Mead making

[Beerzilla81]

So here's my question...
My wife is getting into making mead. She made her first one using the J.A.O.M recipe. Came out great. Now, she wants to make a 4-5 gallon batch of mead or melomel. But, here's the thing. She's a bit of a traditionalist and doesn't really want to add any fermaid or acid blend or whatever else goes into mead making. She figures " they didn't have all that stuff during the Viking times, why do we need it?"
So my question is, do you really need to add any of that stuff to make a good mead? Is it possible just to mix water, honey, and other ingredients and have a mead turn out good? Thanks in advance

 

[noblesquirrel]

So here's my question...
My wife is getting into making mead. She made her first one using the J.A.O.M recipe. Came out great. Now, she wants to make a 4-5 gallon batch of mead or melomel. But, here's the thing. She's a bit of a traditionalist and doesn't really want to add any fermaid or acid blend or whatever else goes into mead making. She figures " they didn't have all that stuff during the Viking times, why do we need it?"
So my question is, do you really need to add any of that stuff to make a good mead? Is it possible just to mix water, honey, and other ingredients and have a mead turn out good? Thanks in advance

She's right, they didn't have all of that stuff during viking times. And I bet what they drank was pretty wretched. If she wants to take a really long time for a product that won't be as good, then go for it. If she wants something delicious and timely, I'd say go with nutrients. Acid blend isn't really necessary (though can help with adjustments). If she's hellbent on not using nutrients, I'd advise to go with a melomel, as they are less nutrient-poor than a traditional would be.

 

[fuelish]

S
So my question is, do you really need to add any of that stuff to make a good mead? Is it possible just to mix water, honey, and other ingredients and have a mead turn out good? Thanks in advance

It's "possible," depending on one's definition of "good"...at the least, I'd use a quality wine yeast and yeast nutrients...it ain't rocket science, but honey isn't the most yeast friendly medium, and absolutely no need for acid blend upfront as honey is already too acidific...nutrients of some sort really are a must for a good mead in a recipe you'd like to reproduce reliably, as honey alone is kind of nutrient deficient, really. Search around, use as little chemicals as possible and as much as necessary to produce a quality beverage, it's all up to yous

 

[buzzerj]

Wow. I understand her sentiment but JAOM is not a traditional mead. Tell her that a mead must is a nutritional desert for her yeast. Without nutrients, she will be looking at a long (months/years) process where the yeast will be stressed from the start. By products from labored fermentation like fusel alcohols is really not the way she wants to go. Please have her read Bray Denard's new article https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html. She may not like chemicals but what is being added are really nutrients for good yeast health. If you are kind to your yeast and give them what they need, I promise they will award you with a tremendous result. Use good ingredients for good mead and follow what Bray suggests. You can't go wrong going that route.

 

[lhommedieu]

If we wanted to be "traditionalist" beer brewers, then we'd spread some barley in a rock crevice and wait a couple of weeks. Norsemen were known to put hallucinogens in their beer and mead as well. While I am not opposed to the practice, it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Be nice your yeast. Feed it.

 

[Chris_The_Rogue]

I've read that you can use a couple raisens in place of yeast neutrient, and a cup of strong black tea in place of tanin.

 

[Ganbei]

My Danish friends insist the real Viking method of making mead is by using water that has been filtered using straw that is soaked in the urine of a virgin.

So yea .. maybe using more modern methods is not a bad idea after all

 

[gratus fermentatio]

So here's my question...
My wife is getting into making mead. She made her first one using the J.A.O.M recipe. Came out great. Now, she wants to make a 4-5 gallon batch of mead or melomel. But, here's the thing. She's a bit of a traditionalist and doesn't really want to add any fermaid or acid blend or whatever else goes into mead making. She figures " they didn't have all that stuff during the Viking times, why do we need it?"
So my question is, do you really need to add any of that stuff to make a good mead? Is it possible just to mix water, honey, and other ingredients and have a mead turn out good? Thanks in advance

I started off thinking pretty much the same as your wife. I didn't want to use sulfites & various other chemicals, I wanted my mead to be as natural as possible. My 1st melomel developed a lactic bacteria infection & I had to try to save it. I ended up losing about 1/2 the batch to pure stupidity, but I did manage to save 3 gallons. Sulfites would've prevented this. It was very tasty after all the fusels aged out.

I didn't learn from that & ended up having to dump a total of 12 gallons of mead & cyser down the drain due to oxidation. Again, sulfites would've prevented that. Even the "cheap" honey isn't cheap & as I watched about $80 worth of ingredients go down the drain, I decided that the use of modern things like sulfites was actually a good thing if it meant I could have a much better success rate & avoid pouring money down the drain.

I still refuse to use sorbate (tastes nasty to me) & I haven't had any need to use fining agents, but I use sulfites, yeast nutrient/energizer & DAP (diammonium phosphate) in every batch of mead. I've used things like acid blend & tannin in wines, but never needed either with mead/melomel; though if I felt the need for either, I'd certainly use them.

It is certainly possible to get mead/melomel from the ancient methods, but it will take much longer, be of lower quality & you'll have a much lower success rate. The reason all these things were invented was to IMPROVE the quality & success rate in making mead/melomel/wine/etc...

You should make your mead/melomel the way you want, but I'd suggest that you compromise & use modern equipment, techniques & a limited amount of chemicals. At the very least, use sulfites (barring any allergies), yeast nutrient & DAP; everything else you can likely do without if you really feel the need, but those 3 things really can make the difference between success & failure.

Also, you might want to pick up a copy of this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381802...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_6ggthi0vmw_b

It really does help & will answer many questions, even some you haven't even thought to ask yet. I have a copy on my shelf & still refer to it from time to time. Hope this info helps & good luck on your mead/melomel.
Regards, GF.

 

[fuelish]

I guess if one wanted to keep it as "natural" as possible as far as nutrients, they could use some raisins and some boiled (killed) bread yeast as nutrients, but....commercial yeast nutrient is really the way to go, imho...consistent, reliable, generally predictable, good results....thems the only chemicals I add to my meads