Mead - the homebrew thread

[mjohnson171]

We don't filter anything, don't boil, don't pasteurize, and don't add sulfites or sorbates. It's all ~14% ethanol, high acidity/low pH, world-class axenic technique, and hard work.

If you don't use sulfites or sorbate how do you ensure no active yeast? I 100% prescribe to Ken's philosophy. I don't use anything but the best ingredients I can find, no sorbates or sulfites, and I don't backsweeten. However I've noticed that I sometimes get a little carbonation after I bottle age some of my recipes. It's actually helped with the taste to have a slightly sparkling cranberry melomel. But with all that fermentabke sugar left with such high gravitates I'm curious.


I'll hang up and listen, thanks James.

 

[Naegerbomb]

If you don't use sulfites or sorbate how do you ensure no active yeast? I 100% prescribe to Ken's philosophy. I don't use anything but the best ingredients I can find, no sorbates or sulfites, and I don't backsweeten. However I've noticed that I sometimes get a little carbonation after I bottle age some of my recipes. It's actually helped with the taste to have a slightly sparkling cranberry melomel. But with all that fermentabke sugar left with such high gravitates I'm curious.


I'll hang up and listen, thanks James.

71B-1122 is also a big part of our style. it doesn't mind nutrient poor musts and ferments well, leaving 14% ethanol and a low pH. what yeasts do you use for your recipes? what ingredients? any idea what the finishing pH and alcohol are?

Additionally (and I hate to say it), cleanliness and sanitation are the weakest link in this chain. You have to be prepared to be mildly psychotic about potential sources of contamination -- most of them being the people you live and make mead with. There are some skills picked up over years of meadmaking (or working in a DNA lab) that can't be taught in a book or website. You just have to practice perfectly.

Don't be afraid to just toss something away (if it comes into contact with your mead or with something else that does) if it might be a source of contamination. If the sponge that you clean your fermentation bucket with looks at you funny, toss it. If your bucket isn't pearly white, toss it. If your carboy looks a bit schmutzy, toss it. Get a 100' roll of siphon tube and use a new tube for each racking. Some new pieces of meadmaking equipment represent a trivial expense compared to the cost of honey and fruit in a decently sized batch. I prefer equipment that you can boil/steam/autoclave. That makes me feel happy inside.

 

[mjohnson171]

71B-1122 is also a big part of our style. it doesn't mind nutrient poor musts and ferments well, leaving 14% ethanol and a low pH. what yeasts do you use for your recipes? what ingredients? any idea what the finishing pH and alcohol are?

Additionally (and I hate to say it), cleanliness and sanitation are the weakest link in this chain. You have to be prepared to be mildly psychotic about potential sources of contamination -- most of them being the people you live and make mead with. There are some skills picked up over years of meadmaking (or working in a DNA lab) that can't be taught in a book or website. You just have to practice perfectly.

Don't be afraid to just toss something away (if it comes into contact with your mead or with something else that does) if it might be a source of contamination. If the sponge that you clean your fermentation bucket with looks at you funny, toss it. If your bucket isn't pearly white, toss it. If your carboy looks a bit schmutzy, toss it. Get a 100' roll of siphon tube and use a new tube for each racking. Some new pieces of meadmaking equipment represent a trivial expense compared to the cost of honey and fruit in a decently sized batch. I prefer equipment that you can boil/steam/autoclave. That makes me feel happy inside.

I use either 71B or D47, sometimes both. And I'm a clean freak too, so I'm not worried about contamination. I found that time really is your friend because those yeasts are really slow to ferment that last bit. So it amazes me you're able to turn some big 14% melomel s in 3 months. Usually I need about 6 months just to let the last of the yeast feed and die off. Kudos to you guys.

I'll actually be in Detroit/Warren this Monday and Tuesday and bummed Schramms is closed. I would have loved to talk a little shop.

 

[Naegerbomb]

I use either 71B or D47, sometimes both. And I'm a clean freak too, so I'm not worried about contamination. I found that time really is your friend because those yeasts are really slow to ferment that last bit. So it amazes me you're able to turn some big 14% melomel s in 3 months. Usually I need about 6 months just to let the last of the yeast feed and die off. Kudos to you guys.

I'll actually be in Detroit/Warren this Monday and Tuesday and bummed Schramms is closed. I would have loved to talk a little shop.

tomorrow and Monday are my days off, but I'll be in the production facility 10-6 on Tuesday if you want to stop by. Just send me a quick note with your contact info: [email protected]. Nothing crazy going on, just shipping/receiving and sales scheduled that day - so we should be able to chat for a bit, provided the baboons behave...

