mead help

[ob111]

I have a bad habit of experimenting.
instead of reading all there is to know about mead, I thought Hey it's honey wine.
so I started just that

1 kg liquid billy bee honey
in 1 gal carboy topped up with water
1/4 tsp EC-1118
1/4 tsp yeast energizer
1/4 tsp yeast nutrient

hydro says I have a pot. for 10%
is this a basic mead or was I supposed to add fruit to it.
and one other question on stage nutrient
is that when hydro reading goes down to half of my potential and I add another 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient

 

[malkore]

Yes, you have made a basic, traditional mead...that is a little on the light side for gravity/final alcohol.

but its most definitely mead.

I honestly don't do staggered additions. nutrient is good, but energizer is nitrogen, and that's what honey really lacks (compared to wine and beer) which can make it hard on the yeast.

I would search around here, or google, for staggered nutrient additions for mead, and go from there.
I'd start recording actual gravity, and don't worry about 'potential' so much.

2.2 lbs of honey should give you just under 1.080 for an OG. EC-1118 is a powerhouse yeast, and honey is 100% fermentable, so this could get over 10%. just keep watching the gravity every week, and be patient.

it'll need to be bottle aged (or bulk aged, then bottled) for several months too. that is the advantage of lighter meads...the don't need to age as long to mellow.

 

[fatbloke]

I have a bad habit of experimenting.
instead of reading all there is to know about mead, I thought Hey it's honey wine.
so I started just that

1 kg liquid billy bee honey
in 1 gal carboy topped up with water
1/4 tsp EC-1118
1/4 tsp yeast energizer
1/4 tsp yeast nutrient

hydro says I have a pot. for 10%
is this a basic mead or was I supposed to add fruit to it.
and one other question on stage nutrient
is that when hydro reading goes down to half of my potential and I add another 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient

I'm not in the US so I have no idea about the honey, other than I use a minimum of 3lb per gallon so you're a little light (I usually go for about 3.5lb per gallon).

You are on your first batch so you don't need to worry about staged nutrient unless there's problems.

I suspect that the honey is blended for eating, which invariably makes it a little mediocre for mead making, plus EC1118, I find, tends to blow too much of the flavour/aroma out the airlock.

even if you just chucked another 1lb of honey straight in, that yeast is likely to ferment it dry. So I'd be thinking along the lines of adding the further 1lb above what you've already put in. When it's finished, sulphite and sorbate it (look that up - it's an education thing). Then I'd add another 1/2 lb to it and let it settle/clear. It will probably need at least 6 months, possible a year ageing.

Oh and get a copy of Ken Schramms book "the compleat meadmaker". It will explain stuff for you, like why, when the mead is finished it can taste like "Listerine" etc etc....

regards

fatbloke

 

[Indian_villager]

Here is a post from my help thread I made a while ago KCWortHog really helped me get the idea of it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/new-confused-177748/#post2058648

 

[ob111]

Yes, you have made a basic, traditional mead...that is a little on the light side for gravity/final alcohol.

hey guys its been about 2 months the air lock stopped burping and its cleared nicely so I racked it to a clean 1 gal carboy.
during this transfer I took a sample and checked the gravity it's a little below 1.000 I topped up the carboy with water and taste tested the sample that I took out holy crap I was told it's on the light side it tastes like a 50/50 mix of vodka and water I know it has to age so I think the flavor will improve
but I'm just wondering if the 17% mead tastes like a wine of sorts or is it more like a shot of vodka.
I have no clue how it should taste I've never had it before

 

[ob111]

anybody?

 

[MedsenFey]

If you have made it 17% ABV, it is always going to taste hot with alcohol. It will smooth out a lot if you age it a couple of years, but it will still have very prominent alcohol. Most white wines are around 12% ABV, and I find I like traditional meads in that range in most cases (sweet, sack-strength meads being an exception).

At what gravity did you finally decide to start?

Medsen