Newbie Mead Question

[Jobe5217]

I have just brewed my first beer and have recently noticed that basic/simple mead looks relatively easy. I haven't read much about mead but have tried it before and liked it. Would someone be able to use any kind of honey?

I'll be honest, my wife would be very open to the idea of me making mead if we could use the "local, organic, unfiltered" honey that we use at home. It seems like a such a breeze if we can get enough of it, just honey yeast and water

I might be be getting a second 6.5 gallon glass carboy on loan in the near future so I might be able to do both mead and beer. Oh man, that would be sweet!

Thanks for any tips to a potential mead... makin' guy!



*Edit - You can do a 3 gallon batch in a standard 6.5 gallon carboy, right?

 

[Kdog22]

Any honey that tastes good is good honey to use, IMO. I'd say that you can start a 3 gallon batch using that carboy as a primary. But i'd be hesitant to finish the ferment in that just because of all the headspace you'll have. You could always start the batch in the carboy as a primary, then rack into 1 gallon jugs as secondaries. Those can be found/bought cheap. You can even buy a cheap gallon of Carlo rossi wine in the glass jugs. Drink the cheap wine and you'll have a perfect 1 gallon glass carboy left over for your home brewing.

 

[Matrix4b]

Mead is easier than beer. A few notes:

1. Age it! you need to age mead 6-8 months at least. Best if it's a year.

2. Oak it! before the bottling put some toasted oak chips in it. Light toast oak is fine, 1 oz of chips for 5 gal batch for 3-5 weeks in the must makes a world of difference.

3. Never boil honey, unless you are making a bochett. (look it up, they are yummy too)

Mead is actually easier than beer. No boil, no sparge. You do need to add some nutrients though. Yeast nutrients or endergizer. Or both. Some boil bread yeast and use that as cheap nutrient, some buy it specific (I recomend DAP as an energizer), and some use chopped raisins for nutrient because it adds to a fuller mouth feel.

Remember the primary rule of any brewing: Sainitize ALL your equipment before each use and you can't go that far wrong.

But yes, it's easy and mead is more forgiving than beer. And get a hydrometer if you don't have one, best way to tell if the mead is done in the primary fermentation is with a hydrometer. Check out the great sticky on this website or over at Gotmead.com/forum

Best honey is the unfiltered type. The less that they heat it the better.

Good luck
Matrix

 

[HappiBrew]

While we're asking newbie mead questions.. may I hijack by asking how I would brew a semi sweet over a sweet? Or even a dry? Is it just a matter of yeast? Can I do a melemel in semi sweet? I understand how to regulate dryness in beer through grain bill and mash temp, but honey is honey, right?

 

[Lungus]

Your sweetness will be determined by how much honey and what type of yeast you use or you can ferment to dry, stabilize and then back sweeten to taste.

 

[Matrix4b]

The level of sweetness is controlled by a number of factors. How much honey, yeast type are two of the biggest factors. Basically it amounts to residual sugar.

A little more detail:

Champaign yeast will ferment dry and keep going if you feed it more honey. Basically expect it to go to 22% or so if the fermentable sugar is high enough and that will be dry as a bone like champaign.

A sweet mead yeast, though nortoriously difficult to get a good ferment, will go to a lover ABV%.

A bread yeast wont go far at all unless you baby it.

If you keep feeding yeasts they will keep going in most cases and produce off flavors.

Also, a good estimate for a 5 gal batch is 1% ABV per pound of honey you put in. Many yeasts will list what % of alcohol tolerant that they are. If you feed it with enough honey it will eat up to that alcohol percentage and then only the hertyer strians will survive to produce the off flavors. Cold crashing and potasium sorbate or sulfates can stop yeast in it's tracks.

Many judge sweetness by what their hydrometer says. It's an art. Me, I like underfeeding the yeast a bit, stabalizing (stopping the yeast in it's tracks with sorbate or sulfates) and then Sweetening it up to taste. Keeping in mind that sweetness comes back as it ages, so if you sweeten it up exactly the way you like it and it's before aging then as it ages you will end up with a sweeter product. As I said, it's an art. And it helps that if you experiment a bit to educate your pallet.

I like tasting the mead at several stages of the ferment and I suggest you take a bottle and taste it every month, less than a shot, and seal it back up to continue the aging. Yes, this oxygenates that one bottle a bit but it's a good way to tell if it is 1. done aging and fit to drink, and 2. educate your pallet as to if it is sweet enough pre-aging or do you need to add more honey and let it settle out more prior to bottling. The guys that bulk age have an advantage as they just let the whole batch age in the carboy and then stabalize and back sweeten to taste. And keeping an eye on the hydrometer as well. It's your best tool for judging your mead.

Now this all sounds complex, trust me it isn't.

To me, I like letting the ferment take it's course, stablizing, and then backsweeten it. It's easier, you let the yeast do it's thing and you can get a nice clear mead with very little problems. Also, I am lazy.

Hope this helps.

Matrix

 

[GreenWulf]

"MAD about mead" is a good book to read first. I use a lot of the techniques from there. I have been brewing mead for 7 years now 1 5gal batch about every other month. and never use any chemicals but I have patients and time to let nature do its thing.

Remember - Sanitize, it is a long "time" investment that could be easily killed by being careless and also what goes in comes out. Good Water, Good Honey, Good Ingredients and Good Energy on brew day = GOOD MEAD!

You already got a lot of good advise from people who know what they are doing so I wont bore you with the same advise. Just read that book and it will become more clear.