Sweet Mead

[muse435]

I looked through the recipe page and searched HBT and I could not find a plain sweet mead. Is there a reason for this, or is it just so easy that I am the only one dumb enough to have to ask how to do it. Regardless, does any one have a good simple sweet mead recipe?

 

[Golddiggie]

It's not that difficult... Pick a honey you like the flavors of... Figure out how strong you want to make it. Use the different calculation tools to figure out how much honey to use (pound per gallon) to reach that strength, and make it. If you want something under ~14%, you'll need to watch it closely and then stop the yeast when it hits where you want it. If you're willing to work with the yeast, letting it ferment fully, you can then stabilize it (or wait long enough) and then either back-sweeten it, or make (from the start) so that the FG will be where you want it.

My first shot at traditional mead ended up sweet, and at 18% ABV. :rockin: It's almost 10 months old now, and I'm getting ready to try some. I bottled one batch (made two) and have the other batch still bulk aging.

I would highly recommend using Lalvin yeast over anything marketed as "sweet mead" yeast. Also check out the forums on the Got Mead? web site for processes to follow at the start, and what to do later. Basically, use no heat, degass/aerate/feed it until the 1/3 break and then leave it alone (mostly)... Rack off the lees every couple of months as it clears/settles and then enjoy X months later.

 

[fatbloke]

Concur with most of Golddiggies comment.

The so called "mead yeasts" (mostly liquid ones) can be very finicky to use for the inexperienced (or even experienced mead makers for that matter), so to start with, are best avoided.

Also, it's considerably easier to ferment it dry and then back sweeten it.

A lot of the yeasts that seem to produce the best results, are ones that will go to 14% plus, but then it depends on what you're trying to make, because a mead usually needs to be stabilised before back sweetening, hence the default is a still mead.

Here's a link to the Gotmead New Bee guide. It's worth the read as it will probably answer a lot of your questions.

That said, it's just as easy to make a honey/water must by mixing the honey and water to a particular gravity level (confirmed by the use of a hydrometer). Then just using the technique suggested in the guide to manage the ferment. Using a yeast like K1V-1116, will give an easily managed ferment. It's tolerant to about 18% ABV. Plus if you kept the starting gravity down a bit, say to something like the 1.100 to 1.110 sort of range, then you should get something in the 14% area. The use of K1V would mean that you'd need to age it as well - it makes brilliant aged traditionals.

Using a start gravity of 1.100, and lalvins 71B-1122 yeast, should give you a lower %ABV, but possibly some residual sugars and a mead that's drinkable earlier. Just follow the steps in the guide and you should get something nice.

Just remember, the better quality the honey, the better quality the likely result. Plus, don't heat/boil the honey or must. Even if the honey is crystalised, just use hand warm water and blitz the honey and water in a sanitised food processor. The machine will incorporate both nicely, while also aerating/oxygenating the must, so you wouldn't have to shake or stir the hell out of it.

regards

fatbloke

 

[muse435]

So I have been looking at the bee website and still have not found exactly what I'm looking for recipe wise. I deffinatly have learned a lot about the process though. One thread I read said you can add too much honey so that the abv will get so hi that it will kill off the yeast. Is this a bad idea? Should I just shoot for a lower abv, let ferment dry, then back sweeten?

 

[2ndGenBrewer]

It depends on what you're going for. If you want it to to be 18+% (using EC118 for example) you would add honey to about 1.100, let it ferment dry, then add 3-4 lbs at a time (till its sweet enough), let sit for a few weeks to make sure it doesn't start fermenting again, then bulk age.
Personally I've used 71B, let it ferment to max tolerance (14-15%) then just slowly added more honey till I like the taste and let it sit for 6+ months to make sure it was done fermenting. Also, you can use a beer yeast that ferments clean (safale 05) which tops out at 10-11% ABV and then again slowly add extra honey. I did a batch last October with mesquite honey/molasses/vanilla using safale 05, just now adding more honey to sweeten and got a great Hydromel, that was lightly sweet and only 10% ABV. It'll be ready to drink by years end.

