Mead - the homebrew thread

[mjohnson171]

No wrong or right way, will just taste different. Try different batches with different addition timings to see what you like best

This. I've done it both ways. Both make delicious meads. Personally I'm more partial to the Schramm's method of fruit in primary, but that's just me.

 

[quirkzoo1]

After going through this thread I have 2 questions (and probably more when I start myself)

1) Do you use tap water or bottled water?

2) Do you ferment in plastic or glass jars? I heard plastic jars can let air through and turns the mead into vinegar?

1 - Tap water will likely have some minerals that will help fermentation (e.g. Calcium) however if you don't know what is in your water it could also have things that will contribute off flavors (chloramines...). Honey does not have everything yeast needs to be healthy so you should be using a yeast nutrient anyway. In light of this using bottled water is going to give you a clean start and control over what you are adding.

2 - Yes some plastics have more permeability than glass however plenty of people make good mead in plastic. In regards to turning the mead into vinegar that would only happen if you don't have good sanitation and that can happen in glass just as much as in plastic. In the end plastic vs. glass is mostly personal preference. Plastic - lighter, easier to handle, won't shatter, can get scratched on the interior making it harder to clean and more likely to lead to infection, might let small amounts of oxygenation in. Glass - heavier, can shatter, inert, less likely to scratch on the interior and harbor wild yeast or bacteria, not oxygen permeable (although you will need to have some sort of airlock which is not glass and therefore is oxygen permeable).

For your first batch, I would suggest using bottled water and picking up a one gallon glass jar. One gallon of mead is not much but it will let you know if you enjoy making your own.

 

[sliverx]

Question: Where do you add the fruits? During primary or secondary fermentation? Schramm's adds all fruit in primary but most home mead makers seem to add only during secondary?

Schramm's is required by law to add fruit in primary for some reason.

 

[belvedere86]

Most carboys I can find are + 3 gallon. Can i fill them for 1 gallon? Or would the extra space/oxygen in the carboy cause problems?

 

[quirkzoo1]

Most carboys I can find are + 3 gallon. Can i fill them for 1 gallon? Or would the extra space/oxygen in the carboy cause problems?

Usually a 1 gallon glass "carboy" is just called a jug, any homebrew store worth its salt should have them.

I just realized you are in Belgium, not sure how this might complicate things but a homebrew store should have something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064O8Z76/?tag=talkbecom09-20

Here in the United States you can even find some juices (usually apple juice) that are sold in these types of containers.

You don't want to have too much headspace above your fermenting wort as that can cause oxidation and staling.

 

[belvedere86]

Found some 5l glass jugs that i will use. Ordered my equipment. Now it's time to find some honey and wait till my yeast and nutrients arrive from the UK.

 

[belvedere86]

Made the must today. Used a plastic brewkettle for primary cause otherwise it would be a pain to add nutrients and degas and so in a glass jug.

Potential abv: 15%.

What's the purpose of a hydrometer? Cause if you use the wrong yeast it will never hit 15% for example...

Now let's hope it starts fermenting.

 

[jivex5k1]

So it's been over two months now for my first mead and it's still bubbling. I shook it up to degas it two nights ago, it seemed to stop the activity completely at first but I checked it this morning and it's back to slowly bubbling.

It's still too sweet but it's developing a tart acidity and is less sweet than a month ago. Wonder how long these brett strains will keep working.

 

[quirkzoo1]

Made the must today. Used a plastic brewkettle for primary cause otherwise it would be a pain to add nutrients and degas and so in a glass jug.

Potential abv: 15%.

What's the purpose of a hydrometer? Cause if you use the wrong yeast it will never hit 15% for example...

Now let's hope it starts fermenting.

A hydrometer is measuring the density of the liquid (most home brewers use the "specific gravity" scale but there are others that are more common in professional brewing "Plato" and winemaking "brix"). Sugar is more dense than water so a hydrometer reading will tell you how much sugar is in the must. Yeast consume the sugar and produce alcohol and CO2. By measuring the gravity at the beginning and at the end of fermentation you can have a reasonably close estimation of alcohol content and residual sugar.

 

[belvedere86]

Do you guys degas? I used a whisk and there was a lot of foam coming up this morning. Did it again this evening but now there was almost none. I did hear a lot of gas escape when i opened the brewkettle...

I only use 1/3 of the kettle so there is a lot of headspace... is that a concern?

 

[pdurrrr]

Do you guys degas? I used a whisk and there was a lot of foam coming up this morning. Did it again this evening but now there was almost none. I did hear a lot of gas escape when i opened the brewkettle...

I only use 1/3 of the kettle so there is a lot of headspace... is that a concern?

Yep I degas for the first 6ish days.

Also for primary that shouldn't be too big of an issue with the CO2 pushing most of the oxygen out, i'd use a smaller carboy for secondary though.

 

[RunninMixz]

So it's been over two months now for my first mead and it's still bubbling. I shook it up to degas it two nights ago, it seemed to stop the activity completely at first but I checked it this morning and it's back to slowly bubbling.

It's still too sweet but it's developing a tart acidity and is less sweet than a month ago. Wonder how long these brett strains will keep working.

I'm nearly 3 months and its still going also.

