Mead Batch #1

[meadnoob]

Hi,

I'm making my first batch of mead, and I'm hoping to get some input. I apologize if this has been discussed but I'm hoping the forum can give me some feedback or suggestions.

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- 3 gallons water
- 1 (5g) packet D-47 yeast
- 3 tsp LD Carlson Yeast Nutrient
- 9 lbs orange blossom honey

Steps
- Bring 1 gallon water to 175-180 degrees
- Add yeast nutrient
- Add honey, stir and skim foam

- After 10 minutes, transfer to carboy, add remaining water to 3 gallons.
- Pitch and add yeast, stir well, add stopper and airlock
- Ferment at proper temperature for 3 weeks or until fermentation has stopped.
- Rack into new carboy for secondary fermentation and let sit for 3 months
- Rack again and bottle after 3 months
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1. I will be adding orange peel to the initial boil and leave it behind when it's first racked after fermentation.
2. I'm wanting to get a semi-dry mead, not too sweet and not totally dry, so advice on the amount of honey being used is helpful.
3. I've read recipes about adding honey and nutrients at different stages. Any advice there is helpful (links, personal favorite methods).
4. I'm not using acid blends, is that okay?
5. For the first racking, from what I've read, this is secondary fermentation. Do I need to add more yeast, more nutrients, more honey?

Thanks for any input, I really appreciate it (and don't want to f up my batch #1!)

I'm also thinking about getting a 1 gallon oak barrel to age a small amount. If anyone has done that will good results, I'd really like to hear your experience.

Thanks

 

[SkeletorMob]

I too, am just beginning my mead venture! So although all the recipes I'm working are still in primary and haven't experienced anything after, I figure I'll join in to learn and share advice I've been given or read!

Steps
- Bring 1 gallon water to 175-180 degrees
- Add yeast nutrient
- Add honey, stir and skim foam

Might I ask to why you are boiling the honey? Some will say that you lose a noticeable bit of flavor and aroma. Others will swear by pastuerizing. I have a 3 gallon mix that was pasteurized and more than a few that weren't. It's mainly the skimming I'm wondering about!

After 10 minutes, transfer to carboy, add remaining water to 3 gallons.
- Pitch and add yeast, stir well, add stopper and airlock

Be sure to check that the temperature of that must is below whatever is stated on the yeast packet! If the must is to warm you may risk stressing or killing your yeast from the git go!
I also will add many yeast love a good aeration period. Usually about 2 days or so of giving the mix a real good stir up twice a day. The oxygen in the beginning will not harm your recipe but will give your yeast a building block for the reproduction phase! You may or may not want to wait to airlock. Or just remove airlock, cap and shake. But I'll warn with that, it's not the best aeration technique and if your batch kicks off hard within 24 hours be wary with shaking because it will gush like mentos in soda after a few shakes.

1. I will be adding orange peel to the initial boil and leave it behind when it's first racked after fermentation.
2. I'm wanting to get a semi-dry mead, not too sweet and not totally dry, so advice on the amount of honey being used is helpful.
3. I've read recipes about adding honey and nutrients at different stages. Any advice there is helpful (links, personal favorite methods).
4. I'm not using acid blends, is that okay?
5. For the first racking, from what I've read, this is secondary fermentation. Do I need to add more yeast, more nutrients, more honey?

1. from what I've read the peel will impart much bitterness, so be wary with amounts. I'm sorry I have no experience to share with that
2. Unfortunately don't have proper advice on this one either but am interested to read what others say
3.step feeding hone is a thing, and usually only used when trying to get a abv that would require an unrealistic starting gravity. So you start low and add the rest as soon as it ferments a good portion down. I am currently step feeding one recipe. Added the extra honey after a 60 point drop am now monitering to see where it goes. Nutrient staggering is highly recommended and has been stated the best is at 1/3 and 2/3 sugar break. Sugar break total being the difference between your starting gravity and planned final gravity, then divided by 3. Minus that number from your starting gravity for 1/3 and again from that product for 2/3
4. This will depend on your tastes. And I'm not sure how to properly explain how you would know to add and to what affect.
5. Generally speaking no you will not add any yeast or nutrient into secondary. Stabilizing minerals (used to prevent further fermentation of sugars used to backsweeten) and fruit are generally things you would see added to secondary


******** I am not purporting that all these things are the right way. I'm just an amatuer like you, learning everything I can. So I'm just sharing what I've read or been told for the meantime before someone with experience has something to add or correct anything I said!********
I wish you the best of brew!

 

[SkeletorMob]

Sorry for no links but I will recommend the two books I've been reading how to make mead like a viking, Jereme Zimmerman and the Compleat Mead Maker, Ken Schramm. You are already on the other resource I recommend

 

[SkeletorMob]

Man now I've got 8 gallons in primary lol. My patience is so thin I've been mixing more to calm it HA

 

[bmwr75]

First, don't put the honey in the hot water. Common belief now is heating the honey is a bad practice.