 

[Beerontwowheels]

It's consistently around 1.100 FG. Yes, you read that right.

Batch 6 reading yesterday was 1.120. Mind blown.

 

[Beer guy Noah]

I'm brewing a pineapple coconut vanilla lime honey wine right now. I'd upload a pic but I don't know how to. It's not that pretty anyway. I'm using 1 pineapple. Decored and mostly skinned but I left about a tenth of the skin on for the yeasts. Also added 7oz unsweetened shredded coconut, ~12 oz piloncillo(mexican raw brown sugar it's great), 3/4 lbs raw local honey, the zest of 2 limes, 5 lime leaves off of my barren scrub, 1/6 vanilla bean and some wine yeast. It took off within minutes. 11 hours in and it's popping every second or so. It smells amazing.

 

[Beer guy Noah]

I'm brewing a pineapple coconut vanilla lime honey wine right now. I'd upload a pic but I don't know how to. It's not that pretty anyway. I'm using 1 pineapple. Decored and mostly skinned but I left about a tenth of the skin on for the yeasts. Also added 7oz unsweetened shredded coconut, ~12 oz piloncillo(mexican raw brown sugar it's great), 3/4 lbs raw local honey, the zest of 2 limes, 5 lime leaves off of my barren scrub, 1/6 vanilla bean and some wine yeast. It took off within minutes. 11 hours in and it's popping every second or so. It smells amazing.

It is a 1 gallon batch. I filled in the blanks with ozarka 'spring' water

 

[axeman91821]

Do you guys worry about oxygen pickup when you bottle your meads? I'm going to rack into a bottling bucket and bottle still, not sure if I should bother hooking the gas up on my Blichmann beer gun to purge the bottles before I fill them.

 

[mjohnson171]

Do you guys worry about oxygen pickup when you bottle your meads? I'm going to rack into a bottling bucket and bottle still, not sure if I should bother hooking the gas up on my Blichmann beer gun to purge the bottles before I fill them.

I've never had oxygen problems, In fact, I find a little oxygen helps mead; it typically opens the flavors up a bit, and rounds out the profiles. I wouldn't worry, especially if you're bottling still.

 

[orlowskd]

Mixed Berry Mead Question
Details:
Batch Size: 1 Gallon
-4.2# Wildflower Honey
-2.4# Frozen Berry Mix
-1.2# Frozen Strawberries...
-19.2oz Montmorency Cherry Juice
-0.6gal Spring Water
Yeast: 71B-1122
O.G. was over 35brix, it was above what my refractometer could read.

Its been fermenting for a little over three weeks now, is approaching terminal gravity, but I have lost a bunch of the jammy flavor that I am looking for.

What are my next steps to getting that flavor back? Do I need to add more whole fruit to secondary? Transfer to secondary and top off with juice?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Jb123]

Mixed Berry Mead Question
Details:
Batch Size: 1 Gallon
-4.2# Wildflower Honey
-2.4# Frozen Berry Mix
-1.2# Frozen Strawberries...
-19.2oz Montmorency Cherry Juice
-0.6gal Spring Water
Yeast: 71B-1122
O.G. was over 35brix, it was above what my refractometer could read.

Its been fermenting for a little over three weeks now, is approaching terminal gravity, but I have lost a bunch of the jammy flavor that I am looking for.

What are my next steps to getting that flavor back? Do I need to add more whole fruit to secondary? Transfer to secondary and top off with juice?

Thanks for any advice!

What volume of liquid donya think ya have now??? I've added fruit to secondary and it works fine just takes a little longer because it usually starts fermenting again. Adding juice isn't a bad idea especially to add volume!

 

[orlowskd]

Its hard to tell exactly how much liquid I have, but with the fruit and liquid it basically maxes out the 2 gallon bucket it's in.

 

[kscaldef]

When do folks usually stop doing punchdown? This is the first time I've done fruit in primary and in the past I've followed the advice to stop degassing after a week, but I've still got a substantial fruit cap. Should I keep punching it down, just not stirring?

 

[Naegerbomb]

When do folks usually stop doing punchdown? This is the first time I've done fruit in primary and in the past I've followed the advice to stop degassing after a week, but I've still got a substantial fruit cap. Should I keep punching it down, just not stirring?

You want to stop punching down after about a week max. You still want CO2 production to purge the headspace of oxygen, so that you don't have mold growth.

 

[kscaldef]

You want to stop punching down after about a week max. You still want CO2 production to purge the headspace of oxygen, so that you don't have mold growth.

Thanks! I've still got a good amount of airlock activity, so I'm looking good on the CO2 blanket I think.

 

[Naegerbomb]

Thanks! I've still got a good amount of airlock activity, so I'm looking good on the CO2 blanket I think.

