Biscuit/Honey idea.

Again, this will be my first mead, so I'm open to any suggestions and will welcome any input/advice you all may have.

 

[fatbloke]

If you're gonna mash the malt first, get all that "beer nonsense" done and cool everything first, then add honey etc once it (the wort) is at room temp.

Don't be fooled by so called "mead yeast", they can be a real PITA. Ale or wine yeasts will do the job fine.

There's a current trend for using wyeast 1388, because of Bray (loveofrose) and his BOMM recipe. I like wine yeasts personally, either K1-V1116 or D21.......

Oh and you come from beer making, so its easy to forget that honey based must is quite a different beast. You will likely need all the usual stuff like energiser/nutrient etc, but also the beer technique of "all fermentables in at the start" can be a mistake with meads etc. Aim for something in the 12 to 14 % ABV area and let it go as dry as you can. Then stabilise and back sweeten.

Also, sparkling meads are a nice idea but can be a pain unless you have a keg set up. Methode champenoise is possble but can be mega fiddly.........

 

[Matrix4b]

I agree with fatbloke. In mead making it has become a primary rule to not boil honey. So make sure it's cooled down a bit prior to adding honey.

Nutrients are needed. I like to use yeast nutrient and yeast energizer.

I haven't done a braggot but I would like to. And please do stick with wine yeast. One very reliable yeast is lavin D-47. If your temp is not going to go above 70f while it's brewing that is. 71b yeast can go up to about 80f. But if you use 71b then make sure to rack off the sediment when it reaches about 1/4 inch to prevent off flavors.

Also, with brewing mead: Be patient. It will take up to a year to age properly. It wont be ready to drink for at the very least 6-8 months. And even then you are getting some green mead. Aging starts when the mead is clear enough to read through.

The last bit of advice that I have is think about oaking it. If you are doing a 5-6 gal batch, 1 oz of lightly toasted oak chips or cubes for about 2 weeks would be fine. Oaking should be duing the final clearing but I read that it can happen at any time after the primary fermentation.

That's all I have for now.

Matrix