Mead - the homebrew thread

[Jb123]

Should have racked again....stuff floating at the top makes me think it could be fermenting yet? Ive personally never had floaters when bottling...always sediment on the bottom, and not much of that at bottling. ( I’ve racked 4x before I was happy with clarity) who knows though?

 

[souredstouts]

Should have racked again....stuff floating at the top makes me think it could be fermenting yet? Ive personally never had floaters when bottling...always sediment on the bottom, and not much of that at bottling. ( I’ve racked 4x before I was happy with clarity) who knows though?

Yeah I think I should rack again. The couple bottles I did do I can see already some of the pieces that are floating starting to move down and sediment is moving down. Fermentation has completely stopped. I has been sitting on fruits since October. I really should follow directions with racking several times.

 

[Jb123]

Yeah I think I should rack again. The couple bottles I did do I can see already some of the pieces that are floating starting to move down and sediment is moving down. Fermentation has completely stopped. I has been sitting on fruits since October. I really should follow directions with racking several times.

Yeah, it helps. It’s a pain in the ass imo but always pays off. Especially with such a large investment that is mead making. Better to take the time.

 

[souredstouts]

Yeah, it helps. It’s a pain in the ass imo but always pays off. Especially with such a large investment that is mead making. Better to take the time.

I did a few different types and found that the whole pitted cherries wont need as much filtering as the raspberry/blackberry blend will. Should have seen that one coming.

 

[doobiegoobie]

Ended up making a big ol orange blossom mead tonight. The goal is to make sure it finishes sweet so I can blend with a stone fruit mead that's a little too dry. OG was 1.14 with a pH of 3.59 and I used 20g of 71B. I'm going to ferment at 62ish, and raise it over the next couple weeks to 68ish. I'll probably oak whatever I don't end up using to blend, or mixing it with something else.

 

[axeman91821]

I've got another batch of mango short mead fermenting away. Looking forward to doing some other short mead variants soon (I think Galaxy dry hopped is next), but I wanted an NHC entry and decided to stick with what I already know to work. Will also be making up a big batch of meadowfoam traditional mead this coming weekend. Plan will be to secondary the whole thing (5 gallons) on some oak, and then bottle some of it straight and rack the other half on coca nibs and coffee beans.

 

[Jb123]

I've got another batch of mango short mead fermenting away. Looking forward to doing some other short mead variants soon (I think Galaxy dry hopped is next), but I wanted an NHC entry and decided to stick with what I already know to work. Will also be making up a big batch of meadowfoam traditional mead this coming weekend. Plan will be to secondary the whole thing (5 gallons) on some oak, and then bottle some of it straight and rack the other half on coca nibs and coffee beans.

Ever used cocoa nibs with mead? Less is def more!

 

[axeman91821]

Ever used cocoa nibs with mead? Less is def more!

I have not, so you just anticipated a post I was going to make in about two months.

 

[Jb123]

I have not, so you just anticipated a post I was going to make in about two months.

I think I used 6oz in three gallons. I’d have to look at notes. Might be more , might be less. Whatever I used I would use less next time!

 

[mjohnson171]

Thread is lacking pictures.

Bottling a few small experimental batches

Strawberry PB&J mead.

Taste is nice. Lost a bit of the peanut flavor over the last few weeks, but it's definitely still there. I'm more sad that I lost any red color from the strawberries. I de-seeded the strawberries, which left more of the whiter center than the red outer skin. That coupled with adding the strawberries to primary seemed to have lost that red color I was going for. But the flavors are still there.

Thunder In Paradise: A Orange Blossom w/ Pineapple & Orange

Triple Cherry - A mix of sweet and tart cherries with vanilla.

Nice clarity for completely natural fining/filtering, i.e. no use of finings or filtering.

 

[elkhunter36]

Thread is lacking pictures.

Bottling a few small experimental batches

Red Currant, 2 Bochets and 2 Meadowfoams

 

[doobiegoobie]

How much vanilla do y'all use? I got a dry traditional I want to add a subtle vanilla character to. I got a couple of beans of Madagascar and Mexican vanilla but haven't decided how much to use yet

 

[pdurrrr]

How much vanilla do y'all use? I got a dry traditional I want to add a subtle vanilla character to. I got a couple of beans of Madagascar and Mexican vanilla but haven't decided how much to use yet

I like to use just over half a bean per gallon, but that definitely gives a strong vanilla flavor. For a subtle flavor I might use 1/4 of a bean per gallon.