Now to answer your questions:

2. I'm wanting to get a semi-dry mead, not too sweet and not totally dry, so advice on the amount of honey being used is helpful. It is hard to stop a mead at a give sweetness level. Step feeding honey in small amounts towards the end of the fermentation until the yeast reaches its alcohol tolerance is one way to achieve the desired sweetness.

3. I've read recipes about adding honey and nutrients at different stages. Any advice there is helpful (links, personal favorite methods). Read the last two articles at this link before starting your first batch. https://denardbrewing.com/blog/category/articles/

4. I'm not using acid blends, is that okay? Using acid blend is an uncommon practice these days.

5. For the first racking, from what I've read, this is secondary fermentation. Do I need to add more yeast, more nutrients, more honey? No, No, Maybe. Read the articles mentioned above.

 

[meadnoob]

SkeletorMob, thanks for your detailed response, and sorry if some things were unclear:

1. I'm not actually bringing the must to a boil, I've read 175-180 degrees in some recipes, but my understanding is that I simply need to warm the honey/water mixture so the honey can completely dissolve and incorporate with the water and nutrients.
2. Most recipes I've read say to skim foam, so this being my first batch... if I see foam, I'll skim it off.
3. Adding yeast - this being my first post, the forum logged me out after I typed my entire message (which was lost). I will be cooling the must in the carboy by putting it in a cold bath of ice water, monitoring the temp, and then adding the yeast according to the yeast packet instructions. Thanks for catching that!
4. I'll read up on the D-47 yeast re: aeration, thanks for that note, not something I knew of.
5. #3 in your list leaves me some interesting research for me to do, thanks so much for that.

Really appreciate the detailed response.

bmwr75 - Thanks for that as well. I'll read that blog tonight. Looks like I'll do some further reading and prep, and start my batch with more confidence this weekend instead of asap.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

Try to ferment with D-47 at the lower range of the temperature tolerance, you'll be much happier with the final product.

 

[crynski]

I used bray's recipe (the link posted) and I don't recall it even suggesting heat. I heated some of my water, (a minute in the microwave, for 32 oz so no boil) added the honey, dissolved and then added the rest of the water, which put me right back down at yeast pitching temp (actually pitched a little cold at 64 degrees). I added the nutrient last before I put it in the pantry (where my fermentation vessels hang out).

 

[BeeDeeEff]

SkeletorMob, thanks for your detailed response, and sorry if some things were unclear:

1. I'm not actually bringing the must to a boil, I've read 175-180 degrees in some recipes, but my understanding is that I simply need to warm the honey/water mixture so the honey can completely dissolve and incorporate with the water and nutrients.

You'll want to do a fair bit of agitation and/or shaking of hte mixture anyway to get oxygen into the liquid for the early stages of yeast reproduction. That alone is normally more than enough to get the honey and nutrients properly mixed in a room temperature liquid.

And it means less pots to clean.

 

[meadnoob]

Thanks again for all the replies, it saved me a mess I would have had to clean up. I kept it simple.
I put the honey jars in a pot of water and heated it just to make the honey more viscous so it wouldn't take forever to pour and dissolve.

3 - 1 gallon containers of spring water. Half of each was emptied into the carboy, and about 3tsp of DAP was dissolved in.

Each of the 3 honey jars were emptied into the water containers, capped and shaken until dissolved. I poured some water out of one to get exactly 3 gallons, and also only used about 3/4 of one of the honey jars, so total of 8.5lbs honey for this 3 gallon batch.

OG measured 1.11 @ 60degrees, so based on what I've read, it will be medium/dry which is what I was hoping for (if fermentation goes well)

The must in the carboy was cool temp, maybe low 60's. Mixed 1 packet of D-47 yeast with 107deg F water and let it sit for a bit, poured in, agitated the carboy and plugged/airlocked it. Last night and today it's been fizzing and bubbling away so things are looking good. I'll post results as things happen. Thanks again!

 

[Lefou]

My melomel had a starting gravity of 1.12.
It was fermented right near 61F -65F ambient room temperature using S-05 ale yeast and finished around 1.012 before decanting to secondary. The Brew Calculator assumed S-05 yeast tolerance for alcohol (in beer) was about 9.5%.
My mead ended up around 14% ABV and I didn't anticipate the yeast having such a high alcohol tolerance. I'll be doing another specific gravity check soon to see how things have progressed in the secondary as the mix clarifies more.

 

[meadnoob]

I'm down to just under 20 bubbles per minute (it was about one per second when it started), or about once every three seconds. Should I rack or wait until it stops entirely? I still see bubbles in the carboy rising to the surface. Also, it's still hazy. Is this normal? I see lees at the bottom of the carboy. Do I need to wait until the bubbles stop entirely, or is it okay to rack to separate it from the lees to prevent off flavors? Thanks again!

 

[meadnoob]

I went ahead and racked it on 6/6, about 3 weeks after starting the batch. ABV was 12.4%. I took a taste from the test jar and the verdict is I like the taste of fresh still fermenting mead (I drank the entire sample ).