 

[axeman91821]

Has anybody made a bochet before? Last night was my homebrew club's annual mead meeting, and somebody brought a bochet that was made was chocolate, vanilla beans, and sea salt. Absolutely spectacular. I may have to give this mead thing a shot.

 

[rcubed1]

I haven't but it's amazing how chocolate you can get from (nearly?) boiling honey.

 

[bum732]

Don't know if this has been asked yet, but does anyone monitor their pH during fermentation and/or make adjustments?

 

[belvedere86]

Hmm is it normal that the airlock isn't showing any activity after 9 days of fermentation? I degassed 2 days ago (and I'm using a 30L brew kettle which I only used for 1/3).

I'll check gravity tonight. I assume when it's around 1-1.05 primary fermentation is over?

 

[RunninMixz]

Hmm is it normal that the airlock isn't showing any activity after 9 days of fermentation? I degassed 2 days ago (and I'm using a 30L brew kettle which I only used for 1/3).

I'll check gravity tonight. I assume when it's around 1-1.05 primary fermentation is over?

For the airlock to bubble the empty part of the carboy needs to be filled with CO2 if you just degassed 2 days ago then you let all the built up CO2 escape. Now it needs time to build up again.

 

[belvedere86]

For the airlock to bubble the empty part of the carboy needs to be filled with CO2 if you just degassed 2 days ago then you let all the built up CO2 escape. Now it needs time to build up again.

this could be the case but a few dags ago I also degassed and 2h later there was airlock activity. But the later in the fermantion process to longer it probably takes for the airlock to bubble. Will see in a few days how it turns out.

 

[belvedere86]

After 2 weeks in primary fermentation gravity is 1010. Also still no airlock activity. Does this mean I can transfer into smaller carboy and add the fruit?

 

[Beerontwowheels]

After 2 weeks in primary fermentation gravity is 1010. Also still no airlock activity. Does this mean I can transfer into smaller carboy and add the fruit?

I'd say yeah. Go for it.

 

[EliotRosewater]

Finally jumped into meadmaking after having thought about it for way too long. Ended up making 4 gallons that I split into four one gallon batches. Hit 1.138 and fermentation was going strong this morning. Thanks to all for the awesome info in this thread!



From left to right: blueberry; raspberry; cherry; cherry/raspberry.

 

[EliotRosewater]

So anyone have some recommendations for punching down fruit using carboys?

 

[Snarf1]

So anyone have some recommendations for punching down fruit using carboys?

Top of racking cane if you can fit it on there. Some glass carboys are too small.

 

[mjohnson171]

So anyone have some recommendations for punching down fruit using carboys?

Top of racking cane if you can fit it on there. Some glass carboys are too small.

This. Or anything long and skinny enough to fit through the neck. I've used all sorts of random stuff, thermometer probe, racking cane, a long cocktail spoon, whatever. As long as it's sanitized anything works.

 

[EliotRosewater]

Top of racking cane if you can fit it on there. Some glass carboys are too small.

This. Or anything long and skinny enough to fit through the neck. I've used all sorts of random stuff, thermometer probe, racking cane, a long cocktail spoon, whatever. As long as it's sanitized anything works.

Thanks guys. I've been using my degasser whip with moderate success. Side note: next time I'll be using a blow off tube and not filling the carboys so full. Several blow offs and fruit all over the place.

 

[belvedere86]

I'm going to add fruit (strawberry and blueberry) to the mead. Do I need to sanitize those? The blueberries are frozen. Strawberries are fresh. I had the idea to wash them in hot water with starsan (the one with no foam).

good idea or are there better options?

 

[RunninMixz]

I'm going to add fruit (strawberry and blueberry) to the mead. Do I need to sanitize those? The blueberries are frozen. Strawberries are fresh. I had the idea to wash them in hot water with starsan (the one with no foam).

good idea or are there better options?

Just rinse & freeze the fresh first. The frozen, thaw & rinse. Just IMO

 

[Beerontwowheels]

I'm planning on mixing up a black currant mead in the next few weeks (down to my last bottle of Black Agnes!). Going to be using RW Knudsen's Just Black Currant juice. I'm thinking somewhere between 3 quarts and a full gallon of juice for a 5 - 5.5 gallon batch.

Does anyone think a full gallon of juice will be too much? Planning on about 18-20 lbs of honey, so I think it should be sweet enough to balance the acidity from the juice.

In other mead making news, I just KEGGED a 16.5% cranberry mead. I plan to serve it sparkling. This may kill me.

 

[RunninMixz]

I'm planning on mixing up a black currant mead in the next few weeks (down to my last bottle of Black Agnes!). Going to be using RW Knudsen's Just Black Currant juice. I'm thinking somewhere between 3 quarts and a full gallon of juice for a 5 - 5.5 gallon batch.

Does anyone think a full gallon of juice will be too much? Planning on about 18-20 lbs of honey, so I think it should be sweet enough to balance the acidity from the juice.

In other mead making news, I just KEGGED a 16.5% cranberry mead. I plan to serve it sparkling. This may kill me.

Im more of a still mead fan, but either way cranberry mead sounds awesome. I kicked the last of the cranberry at Schramms Saturday

 

[Beerontwowheels]

Im more of a still mead fan, but either way cranberry mead sounds awesome. I kicked the last of the cranberry at Schramms Saturday

Same here but this batch is pretty damn sweet. I'm hoping the carbonation helps that aspect.