Also I mostly use vanilla in melomels so it's got other strong flavors to compete with

Edit: after reading mjohnson17's post below, I thought it would be helpful to add that I usually give the vanilla about 1-2 months in secondary. Highly highly recommend getting a wine thief and tasting as it goes though

 

[mjohnson171]

How much vanilla do y'all use? I got a dry traditional I want to add a subtle vanilla character to. I got a couple of beans of Madagascar and Mexican vanilla but haven't decided how much to use yet

Depends. vanilla flavor will depend on not just the amount of beans, but things like the quality of beans, size, and duration of contact with the mead.

However to offer something actually useful, if you're looking for subtle vanilla I'd shoot for 1 beans per gallon for 2 weeks. Taste and if you want more leave in longer and/or add beans.

 

[doobiegoobie]

Thanks!

 

[axeman91821]

Is it just me or is Meadowfoam a particularly PITA honey to work with. Even with a much longer hot water bath than I normally give, the honey stayed fairly chunky and mixing it up was an absolute bitch.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

Is it just me or is Meadowfoam a particularly PITA honey to work with. Even with a much longer hot water bath than I normally give, the honey stayed fairly chunky and mixing it up was an absolute bitch.

I had trouble with my meadowmaple, but haven't worked with pure meadowfoam yet.

What yeast are you going with? I'm not thrilled with my results using a combo of 71B and D47. I feel like I want a less expressive yeast strain. I don't want fruity esters covering up the honey character.

 

[axeman91821]

I had trouble with my meadowmaple, but haven't worked with pure meadowfoam yet.

What yeast are you going with? I'm not thrilled with my results using a combo of 71B and D47. I feel like I want a less expressive yeast strain. I don't want fruity esters covering up the honey character.

I've only used 71B and it hasn't done me wrong yet, so stuck with that.

 

[pdurrrr]

Is it just me or is Meadowfoam a particularly PITA honey to work with. Even with a much longer hot water bath than I normally give, the honey stayed fairly chunky and mixing it up was an absolute bitch.

It's definitely not just you. On top of what I bought for brewing, I bought an extra 1 lbs container just to have on toast and stuff. Ended up throwing away the bottom portion of the bottle because it wouldn't liquefy no matter how long I left it in hot water

 

[wittyname1]

going to try a carrot cake mead today. I searched this thread for "carrot" and didn't see any results. Going for 1 gallon.

thoughts?

3 pounds honey, going to add to slow cooker and burn it a bit
1.3 pounds frozen carrot
40 oz fresh carrot juice (busted out the juicer I bought in 1992)
56 oz water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla bean
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 clove
1/2 pound raisins
EC-1118 because thats what I have on me
I also just boiled 1/2 cups pecans - not sure if I'll add the pecans or a bit of the water. I don't want it to be too nutty

I have no clue what to expect, but I just ate carrot cake, so.........why not.

 

[mjohnson171]

going to try a carrot cake mead today. I searched this thread for "carrot" and didn't see any results. Going for 1 gallon.

thoughts?

3 pounds honey, going to add to slow cooker and burn it a bit
1.3 pounds frozen carrot
40 oz fresh carrot juice (busted out the juicer I bought in 1992)
56 oz water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla bean
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 clove
1/2 pound raisins
EC-1118 because thats what I have on me
I also just boiled 1/2 cups pecans - not sure if I'll add the pecans or a bit of the water. I don't want it to be too nutty

I have no clue what to expect, but I just ate carrot cake, so.........why not.

Interesting. Keep us updated

 

[wittyname1]

Work gave me a $100 gift card for being awesome and I got to pick the store --- picked Whole Foods.

And here is the carrot cake mead. Started at 1.1 and now 1.012. I'm fighting the end of a cold plus its NC pollen season so I didn't even bother to taste it (won't have taste buds for another week) -- but I smell the cloves right away. 1/2 tsp per gallon may have been too much.

 

[moc5131]

Work gave me a $100 gift card for being awesome and I got to pick the store --- picked Whole Foods.


And here is the carrot cake mead. Started at 1.1 and now 1.012. I'm fighting the end of a cold plus its NC pollen season so I didn't even bother to taste it (won't have taste buds for another week) -- but I smell the cloves right away. 1/2 tsp per gallon may have been too much.

How did that Carrot Cake mead turn out?

 

[wittyname1]

How did that Carrot Cake mead turn out?

worst effin thing ever. there were so many things horribly wrong that I have a hard time singling out any particular one.
rancid alcohol. There is prison toilet booze that is better.
I going to ignore it for 6 months and try it again. I obviously messed up somewhere and have a couple ideas on what to do differently next time. I like the idea of it so why not give it another shot.