Fermenting temperature has been about a steady 64 degrees F. It's still fizzing away, about 1/4 of what it was when it started, but my main concern is that it's still cloudy. Is this a game of patience or can I add bentonite now while it's still fermenting? I am almost a month in and it's still hazy. Thanks again for any info.

 

[SkeletorMob]

The yeast should do its job cleaning up after itself, drop and clear. Mine have mostly cleared in 30-40 days, and even more so after racking to secondary. But I have been using k1v116 which is quite aggressive in all stages and I racked considerably later than you due to time cpnstraints. I'd say let it sit in secondary until your ready to bottle, if at that point it is not clear enough for you, cold crash it then hit it with bentonite. Rack again as soon as the bentonite drops to the bottom.

 

[CKuhns]

Fermenting temperature has been about a steady 64 degrees F. It's still fizzing away, about 1/4 of what it was when it started, but my main concern is that it's still cloudy. Is this a game of patience or can I add bentonite now while it's still fermenting? I am almost a month in and it's still hazy. Thanks again for any info.

Patience it is... Let it go, it will eventually stop fermenting and start to clear. When you get little to no air lock activity and your gravity readings stabilize a bit it will start to clear. It is not clear now because you have a lot of yeast and movement in the liquid due to the yeast swimming around and "burping" CO2.

 

[meadnoob]

The batch is still bubbling away, much less than when it kicked off on May 16, but almost 3 months seems like a long time(?). I'll just let it go until it stops bubbling and rack it one more time. It's still a bit hazy and there's a cake of yeast at the bottom.

 

[JJack887]

That's strange. All my bubbling stops by 2 weeks in primary.

 

[thm57]

Not hugely uncommon for me, I've got a chocolate mead that's still bubbling a little after 4 or 5 months, and a ginger hydromel that's bubbling at 3 months.

 

[Deafmeadmaker]

When you say 'bubbling away', are you referring to the airlock? Let the yeast sit (The carboy is in a cool shady spot, right?) and do it's thing. This is an exercise in patience. Oh, and May 16 pitching means it's only two months. If it's still bubbling in August or September, that's a different story.
Some of my melomels with high sugar content from the fruit, tend to produce micro bubbles. They almost look like fizzy soda. Wait it out until it stops. Patience young Jedi. Your mead will flow, taste better over time, it will.

 

[meadnoob]

DeafMeadMaker - By "bubbling way", I mean the product in the carboy has bubbles rising to the surface, at a lesser degree than when it was at first start, but i'd say similar to a minute or so after opening a bottle of soda pop. Consistent bubbles, but the airlock bubbles much much infrequently now, maybe a couple or few times per minute at most.

 

[Deafmeadmaker]

DeafMeadMaker - By "bubbling way", I mean the product in the carboy has bubbles rising to the surface, at a lesser degree than when it was at first start, but i'd say similar to a minute or so after opening a bottle of soda pop. Consistent bubbles, but the airlock bubbles much much infrequently now, maybe a couple or few times per minute at most.

Ok, That's normal. Tiny bubbles rising from the cake on the bottom is (I think) CO2. The sun isn't up and the coffee hasn't hit the blood stream yet. Brain not firing on all cylinders... yet.

 

[meadnoob]

I racked it today to get rid of the cake on the bottom. A few things:

1) My long auto-siphon didn't work, but the short one did. I'm a bit bummed about that and can't figure out why. Everything on both devices look the same. I used the short one but it required racking some of the yeast and also lots of bubbles. Hope that doesn't mess things up.

2) I didn't take a hydrometer measurement but it tastes more alcoholic than last taste (not a bad thing), less sweet (what I'm aiming for), but the mouthfeel is thinner. The first time I racked, I lost about 2-3 cups and made up the difference with water, so I'm guessing it's a combo of a little bit diluted, and also the ABV has made the batch less viscous. Can I do anything to make this batch more full-bodied, perhaps add more honey to the batch? I don't mind if it sweetens it up just a little. It's currently at a semi-dry level but I'd like that nice fuller bodied style.

Thanks again for all your tips and help!

 

[JJack887]

Did you make sure to put the tubing over the auto-siphon by at least 2 inches? You need to really put it on there or air will leak out and mess the siphon.

 

[meadnoob]

I after reading your reply, I adjusted the hose and tried with a bucket of water with the same results. I'm confused because the small one works fine so I wonder if there's a flaw in the large one(?).

 

[meadnoob]

I think I'll stick with a tube and siphon the old fashioned way from here out. I cleared the batch with bentonite and it worked really well. It's super clear, tastes very good now and fermentation appears to be nearly complete. I'm prepping a 2 gallon new American oak barrel now and it'll take a couple more days, so 2/3 of it will go in there for 2 months and the rest bottled next week. There's still some slight bubbling so I'll use an airlock in the barrel. A bonus is I can start a new batch soon to put in that same barrel when this batch is bottled. Thanks for all the advice and I'll put the results of the barrel aged mead when it's ready.