Mead newbie questions

[Golddiggie]

At this point, I think you're pretty locked into either of two paths... Either add more honey later (you can do it a pound at a time, if that's easier financially) or try to stabilize it. I'm staying clear of stabilizing since if you don't do it right, you'll still get fermentation to kick off again. Where if you simply keep adding more honey until you hit the limit of the yeast, it will go still. IF you want this carbonated (I wouldn't for my first batch) then you want some yeast left alive when you bottle it. But, you'll have to just let it age to mellow out some of the dryness.

I decided that my initial mead batches would be as strong as I could make them. So, I made sure to get enough honey to get the job done. Of course, that also means that they'll be in process for a bit longer than if I had gone for lower ABV values. But, I figure why not go big, right?

I would go and biotch slap those ******s at the LHBS...

 

[newbee17]

Yeh i tink im snookered,
I tink ill add a pound at a time as far as finances go.
How would i work out how much alcohol i end up at as the gravity will be changing all the time?
i have this batch in 3 1gal containers as i can only get either 1or5gal carboys i chose to use the 3 as i tought there would be to much head space inda 5gal carboy,so should i empty all them back into bucket then add honey then seperate them again to get them equal or just add honey the way theey are and hope for the best?

Yeh i would usually jump at chance to make bigger and stronger batch but honey here is so expensive its about 7euro for 2lbs.

 

[Golddiggie]

I would get a 3 gallon carboy and rack it all into there as soon as possible. Since you just started the batch, the yeast should still be in suspension, so you'll not lose much, if any...

I would simply use the calculator from the Got Mead? main pages... Enter in your current volume, how much honey you added, and adjust the sugar % until it matches your OG reading... It might be easier to just take a SG reading before you add more honey, so you know what it is, then add another pound, give it 4-7 days, and take another reading... After a couple of pounds, I would just wait until it gets to a low SG reading, and add a little at a time (maybe 4oz)... I would also avoid mixing it with water, or more than a small amount of warm water (keep it under 85F)... You could just get what you can from the bottle/jar into the carboy, and use a small amount of water to get the rest out. That way most of what you're adding is honey.

I would keep in mind, that 6# of honey is about 1/2 gallon in volume. So, be careful with how much you've added. It will really help once you get it all into a single vessel/carboy...

Really good honey here is about $7/POUND... That's local honey too. I can get some other honey, for a bit less, but that depends on the harvest and such.

If you get 2# containers of the honey, add one first, then let it ferment... See where it's at and go from there...

You could get about 10-14 gravity points per pound of honey, if you use the same batch/harvest that you used initially. That's for a 2.5 gallon total volume size though. 2 pounds should get you over 1.100 for the OG...

IF you just add honey until it stops fermenting, you can pretty much assume you've hit 18% ABV, or damned close to it...

 

[newbee17]

I would get a 3 gallon carboy and rack it all into there as soon as possible. Since you just started the batch, the yeast should still be in suspension, so you'll not lose much, if any...

I would simply use the calculator from the Got Mead? main pages... Enter in your current volume, how much honey you added, and adjust the sugar % until it matches your OG reading... It might be easier to just take a SG reading before you add more honey, so you know what it is, then add another pound, give it 4-7 days, and take another reading... After a couple of pounds, I would just wait until it gets to a low SG reading, and add a little at a time (maybe 4oz)... I would also avoid mixing it with water, or more than a small amount of warm water (keep it under 85F)... You could just get what you can from the bottle/jar into the carboy, and use a small amount of water to get the rest out. That way most of what you're adding is honey.

I would keep in mind, that 6# of honey is about 1/2 gallon in volume. So, be careful with how much you've added. It will really help once you get it all into a single vessel/carboy...

Really good honey here is about $7/POUND... That's local honey too. I can get some other honey, for a bit less, but that depends on the harvest and such.

If you get 2# containers of the honey, add one first, then let it ferment... See where it's at and go from there...

You could get about 10-14 gravity points per pound of honey, if you use the same batch/harvest that you used initially. That's for a 2.5 gallon total volume size though. 2 pounds should get you over 1.100 for the OG...

IF you just add honey until it stops fermenting, you can pretty much assume you've hit 18% ABV, or damned close to it...

Yeh that price isnt bad as the only honey i can get is store processed an only 1to choose prom have been trying to find local honey but no joy i dont tink it exists here

Ive looked everywere for a 3gal fermenter but i dont tink theres a demand for them on this side of the pond and if i get them from that side of the pond the shipping would kill me.