Best of luck! There is no one answer. Experiment with small batches and then run with what you like!

 

[ExoticMeadMaker]

I'd recommend that you let it ferment dry then back sweeten to taste. It will give you more control over then final product.
And just to mention an observation, some meads, especially traditional's, seem to have sweeter flavors at a lower SG then wine counterparts. I have a show blueberry honey varietal mead that is 13.%, bone dry(FG <1), but tastes semi-sweet to sweet. I must have done 3-4 FG readings and double/triple checked my hydrometer. There's just something with this particular honey that made for a sweet tasting dry mead. (yes, I realize that made no sense)

 

[ExoticMeadMaker]

there is no one answer. Experiment with small batches and then run with what you like!

+1

 

[muse435]

It depends on what you're going for. If you want it to to be 18+% (using EC118 for example) you would add honey to about 1.100, let it ferment dry, then add 3-4 lbs at a time (till its sweet enough), let sit for a few weeks to make sure it doesn't start fermenting again, then bulk age.
Personally I've used 71B, let it ferment to max tolerance (14-15%) then just slowly added more honey till I like the taste and let it sit for 6+ months to make sure it was done fermenting. Also, you can use a beer yeast that ferments clean (safale 05) which tops out at 10-11% ABV and then again slowly add extra honey. I did a batch last October with mesquite honey/molasses/vanilla using safale 05, just now adding more honey to sweeten and got a great Hydromel, that was lightly sweet and only 10% ABV. It'll be ready to drink by years end.

Best of luck! There is no one answer. Experiment with small batches and then run with what you like!

Did you use and Camden or potassium sorbate before adding additional honey, or did you just rely on the yeast topping out?

I'm sorry about these some what redundant questions but SWMBO will only let me have a few going at one time. I am trying to learn from others as much as I can before starting since it will take so long to be ready.

 

[MedsenFey]

Here's my suggestion -

Start with a good, fresh, light colored honey that is known to make good meads. I wouldn't suggest a dark wildflower for a first batch. Up where you are, sourwood honey would be great. Orange blossom, tupelo, fresh clover, or something similar would also work well. The fresher and less-processed the honey, the better the mead will be.

To keep it relatively simple, I'd suggest using 71B for yeast. It is a great yeast and makes excellent meads while being very forgiving. It has alcohol tolerance of about 14% which is a little higher than I like for a dry mead, but for a sweet mead, it will work fine. You want to start with a gravity a little above what the yeast will be able to ferment. For this yeast, a gravity of 1.105 should be about what it can handle so starting with a gravity a little above this - say 1.115 should leave you semi-sweet. After fermentation is over, if you want it sweeter, you can add a little more honey to bring it up to a level where you like it.

To get a gravity of 1.115 you'll need a little more than 3 pounds per gallon in most cases (probably a tad less than 3.25 pounds). You'll then want to have another 1/4-1/2 pound of honey per gallon in reserve in case you want it sweeter later on.

So you'll need:

Good honey - 3.25 pounds per gallon
Spring water (or good drinking water)
Fermaid K (or other tannish powder yeast energizer) 8 grams per gallon (about 2 tsp)
Acid blend or lemon juice (added to taste after fermentation)
71B yeast 1 packet (5 grams)

Mix the honey in water and dissolve it well, but use an amount to get the gravity to 1.115. Ideally, if you want a 1 gallon batch, I'd start with a bucket or container that will hold at least 1.25 gallons total. The goal is to end up with a nice full gallon of mead and you will lose some with racking. Going by gravity allows you to scale up as much as you like and maintain consistency. Add the 2 tsp of the nutrient to the mix.

Rehydrate the yeast in 50 cc of 100F water for 15 minutes, then pitch them in. Your results will be better if you can keep the fermentation temperature below 70F. Aerate the must by stirring/swirling (gently or you'll have an MEA) each day until the gravity gets down to below 1.080 at which time you can keep it under airlock and swirl it gently daily until it is done.

