I made a mead today. I used 10 pounds of wild flower honey and enough water to make 5 gallons. Here is the exact process, I hope this works:
Sanitized all equipment.
Add 3 gallons filtered tap water to 6 gallon carboy.
Add 5 teaspoons Fermax yeast nutrient.
Hydrate two 5 gram packets of Lalvin D-47 yeast in 1.5 cups of 107F water for 15 minutes.
Add 10 pounds of wild flower honey (it was a little grainy, but still free-flowing).
Shake carboy to mix well.
Top off with additional filtered tap water to five gallons.
Pitch hydrated yeast.
Aerate for 45 minutes with aquarium pump and SS stone.
Measured OG was 1.076 at 60F. I hope that is not too low.
I think this should result in a fairly dry mead. As soon as I find a good source of raw unfiltered Orange Blossom honey for a reasonable price, I'm going to start another mead using 15lb of honey and Lalvin 71B-1122, like the basic recipe that Ken Schramm gives in his "The Complete Meadmaker". I may make that same recipe twice, and use one of the batches to make a metheglin with nutmeg and chamomile.
It's a pity that mead requires such lengthy aging. It'll be at least 6 months before I get to taste this, and probably a year before it is really drinkable.
Sanitized all equipment.
Add 3 gallons filtered tap water to 6 gallon carboy.
Add 5 teaspoons Fermax yeast nutrient.
Hydrate two 5 gram packets of Lalvin D-47 yeast in 1.5 cups of 107F water for 15 minutes.
Add 10 pounds of wild flower honey (it was a little grainy, but still free-flowing).
Shake carboy to mix well.
Top off with additional filtered tap water to five gallons.
Pitch hydrated yeast.
Aerate for 45 minutes with aquarium pump and SS stone.
Measured OG was 1.076 at 60F. I hope that is not too low.
I think this should result in a fairly dry mead. As soon as I find a good source of raw unfiltered Orange Blossom honey for a reasonable price, I'm going to start another mead using 15lb of honey and Lalvin 71B-1122, like the basic recipe that Ken Schramm gives in his "The Complete Meadmaker". I may make that same recipe twice, and use one of the batches to make a metheglin with nutmeg and chamomile.
It's a pity that mead requires such lengthy aging. It'll be at least 6 months before I get to taste this, and probably a year before it is really drinkable.