 

[moc5131]

worst effin thing ever. there were so many things horribly wrong that I have a hard time singling out any particular one.
rancid alcohol. There is prison toilet booze that is better.
I going to ignore it for 6 months and try it again. I obviously messed up somewhere and have a couple ideas on what to do differently next time. I like the idea of it so why not give it another shot.

That sucks. Been there myself

 

[abanton]

After reading through this thread over the last couple days I have an itch to give mead a shot. I've had a hard time committing the time to brewing beer over the last few years after having kids, but mead seems like much less of a time commitment up front. In an effort to give myself the best shot at a drinkable first mead, I wanted to throw my recipe out there to see if anyone thinks I'm way off with any of it.

3 gallon batch
12lbs clover honey
Bottled spring water to 3 gallon mark
12lbs organic raspberries
9 grams 71B-1122 yeast
SNA (DAP/Fermaid-O):
--pitch day: 2.4 grams/1.8 grams
--24 hrs: 1.2 grams/1.2 grams
--48hrs: 1.2 grams/1.2 grams
--72 hrs: 1.2 grams/1.2 grams

After primary for a month or so I'm going to rack it onto 12oz of organic montmorency tart cherry concentrate for x months until it tastes (fingers crossed) right for bottling.

Thanks and cheers.

 

[mjohnson171]

After reading through this thread over the last couple days I have an itch to give mead a shot. I've had a hard time committing the time to brewing beer over the last few years after having kids, but mead seems like much less of a time commitment up front. In an effort to give myself the best shot at a drinkable first mead, I wanted to throw my recipe out there to see if anyone thinks I'm way off with any of it.

3 gallon batch
12lbs clover honey
Bottled spring water to 3 gallon mark
12lbs organic raspberries
9 grams 71B-1122 yeast
SNA (DAP/Fermaid-O):
--pitch day: 2.4 grams/1.8 grams
--24 hrs: 1.2 grams/1.2 grams
--48hrs: 1.2 grams/1.2 grams
--72 hrs: 1.2 grams/1.2 grams

After primary for a month or so I'm going to rack it onto 12oz of organic montmorency tart cherry concentrate for x months until it tastes (fingers crossed) right for bottling.

Thanks and cheers.

Looks like a solid game plan to me.

 

[abanton]

****. Me.

Just got home to check on my first batch at the 24 hour mark and add nutrients. I was disappointed to see no activity in the airlock, then I realized I forgot to put the inner cover of the airlock over the tube, so it was exposed to the elements for the first 24 hours. I’m really hoping I didn’t just kill my chances here. Nutrients added, fingers crossed.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

****. Me.

Just got home to check on my first batch at the 24 hour mark and add nutrients. I was disappointed to see no activity in the airlock, then I realized I forgot to put the inner cover of the airlock over the tube, so it was exposed to the elements for the first 24 hours. I’m really hoping I didn’t just kill my chances here. Nutrients added, fingers crossed.

You’ll be fine. Don’t stress.

 

[abanton]

After reading through this thread over the last couple days I have an itch to give mead a shot. I've had a hard time committing the time to brewing beer over the last few years after having kids, but mead seems like much less of a time commitment up front. In an effort to give myself the best shot at a drinkable first mead, I wanted to throw my recipe out there to see if anyone thinks I'm way off with any of it.

3 gallon batch
12lbs clover honey
Bottled spring water to 3 gallon mark
12lbs organic raspberries
9 grams 71B-1122 yeast
SNA (DAP/Fermaid-O):
--pitch day: 2.4 grams/1.8 grams
--24 hrs: 1.2 grams/1.2 grams
--48hrs: 1.2 grams/1.2 grams
--72 hrs: 1.2 grams/1.2 grams

After primary for a month or so I'm going to rack it onto 12oz of organic montmorency tart cherry concentrate for x months until it tastes (fingers crossed) right for bottling.

Thanks and cheers.

Jumped in on this 5/1/18. 1.140 OG and when I checked tonight it’s at 1.006. The OG was pre-raspberry addition so I imagine the fruit and juices would have lowered the OG but I’m not sure by how much. It was super cloudy tonight and didn’t taste all that bad but I wouldn’t want much of it at this point.

I’m curious how much the cherry concentrate will affect it in secondary. Any pointers on how to prep the concentrate, if at all, before adding it to secondary once I get that far?