So i just have to be very carful and add a little at a time and not just trow a load in

 

[Golddiggie]

See if you can locate some 3 gallon water bottles that are #1 PET plastic (they'll have a '1' inside the recycle symbol on the bottom)... You can use one of those...

 

[newbee17]

Has anybody ever made a really good mead that doesn't have to age for the best of a year??

If anybody has done this please share the secret.

 

[Golddiggie]

Lower OG, lower ABV usually makes for a quicker mead... Use fast fermenting yeast, step feed it, aerate it properly, etc... Also put it at a good temp to ferment fast. The lower ABV is most important though, IMO, since there will be less 'hot' flavor to age out. If you stabilize it (killing and removing the yeast) you can then back sweeten it to get it better sooner.

Still, mead will improve with age. Something that's good now, can become great just a year or two later. IMO, you're better off giving mead the time it needs to become great, instead of trying to rush it. At least until you've got the entire process nailed and can dial it in so that you do get it good when young...

 

[newbee17]

Yeh you have a point there.

The reason I ask is that I was talking to a honey supplier about 200km from me an I was telling him what I was making and he said he would be interested in tasting it and if it is good he will talk numbers with me and look at putting it in his shop as part of his products.bt I told him I'm only starting and takes a year to age so that it wouldn't be anytime soon.

Was kinda hoping there was another way of doing this.

 

[Golddiggie]

Depending on the recipe, and how it tastes now, I would just wait until it's getting really good before letting him try some... See if you can get some better priced honey from him and make a couple of batches with it. Use a couple different yeast strains (I would use Lalvin) and make the batches with different OG's so that they will go to dry before you back-sweeten a touch. This would also help you learn more about how different yeasts used in making mead impact flavors. Make either 1 or 3 gallon batches, depending on how much honey he gives you. If you can get a full gallon (US gallons of honey are 12# worth typically) then you'll have enough for several batches. Figure 2-4# of honey per batch. I would also start them in buckets initially, going to about 5 quarts. Once fermentation is complete, then rack into jugs for aging.

 

[newbee17]

This could be a stupid question bt what is 5 quarts??.

Yeh ill talk to him during the week and ask him what the best price he can give me as his prices are already fairly good 1kg 4.50euro or 1.5kg 6.00euro for wildflower honey.

Either way I tink ill have to get sum and start a few batches like you said to learn as much as I can as quick as possible without rushing it 2 much so that the quality doesn't suffer as that's the main thing.

Thanks for your help

 

[Golddiggie]

This could be a stupid question bt what is 5 quarts??

For real?? I suppose you could use a conversion program to see that 1 quart = .946L... Or just go with ~4.75L total volume..

Yeh ill talk to him during the week and ask him what the best price he can give me as his prices are already fairly good 1kg 4.50euro or 1.5kg 6.00euro for wildflower honey.

Either way I tink ill have to get sum and start a few batches like you said to learn as much as I can as quick as possible without rushing it 2 much so that the quality doesn't suffer as that's the main thing.

Thanks for your help

Making more batches with the different yeasts, as well as getting the honey to water ratio figured out to hit your desired OG helps. It can get a bit tricky to get the mix right, unless you use one of the calculators to get you close... I would target an OG that would allow the yeast to ferment to dry, then add more honey as you want. You could also go the stabilization route, if you wanted to. Just means more work to do with more processes to get to [basically] the same end result. Letting a higher ABV mead age will typically get rid of the 'hot' characteristics/flavors if present... It only took about a month (maybe 1-1/2 months) for my blackberry melomel to go from HOT to nice... I'm still bulk aging it though... I'm planning on checking on it again to see how the flavors are... IF it's about ready for bottles, then I'll bottle it up. Then it's just a matter of deciding when it's ready for drinking... I'm more inclined, though, to let it go in bulk until it's damned close to ready for bottles/drinking before putting it into bottles...

 

[newbee17]

Just made my first mead today

6# honey
2gal water(9ltrs)
Lalvin k1-v1116
SG-1.080

I was hoping for a sg of 1.115 but i tink i added to much water
as its my first time ill take note of it and learn for next time

Would i be right in assuming this is gonna be really dry??
Will some sweetness come back with age or will it go to dry for that??
As mead isnt availible here in shops dnt really no what to expect just like the sound of it

Critasism welcome

I didn't add any extra honey to this mead as I prob should have I decided to leave it go dry then leave it to age for as long as I can resist maybe 9months to a year hopfully.
Racked into secondary 2day
Gravity reading was 1000
I tink I could run my car off this stuff but hopfully it will improve with time