New to mead

[duds]

I am attempting my first mead tomorrow. I have 12 lbs of clover honey, and Lavin EC-1118 yeast. Which I now understand is for a dry type of wine. How can I keep it more on the semi sweet side? Doing a five gallon batch.

 

[Complete_Amateur]

I am attempting my first mead tomorrow. I have 12 lbs of clover honey, and Lavin EC-1118 yeast. Which I now understand is for a dry type of wine. How can I keep it more on the semi sweet side? Doing a five gallon batch.

Back sweetening is the only, truly reliable way to ensure a sweet mead without stressing the yeast by overloading with sugar up front, or step-feeding (even then might end up dry or stalled). You could try cold-crashing and stabilizing once you have a level of sweetness you like.

Another option is to use a different yeast with a lower attenuation and/or alcohol tolerance. I have had good results with both Irish Ale and Nottingham though the Nottingham gave me an extremely dry product from an OG of 1.09, and I had to back sweeten anyway.

 

[LexusChris]

In addition, you could also ensure that your OG is high enough that when your yeast poops out around 18% ABV, it finishes in the 1.018-1.022 area... or higher if you want more sweetness.

With only 12# of honey, I would normally be thinking of a 3 gal. batch or so.. but I'd run the OG numbers through Beersmith or something. If you had an OG of 1.150, and let the yeast peter out at 18%, your finishing should be around 1.018.

12# of honey in 2.75 gallons of water should get you close to 1.150 OG...

Or you could switch to D-47 which maxes out at 14%, and has a nice mead profile.

Good luck!
--LexusChris

 

[duds]

Thanks for the help guys. Toned it down to three gallons. Not very happy with my OG. 1.080. Is it ok to add more honey during the primary fermentation?

 

[bernardsmith]

Thanks for the help guys. Toned it down to three gallons. Not very happy with my OG. 1.080. Is it ok to add more honey during the primary fermentation?

why not? But dissolve the honey in some water to help ensure that it is fully dispersed in your fermenter.

 

[duds]

Should I add it all at once? Or maybe over time?

 

[bmwr75]

I'd add it all at once and let the yeast eat at it's leisure.

 

[duds]

Again, thanks guys. I'm an amateur beer brewer. But have never done a mead. Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

 

[Burleyman]

Hi. Me and my wife are starting our first batch soon she got me the whole kit together. There was a book that seams very helpful to figure this out " The complete guide to making your wine at home". I hope everything goes well.

 

[On-target]

If you are going with 3 gallons and 12 pounds of honey your OG should be higher. Honey can be tough to disolve. You might want to give it a real good stir and check the gravity again.

 

[imasickboy]

Or you could switch to D-47 which maxes out at 14%, and has a nice mead profile.

Good luck!
--LexusChris

+1 on the D-47

It makes a great sweeter mead. I use it often. Good for braggots, also.

 

[LexusChris]

Since the topic is 'New to Mead', I would also comment that fermenting mead is different than fermenting beer. Beer tends to have lower starting gravity and a lot more nutrients for the yeast while they feast on the fermentables!

A mead must (akin to beer wort) is far less nutrient rich, and at the higher OG makes for a tougher environment for them to get going. Regardless of the nutrient regimen you decide to follow, ensure that you get the nutrients in there, and stir your lees (mead) twice a day until the first 1/3 of the sugar has fermented. This could take a few weeks!

If you are not setup to stir the lees with a long stir spoon or lees stirrer, at least shake your carboy well twice a day, to keep the tired yeast in suspension.

I agree with On-Target. Your OG should be higher with 12# of honey in 3 gallons of water. Closer to 1.130 or so. More stirring will help you get the honey dissolved for a better reading. However, even if you do not, the yeast will consume all the honey on the bottom eventually .. but it does help to know your starting gravity.

Good luck!
--LexusChris

 

[RegarRenill]

All of this is good advise, but my main question is he strong of a beverage do you want? 12# of honey in a 5 gal batch will yield a SG 0f 1.090, which is roughly 11.7-12% PABV. 12# in 3 gal yields 1.134 or 17.6% PABV. Your yeast'a rated tolerance is 18%, so you're still most likely going to need to stabilize an sweeten to your preferred level. My advise is to decide how strong you want the alcohol to be, add honey to reach that level, then stabilize and sweeten to your desired level. Takes the guess work out of the equation.

 

[duds]

Hey man, you mentioned "back " sweetening" my first ever mead. If it isn't sweet enough for me how do I do that?