Only honey & yeast mead?

[elephant]

Hello again,

I've only just started this hobby, it's all very exciting.

Anyway, today I mixed together a must that was just 1.5kg of honey and 1 teaspoon of yeast in a gallon jug, that's all. I have a couple of others going where I followed a recipe from the Internet that included other ingredients, but I wanted one that was just honey & yeast to act as a "control", so I could see how the other ingredients change the mead.

Is there a special name for this ultra-simple mead? I'm sure I'm not the only one to have done that. Haha.

Anyway, one thing I found strange is that the OG was only 1.080. My two previous batches both have higher OG's (1.100 and 1.084) despite having less honey in them (1.4kg and 1kg respectively). The honey was exactly the same brand across all three batches.

Is the OG higher on the other two because of the other ingredients (raisins, tea, citrus peels, etc.)? Or did I just mess up taking the readings (perhaps too soon after shaking them up or something)?

 

[JimRausch]

must that was just 1.5kg of honey and 1 teaspoon of yeast in a gallon jug,

with water? How much?

 

[JimRausch]

Raisins, because of their sugar, might add some to the OG, but spices, tea, citrus peels etc. won't. I guess my point above would be, are the volumes the same?

 

[JimRausch]

Finally, and then I'll shut up, is a mead made with honey, water and yeast, would be called a 'Traditional'.

 

[Maylar]

1.5 kg of honey and water to make 1 gallon (assuming that's the case here) would normally be about 1.115. Perhaps you didn't mix it well?

 

[elephant]

Thanks for the replies guys ... it is 1.5kg in 1 gallon jug, the water level filled to just over the shoulders of each jug. So the water is consistent for all three of them.

I dunno ... I mixed it pretty well! My arms were certainly sore afterwards and it looked then (and still does now) very thick and cloudy with no residue honey anywhere. I also boiled the honey in water when I added it to ensure it was completely dissolved.

Is it cool to do another gravity reading now ... like 2 or 3 days after bottling? It would mean taking the stoppers off and re-introducing oxygen etc. This is my first time so I'm not quite sure what's okay yet.

 

[elephant]

This is what it looks like ... although come to think of it, I think I know what's gone wrong.

When I was boiling the honey, I took my eye off it and it blow over on the stove creating a sticky mess. I thought at the time that I only lost a small portion so I added another ~100ml of honey to make up for it, but more than I guessed must have come out. That must be the problem.

I think I'll just start this again. How annoying.

 

[Miraculix]

If you want to drive deeper into this beautiful subject, read the bomm thread. It is sticky at the top of the mead forum.

 

[GeoTech3895]

This is what it looks like ... although come to think of it, I think I know what's gone wrong.

When I was boiling the honey, I took my eye off it and it blow over on the stove creating a sticky mess. I thought at the time that I only lost a small portion so I added another ~100ml of honey to make up for it, but more than I guessed must have come out. That must be the problem.

I think I'll just start this again. How annoying.

A couple of things come to mind.
Did you take SG reading at the correct temperature for your hydrometer? That could have given you a false reading if the must was too warm.
And to reply on your thought of "starting all over", why not leave it and/or add a bit more honey to adjust to your satisfaction at second fermentation? What have you to loose other than a bit of time?

 

[SimPilot]

When I was boiling the honey

why would you do that?

 

[elephant]

why would you do that?

Just seemed like common sense to me. Makes it so much easier to handle and pour than if its a sticky thick goop.

Is there any reason not to?

 

[elephant]

A couple of things come to mind.
Did you take SG reading at the correct temperature for your hydrometer? That could have given you a false reading if the must was too warm.
And to reply on your thought of "starting all over", why not leave it and/or add a bit more honey to adjust to your satisfaction at second fermentation? What have you to loose other than a bit of time?

Yes, temperature was correct.

I already tipped it out. The reason I didn't just leave it is because the whole point of this batch was to be a "control" brew with nothing added and an average and precisely measured amount of honey, not something I winged on the fly.

Of course I could have done by OG instead but I want to learn how they all work together first hand. I have two other brews with the same honey (different amounts) and other ingredients so the idea is to have a control to compare them to.

 

[SimPilot]

Is there any reason not to?

Here's a page out of the complete meadmaker to answer your question.

 

[elephant]

Here's a page out of the complete meadmaker to answer your question. View attachment 705261View attachment 705262

Thanks!

I will not do that in future. but by the sounds of it, it won't be ruined or anything, just maybe not as nuanced.

 

[elephant]

Okay, so the second time turned out more what I expected. I guess the overflowing honey pot pushed out way more honey than I expected from the first one.

This one looks better and measured at 1.100 OG for 1.4kg of honey measured to within ~50g.

 

[bernardsmith]

There is never a good reason to toss any wine or mead unless it is undrinkable. Wines (including mead) are really quite forgivable. It's not as if you were driving from NY City to Washington DC for a job interview and found yourself in Anchorage Alaska. You are making a wine and if it tastes OK then it is fine. And if it tastes wonderful then it is excellent - and it is excellent even if you intended the mead to be stronger/weaker/ fruitier/ more sweet/less sweet/ more viscous or even less viscous. Just keep copious notes and learn from what you do from one batch to the next. It's all good. All good. Just don't beat yourself up. There are plenty of people around today only too willing to do that for you.

 

[Mtrhdltd]

Another variable is the honey. Not all honey has the same sugar content, it is created by living beings after all. Be careful with store bought honey, a lot of it is not pure. Find a beekeeper and you will be happier.

 

[elephant]

There is never a good reason to toss any wine or mead unless it is undrinkable. Wines (including mead) are really quite forgivable. It's not as if you were driving from NY City to Washington DC for a job interview and found yourself in Anchorage Alaska. You are making a wine and if it tastes OK then it is fine. And if it tastes wonderful then it is excellent - and it is excellent even if you intended the mead to be stronger/weaker/ fruitier/ more sweet/less sweet/ more viscous or even less viscous. Just keep copious notes and learn from what you do from one batch to the next. It's all good. All good. Just don't beat yourself up. There are plenty of people around today only too willing to do that for you.

Yes, thankyou, I am only new to this but I do agree. It's not something I would normally do (throw it out and start again), it was just that one particular batch that I really wanted as a stable "control" to measure the others against (I have no other containers or anything so I had to reuse that one).