It should finish at a gravity around 1.005-1.010. When it is completely done, rack it to another container, and let it start clearing. I you have some leftover mead, you can put it in a small PET soda bottle and squeeze the air out and put on the cap saving it to top up later. When your main container drops a thick layer of lees (probably 3-4 weeks) you can rack it again. You'll have some headspace that needs to be filled and you can add some honey to get to the level of sweetness you like (and add the acid if it needs it to brighten the flavor), then top up with water or the mead from the soda bottle if there is any.

Keep it under airlock and let it sit a room temp to make sure no more fermentation will occur (by monitoring the gravity every few weeks), and let it become clear enough to read newsprint through. I'd suggest adding 1 Campden tablet per gallon as a preservative/antioxidant because sweet meads are more likely to have spoilage organisms. Then it should be ready for bottling. You'll want to let it develop flavor and smoothness for a year or more.

That is one approach to making a sweet mead that will work.

 

[muse435]

Here's my suggestion -

Start with a good, fresh, light colored honey that is known to make good meads. I wouldn't suggest a dark wildflower for a first batch. Up where you are, sourwood honey would be great. Orange blossom, tupelo, fresh clover, or something similar would also work well. The fresher and less-processed the honey, the better the mead will be.

To keep it relatively simple, I'd suggest using 71B for yeast. It is a great yeast and makes excellent meads while being very forgiving. It has alcohol tolerance of about 14% which is a little higher than I like for a dry mead, but for a sweet mead, it will work fine. You want to start with a gravity a little above what the yeast will be able to ferment. For this yeast, a gravity of 1.105 should be about what it can handle so starting with a gravity a little above this - say 1.115 should leave you semi-sweet. After fermentation is over, if you want it sweeter, you can add a little more honey to bring it up to a level where you like it.

To get a gravity of 1.115 you'll need a little more than 3 pounds per gallon in most cases (probably a tad less than 3.25 pounds). You'll then want to have another 1/4-1/2 pound of honey per gallon in reserve in case you want it sweeter later on.

So you'll need:

Good honey - 3.25 pounds per gallon
Spring water (or good drinking water)
Fermaid K (or other tannish powder yeast energizer) 8 grams per gallon (about 2 tsp)
Acid blend or lemon juice (added to taste after fermentation)
71B yeast 1 packet (5 grams)

Mix the honey in water and dissolve it well, but use an amount to get the gravity to 1.115. Ideally, if you want a 1 gallon batch, I'd start with a bucket or container that will hold at least 1.25 gallons total. The goal is to end up with a nice full gallon of mead and you will lose some with racking. Going by gravity allows you to scale up as much as you like and maintain consistency. Add the 2 tsp of the nutrient to the mix.

Rehydrate the yeast in 50 cc of 100F water for 15 minutes, then pitch them in. Your results will be better if you can keep the fermentation temperature below 70F. Aerate the must by stirring/swirling (gently or you'll have an MEA) each day until the gravity gets down to below 1.080 at which time you can keep it under airlock and swirl it gently daily until it is done.

It should finish at a gravity around 1.005-1.010. When it is completely done, rack it to another container, and let it start clearing. I you have some leftover mead, you can put it in a small PET soda bottle and squeeze the air out and put on the cap saving it to top up later. When your main container drops a thick layer of lees (probably 3-4 weeks) you can rack it again. You'll have some headspace that needs to be filled and you can add some honey to get to the level of sweetness you like (and add the acid if it needs it to brighten the flavor), then top up with water or the mead from the soda bottle if there is any.

Keep it under airlock and let it sit a room temp to make sure no more fermentation will occur (by monitoring the gravity every few weeks), and let it become clear enough to read newsprint through. I'd suggest adding 1 Campden tablet per gallon as a preservative/antioxidant because sweet meads are more likely to have spoilage organisms. Then it should be ready for bottling. You'll want to let it develop flavor and smoothness for a year or more.

That is one approach to making a sweet mead that will work.

Thank you so much for the detailed description.