You basically want to punch down as long as the fruit cap is acting as an insulative layer, raising the internal temp of the fermentation. Usually this is the first 3-7 days of primary.

 

[mjohnson171]

My Strawberry Vanilla mead finally ready for bottling!


Kinda bummed the vanilla turned what was a ruby colored mead a burnt orange color, but oh well.

 

[RunninMixz]

 

[RunninMixz]

My Strawberry Vanilla mead finally ready for bottling!


Kinda bummed the vanilla turned what was a ruby colored mead a burnt orange color, but oh well.

do you do all your own art and labels?

 

[moc5131]

My Strawberry Vanilla mead finally ready for bottling!


Kinda bummed the vanilla turned what was a ruby colored mead a burnt orange color, but oh well.

Love the labels....where did you get them?

 

[mjohnson171]

do you do all your own art and labels?

Yes, kinda. A website where you can choose from templates or upload your own image on a blank label. I've done both. Although you're typically restricted when you use templates.

Love the labels....where did you get them?

There's a bunch of websites out there where you can design your own labels. I Think this was a wine label site. GrogTag is nice too.

 

[mjohnson171]

Taste the rainbow.



It was a busy mead making weekend.

 

[lb304854]

Taste the rainbow.



It was a busy mead making weekend.

 

[orlowskd]

Anyone have a good resource for making mead starters? I usually just rehydrate and pitch, but I would assume there are advantages to a starter to build up cell count and improve yeast health.

 

[rcubed1]

Anyone have a good resource for making mead starters? I usually just rehydrate and pitch, but I would assume there are advantages to a starter to build up cell count and improve yeast health.

Perhaps similar for mead, but here's one done with beer: http://brulosophy.com/2016/12/05/ye...hydration-with-dry-yeast-exbeeriment-results/

 

[Beerontwowheels]

Anyone have a good resource for making mead starters? I usually just rehydrate and pitch, but I would assume there are advantages to a starter to build up cell count and improve yeast health.

Just use more packets of yeast rather than building a starter. Dry yeast is cheap. Naegerbomb had recommended 3 grams of yeast per gallon of mead when I chatted with him some months ago. I use three packages of yeast (total of 15g) per 5 gallon batch.

In terms of yeast health, I think rehydrating with go-ferm and staggering your nutrient additions (look up SNA - staggered nutrient additions) should keep your yeast generally happy. Industry folks are recommending Fermaid-K or Fermaid-O for nutrients.

 

[Naegerbomb]

Anyone have a good resource for making mead starters? I usually just rehydrate and pitch, but I would assume there are advantages to a starter to build up cell count and improve yeast health.

Just use more packets of yeast rather than building a starter. Dry yeast is cheap. Naegerbomb had recommended 3 grams of yeast per gallon of mead when I chatted with him some months ago. I use three packages of yeast (total of 15g) per 5 gallon batch.

In terms of yeast health, I think rehydrating with go-ferm and staggering your nutrient additions (look up SNA - staggered nutrient additions) should keep your yeast generally happy. Industry folks are recommending Fermaid-K or Fermaid-O for nutrients.

If you're hell-bent on using liquid yeast, make a pasteurized cider starter (there's more FAN in cider). Otherwise just use 3-5 grams per gallon (more if a higher starting OG) of healthy "dry" (lyophilized, refrigerated) yeast, properly rehydrated in Go-Ferm or Go-Ferm PE. For nutrients we use Fermaid-O and DAP - and our nutrient regimen is basically spelled out in Ken's latest Zymurgy article.

 

[orlowskd]

Thanks for the info!!! I will stick to the 3-5 grams per gallon!

 

[cannonboi]

Hey everyone -- quick question. Back in October I made a cyser with apple blossom honey. I know I wanted something that was fairly sweet, but between the honey sweetness and cider sweetness, I'm afraid its cloying.

Any recommendations on how to balance it out? I'm thinking about adding medium toast American oak soaked in Calvados to add some tannin and some LD Carlson acid blend. It'll be my first time using the latter, so open to any suggestions there either.

Thanks in advance!

 

[mjohnson171]

Hey everyone -- quick question. Back in October I made a cyser with apple blossom honey. I know I wanted something that was fairly sweet, but between the honey sweetness and cider sweetness, I'm afraid its cloying.

Any recommendations on how to balance it out? I'm thinking about adding medium toast American oak soaked in Calvados to add some tannin and some LD Carlson acid blend. It'll be my first time using the latter, so open to any suggestions there either.

Thanks in advance!

What's your gravity? Had fermentation completed? If not there's a good chance it will dry out.