Mead making without chemical energizer amd nutrients

[jasebrooker]

Hi guys.

So I want to have a go at making up a 1 gallon batch of mead and I'm using 3.75 pounds of orange blossom honey as I prefer it sweet. Annoyingly I can't tell you what the type of yeast I'm using is as here in the UK it is very much a one for all general wine making yeast but that's fine. What I'm really trying to test here is using something other than chemicalised yeast nutrient and energizer. I read somewhere that you can cut up orange segments and add raisins and use that. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of this and/or any ideas on alternatives to avoid the chemicals?

Cheers all

J

 

[mrdillon5]

I frequently use raisins as a nutrient and they add tannin. I use available citrus - orange, lime or lemon instead of acid blend. Since I am so close to Mexico papaya is readily available here I use about a 1/4 cup (or about a handful) of chopped papaya as a clearing agent (pectin enzyme). I use scientific methods to measure - a handful is close enough for me. I also keep a bagful of mixed dried fruit around and sometimes add a handful - it adds tannins, yeast nutrition and some notes in the final flavor. I find myself turning more 'natural' in my mead and wine making the older I get.

 

[KBentley57]

If you have strong convictions on avoiding "chemicals", you could always get a few packs of bakers yeast, boil them in a cup or two of water, and add it in. The dead yeast cells will be the Soylent Green for the living yeast. This is what most of the yeast energizers you buy consist of, plus some nitrogen.

However, unless you add someting to help the yeast out, I'm afraid you may have a tough time getting it to ferment. That sounds like a OG of 1.100 +.

 

[fatbloke]

Joes Ancient Orange (Spiced) Mead.

There should be a thread here? There's definitely a massive one over at the gotmead forums.

Plus the boiled (or microwaved) bread yeast already mentioned.

As for Youngs (or is it Ritchies) wine yeast compound ? That already contains yeast nutrient unless you're alluding to one of the youngs yeast sachets, but they usually mention a vague type/style of wine that they might be used for.

Or if you hit google theres plenty of online HBS here that do either the 5 usual suspects from Lallemand (Lalvin brand) or vintners harvest or even the wine yeasts that Brouwland if the shop has a Brupaks account.

If you did a JAO just using bread yeast should get you about 12% ABV.

And don't presume that you won't "get sweet" if only using 3lb of honey per gallon. Of course that would mean chems, so if you used 3lb honey a small can of grape concentrate, some boiled bread yeast, you can even use tiny amounts of Marmite for B vitamins or just a B1 tablet crushed (thiamin.....which is a natural substance) then you can probably step feed with incremental extra honey to exhaust the alcohol tolerance of the yeast and still end up with sweet but not cloyingly so like a lot of the commercially made meads you might find......