This pantry used to be empty . . .

[TheNotoriousM.E.A.D]

I hadn't even heard of mead up until about 1 week ago when I stumbled across a YouTube video about making it. Seemed like a fun hobby, so I thought I'd try it even though I've never brewed anything in my life.

A little more research and a couple Amazon deliveries later (OK, more than just a couple) I have the following.

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I'm a scientist in my day job and it's quickly become evident to me that people rush too quickly to flavors and fruits. How about just finding a great, pure, golden mead and then using that as your base for experimenting with flavors? That makes sense to me and that's what I'm doing here. What you're seeing is 4 different honeys with different honey:water ratios. All of them use D47 and I will conduct further experiments with different yeasts in my next round.

Honeys

1. Round Rock
2. Natures Nate (orange bottles, with the American bees)
3. Local apiary (unfiltered, beautiful golden color)
4. Local apiary via Whole Foods (really dark color but great consistency)

I started with a gallon jug like most people do. But instead of going bigger, I'm actually going to go smaller and use 1/2 gallon jugs as my standard for constantly trying new combinations

This morning I drove out to my first local apiary to get some honey. I now find myself saying, "east Texas is only a 5 hour drive away to get that honey . . . ". So I think I've been sucked into (suckered into?) this hobby and I'll see where this first experiment ends up.

 

[homebrewer_99]

It's a good start!

 

[AkTom]

Looking good. I’ve done some mead with dried fruit. Very tasty if I say so myself. Different ratios are a great way to see what you like.
Cheers

 

[Maylar]

Don't forget to research staggered nutrient additions (SNA) and the TOSNA protocol. It'll help assure consistency in your process and give you drinkable mead in the least amount of time.

Rock n' roll, brother.

 

[TheNotoriousM.E.A.D]

Don't forget to research staggered nutrient additions (SNA) and the TOSNA protocol. It'll help assure consistency in your process and give you drinkable mead in the least amount of time.

Rock n' roll, brother.

I'm only using raisins as a nutrient. TOSNA and speed interest me very little, I'm a patient man.

 

[bernardsmith]

The problem with raisins is that they contain very little assimilable nitrogen which is critical for the yeast. Honey has none. Best to use lab cultured nutrients (fermaid O or K, for example), or you might simply rehydrate some bread yeast (in a little sugar water) allow the yeast to proof and then boil the solution to kill the yeast. This will contain much of the same nutrients as in lab manufactured nutrients although perhaps not in as totally assimilable form as the labs' (I think they can break down the cells in the yeastinto compounds).

 

[Maylar]

Raisins as nutrients is myth/legend/fallacy. The proverbial old wives' tale. If you're a scientist then you understand the concept of controlled experiments. Without proper nutrients you leave much of your ferment to chance and the whims of Mother Nature. Using the most up to date protocols will give you a stable, repeatable environment and let you concentrate on the variables that you've chosen. Also be aware that temperature matters - D47 is notorious for creating fusels unless you keep the ferment below 65°F.

 

[bob1852]

Proper nutrient additions result in a far superior mead. The byproduct is they happen to finish quicker.

The best end product is what I'm after, not speed. But TONSA2.0 has produced the best results for me, and also happens to be the quickest.

And yeah, raisins aren't nutrients. I wish we could scrub that falsehood from the internet forever.

Enjoy your experiments with different honeys. It's amazing how different the flavors can be! Even from the same varietals (Florida orange blossom tastes a lot better to me than California orange blossom, for example)

 

[KTbrew]

I'm sorry that you, like many others, were sucked into the vortex of ignorant outdated mead information and add raisins. In order to see any benefit from raisins you would have to add like a half pound per gallon. At that rate you would be making raisin flavored mead.

As a scientist you will probably appreciate staggered nutrient or the TONSA method.

 

[KTbrew]

Also, sluggish fermentation's = unhealthy fermentation's. It's not just about speed, it's about yeast health.

 

[KTbrew]

"All of them use D47"

At it's best this yeast can be amazing. Left to chance it can be a mead ruiner. It's very picky about temperature. I recommend 71B with nutrients for your next experiment.

 

[TheNotoriousM.E.A.D]

I recommend 71B with nutrients for your next experiment.

Thanks, I will have to try this. Experimenting with different yeasts is definitely part of my next round of brewing.