New to mead

[HerWolfie2817]

Hello, I have just a couple quick questions regarding my first batch I'm getting ready to prep and I'm not sure if I can just go ahead and just use some of the spring water I bought for rehydrating the dry yeast I bought (71b-1122)
I intended to make a cyser for a first 3 gallon batch with around 1 1/2-2 gallons organic apple juice and 5-5 1/2 lbs of clover honey. I did want to aim for either a sweet or semi sweet mead with this recipe. I bought the spring water to fill it up further if it needed it. I'd rather not use the tap water here because we've been using Brita filters in an effort to reduce the chlorine taste it seems to be having lately 😒 just to be on the safe side and it not ruin my yeast. I already know I'm gonna be cold crashing it once fermentation is done simply because I intended to give some to my sister for Christmas and she's got an allergy to sulfites be easier if I could just go that route but eh...

 

[porterpounder]

Take a half cup of the spring water, microwave it to a boil then let it sit covered lightly with aluminum foil until it cools to the recommended rehydration temp. You can use an ice bath to cool quicker. That way you'll know the yeast is in a more sanitary environment to start with.

 

[TandemTails]

I would highly suggest NOT trying to turn around a mead/cyser in about a month. Honey wine is a long term project and if you want to bottle most meads in just over a month, you're looking for trouble.

That being said, if you want to have a sweet cyser without using sulfites you'll have to do one of the following:

* Use more honey than the yeast is capable of converting to alcohol. 71b can convert up to around 14-15%. Estimating with 2 gallons of cider (~1.045sg) and 1 gallon of water you'd need at least 8 pounds of honey just to reach the limit of the yeast. This will taste like jet fuel if you plan on bottling it for a christmas present.

* Bottle it before it's fully fermented and pasteurize the bottles before fermentation continues. Pasteurizing will kill the yeast, leaving the residual sugars behind.

You can also do a google search for 'BOMM' (Bray's one month mead). It's a tried and true recipe for a relatively quick mead. I think he has some variants that include apple juice too.

 

[HerWolfie2817]

Oh I already told them they wouldn't be able to drink it for awhile. In general from what I was reading this particular yeast can ferment in about 4-6 weeks. I did let them know that it might not be ready before then. I was gonna make absolutely sure that it's done fermenting before I bottle any of it. Also from what I'd read generally a cyser (not cider) was usually 1-2 lbs of honey per gallon of apple juice mostly due to the added sugar from the juice itself

 

[HerWolfie2817]

Take a half cup of the spring water, microwave it to a boil then let it sit covered lightly with aluminum foil until it cools to the recommended rehydration temp. You can use an ice bath to cool quicker. That way you'll know the yeast is in a more sanitary environment to start with.

Thank you for this. This definitely answered my question. Last thing I want in this is tap water that tastes mildly chlorinated. Be my luck that it'd f*** with the fermentation process

 

[madscientist451]

Another option is to make a "craft" mead. That's a mead that has ABV similar to beer, 6-7%.
It will be ready to drink sooner, won't have the "rocket fuel" high alcohol flavor and is something you can drink a pint of, not just a tiny glass.
This has been a "thing" for a while but I only recently found out about it listening to a Basic Brewing Radio podcast:
http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/9/2/392...79425632&hwt=3f24a6d5330485a68db93d1facec8a9f

The meadmaker on the podcast also does video podcasts where he answers all kinds of questions and the recipes for his commercial mead are "open source" and will share them with anyone.
I haven't tried making a craft mead yet but It will be something I'll try when the winter sets in.

 

[Lefou]

What is this "craft mead" you speak of?
Well, take one look at the Groenfell Meadery in Colchester, VT. The odd fellow who runs the place makes sessionable craft meads with low ABV.
How does he do it? Simple.
http://www.groennfell.com/

By reducing the honey-to-water ratio to about 1.5lb/gal, you should get a 6% ABV. Better yet, if you have kegs and CO2, sparkling cyser or mead will be a snap.

 

[HerWolfie2817]

Well, according to my hydrometer the juice and honey mixture came out about 1.111
So on the brightside, it should come out somewhere between dry and medium sweet. I'm fine with that if the yeast were able to hold up it'd (supposedly) reach around 15%-16%
I used 5lbs of clover honey with 2 gallons of organic apple juice. I look forward to it finishing fermenting on its own

 

[Lefou]

I have some orange mead in a 3gal. secondary.
It was started last year in December. It had an OG of 1.120 and is still clearing. Last check put it around 14% ABV. That surprised me a bit because the calculated yeast tolerance I expected would've stopped the yeast around 9.5% ABV ... nope, it's still chugging along.

 

[AkTom]

Another option is to make a "craft" mead. That's a mead that has ABV similar to beer, 6-7%.
It will be ready to drink sooner, won't have the "rocket fuel" high alcohol flavor and is something you can drink a pint of, not just a tiny glass.
This has been a "thing" for a while but I only recently found out about it listening to a Basic Brewing Radio podcast:
http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/3/9/2/392...79425632&hwt=3f24a6d5330485a68db93d1facec8a9f

The meadmaker on the podcast also does video podcasts where he answers all kinds of questions and the recipes for his commercial mead are "open source" and will share them with anyone.
I haven't tried making a craft mead yet but It will be something I'll try when the winter sets in.

Well worth the time to listen. Gave me some good ideas.
Tom

 

[HerWolfie2817]

I have some orange mead in a 3gal. secondary.
It was started last year in December. It had an OG of 1.120 and is still clearing. Last check put it around 14% ABV. That surprised me a bit because the calculated yeast tolerance I expected would've stopped the yeast around 9.5% ABV ... nope, it's still chugging along.

Let me know how it turns out, that flavor sounds pretty good

 

[Lefou]

It's just a slightly altered version of the Ancient Orange mead recipe you can find. The only things I changed was clementines instead of oranges and S-05 yeast in place of the bread yeast.

Oh yeah ...and I also added extra nutrient on a schedule along with degassing. I think that and S-05 had an effect where the bread yeast would've (might've) crapped out earlier.

 

[HerWolfie2817]

My yeast has officially started forming a yeast cake in the primary. Technically a few days to a week ago. What is the best way to degas it? I'd rather not unintentionally aerate it and when I tested it 2 days ago it came out about 13.97% alcohol. I gave some of the leftover in the test tube a taste for future reference and was almost overwhelmed by the fumes. Not jet fuel harsh at least. I know it can degas somewhat during transfer but I do need some advice for the best process

 

[HerWolfie2817]

It's just a slightly altered version of the Ancient Orange mead recipe you can find. The only things I changed was clementines instead of oranges and S-05 yeast in place of the bread yeast.

Oh yeah ...and I also added extra nutrient on a schedule along with degassing. I think that and S-05 had an effect where the bread yeast would've (might've) crapped out earlier.

I did end up using nutrients. I didn't start till the second day though. Looks like I primed the yeast right though. I'm having to shake it each morning and night to keep the yeast suspended. It was done way faster than I was expecting it to be and it's produced around a 1/3rd of an inch of sediment after settling for half an day. Maybe half an inch if I let it sit longer

 

[HerWolfie2817]

Unfortunately only problem with it fermenting faster than I expected was my 2nd carboy to rack it into hasn't been ordered yet 😕 I've gotta wait till Thursday to order it. I thought it'd take 4 weeks but it took around 2. No more than 2 1/2. I would've ordered it this past Thursday but I had to pay bills 😕