New with Questions

[Rena]

Seeking opinions! First of all Hello from Georgia Always happy to meet people and learn new things. I am a hobby beekeeper in Warm Springs Less then 17 hives. I started making beer about a year ago and this fall did 25 gallons of various ciders/cysers and now MEADE I have lots of bee friends in various parts of GA and Florida So I had a good bit of honey that needed to be used up now that my hives are producing. I have done 5 gallons of OB 5 gallons of saw P, 5 gallons of gallberry, and 5 gallons of my own honey which I believe is mostly buckwheat with a tad of tulip poplar. I planted a late crop of buckwheat and was amazed at how the bees gleaned off enough for a late season of honey. I am interested in yeast/honey variations and what you felt was a good fit per type of honey used. Mostly I have tulip poplar from my own bees but I can get OB pretty cheap and if I can pull the honey at the right time I might be able to catch the sourwood bloom.
I had some hopped up meade and really liked it. I wondered if someone had done that what type of hops, amount and when? I am doing a pink meade (berry mix in the secondary) for my sister's one year breast cancer free ..but now I am worried it will not be ready? That will be in October and its in the secondary. Sorry for so many questions but I LOVE learning new things and am excited to try all the experiments

 

[biochemedic]

Welcome!

Your first question, I think, is a curious one...I know there are definitely opinions on what various yeasts work well for certain mead types (such as what I note below; ie, 71B being good for melomels, particularly dark fruit melomels), but I'm not aware of any "pairings" being made with yeast and certain honey varietals.

If you don't already have it, you probably would be well served to get a copy of the 'mead bible,' Ken Schramm's The Compleat Meadmaker. Threre's an extensive table of yeast strains in there with recommendations on what sorts of meads they are good/best for.

I would suppose you could consider that if you have a very dark, robust honey like buckwheat as an example, you could make a case to pick a yeast that is known to stand up to a hearty red wine must. Likewise, perhaps a yeast that is known to be good for a white wine would be better for a honey like your orange blossom, or perhaps Sourwood that have lighter, more delicate aromas? (Realize I'm totally just throwing this out there as a theory...I have no direct experience here!)

Regarding hopped mead, check out this thread...lots of good info on hop metheglins. I've already done versions with English hops (EKG, Fuggle), and with American hops (Cascade, Chinook, and Simcoe). I have plans eventually to do batches using continental/noble hops (probably Northern Brewer for bittering and Saaz, Hallertau, and Tettnanger for aroma/dry) and a New Zealand batch using Nelson Sauvin, Pacifica, etc...

For the berry mead, whether it's ready for October will depend on a vast multitude of variables, including but probably not limited to: yeast type (ie; 71B is pretty good for quick turn arounds, and good for melomels), fermentation handling (temperature, use of nutrients, oxygenation/aeration/degassing, etc.), and OG/FG levels (it's been said that a little residual sweetness can hide a multitude of sins when it comes to off flavors...) IF you are still running hot and dry on this one, you could consider stabilizing and backsweetening it a bit.

 

[cgenebrewer]

Until you get your mead bible, this website can provide loads of info: Got Mead - Mead (honeywine) making, mead drinking, mead recipes - Mead NewBee Guide

This forum also has basically every question already answered.If you cannot find the answer while searching, ORRRRR it was answered more than a few years ago, feel free to ask and I am sure you will get an answer quickly.(I say a few years ago because as far asI know, there are always new ideas popping up and new info being brought to light each year about mead making.

I would suggest grabbing some yeast( D-47 would work fine) and making some test one gallon batches each using a different honey so you can get a feel and TASTE for each one.

 

[Rena]

Thank you! I do have the book. I have been toting it around the last week with packets of yeasts LOL I am heading to the website now!
R