New to Mead

[gauthierk]

I got a recipe from a book and it's going to be my first attempt at a mead. This is the recipe.

3.0lb honey added to kettle
.5 lb pale crystal malt, steeped, then removed before boil
.75loz citric acid, added to kettle
10.lb honey, added to kettle as soon as boil is finished

hops
1.5 oz spalt@4% AA 60min
1.5 oz spalt@4% AA end of boil.

Yield 5gallons
Gravity: 1.100
A/V 10%/13%
Bitterness 23 IBU's

My questions.


How much water do I add to the kettle for the 3lb of honey/grains etc to end up with my 5gallon yield?

Do I add the 3lb of honey at the beginning before I start the fire with the steeping grains and citric acid or do I add it when the water starts to boil?

Should I prime and carbonate a little or is it a no no?

 

[homebrewer_99]

Technically, you are making a Braggot, not mead, when you add grains.

If you really want to make a mead you should stick to a mead recipe.

Have you ever had mead? Was it sweet or dry? Fruit flavored?

If you have never had mead before then I would wholeheartedly recommend you make a plain old straight mead then split it to make 2 meads.

Better yet, if you have 5 or 6 - 1 gal jugs then split it into 5-6 different flavored meads from one batch (fruits should go into the secondaries so leave room for re-fermentation.

Of course if you want a sweet mead you'll have to use a sweet mead yeast. Same goes for a dry mead.

 

[Cheesefood]

Speaking of yeasts, I used the Wyeast Dry Mead yeast, and I can't tell if the mead tastes yeasty or meady. I've never had mead before, so I have no reference.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Speaking of yeasts, I used the Wyeast Dry Mead yeast, and I can't tell if the mead tastes yeasty or meady. I've never had mead before, so I have no reference.

How much honey can you taste? None? Then you're probably tasting yeast...OK, technically, alcohol!

 

[gauthierk]

I've had mead before and it was a sweet mead. I had a braggot before and I liked it also. I've been brewing alot of beer lately and decided to buy 15 pounds of honey and give it a whirl... I have the sweet mead yeast and my grains and hops ready. I was just confused about how much water to put into my 7.5 gallon stock pot before I started boiling... I'll be doing my primary fermentation in a 6.5 gallon carboy and conditioning in a 5 gallon. Once I get my first mead down, I'm gonna experiment with fruits and so fourth.

 

[NurseNan]

So do you plan to make a mead after you make this braggot?

 

[gauthierk]

More than likely. I have converted the guest bed room in my apartment to a "toy" room. Toy's including space for four more carboys. I want to have one mead to two beers going at a time. The braggot really is to give me a good initial challenge. I"ll probably make a regular mead after I drop this one into a secondary. What's a good ingredient list for a run of the mill mead?

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've had mead before and it was a sweet mead. I had a braggot before and I liked it also. I've been brewing alot of beer lately and decided to buy 15 pounds of honey and give it a whirl... I have the sweet mead yeast and my grains and hops ready. I was just confused about how much water to put into my 7.5 gallon stock pot before I started boiling... I'll be doing my primary fermentation in a 6.5 gallon carboy and conditioning in a 5 gallon. Once I get my first mead down, I'm gonna experiment with fruits and so fourth.

Just remember that your 1 gal (what's that, like 12.5 lbs?) of honey has VOLUME...meaning 1 gal of water and 1 gal of honey equals 2 gals.

 

[NurseNan]

Just remember that your 1 gal (what's that, like 12.5 lbs?) of honey has VOLUME...meaning 1 gal of water and 1 gal of honey equals 2 gals.

I'd hate to have to try to ferment that one out......1/2 honey, 1/2 water....wonder what the OG on that would be?

 

[homebrewer_99]

That was just an example in reference to the size of the brew pot.

 

[NurseNan]

yeah, but imagine the potential....mind you, the ferment might take 2 years, LOL

 

[gauthierk]

It's been a little over three weeks and I just transferred to a 5 gallon conditioner... I took some out to try it and OMG... It's tasting awsome... I'm still getting 1 bubble per 3 seconds so fermentation is going strong... About how long does it normally take before the fermentation is completed and it's safe to put into bottles for ageing??? I was planning on giving away a bunch of 8oz bottles as christmas gifts... Is that possible???

 

[EvilTOJ]

I'd hate to have to try to ferment that one out......1/2 honey, 1/2 water....wonder what the OG on that would be?

It'd be 1.209 with 29% ABV if some super yeast were able to ferment it down to 1.000