Using mead yeast

[shmevinator]

So upon the request of a coworker, I brewed a DFH Midas Touch clone:

7 lbs 2 Row
3 lbs. honey (do not boil)
2 lbs. Alexander’s Muscat grape concentrate (do not boil)
0.5 teaspoon dry saffron (boil 15 minutes)
2.5 AAU Willamette hops (60 minute)
2.5 AAU Willamette hops (15 minute)

I mashed for an hour at 155. The recipe called for Belgian yeast, but since my coworker's not a big fan of Belgian beers, I used Wyeast 4632, dry mead liquid yeast. (The article about this clone mentioned something about DFH using mead yeast for their first batch.) My OG was 1.070(ish, I don't have my notes with me), and last night after two weeks of fermentation, the SG is at 1.031. It's been fermenting at 65 degs. Oh and I made a 1.5 qt starter.

Anyways, my question is what should I expect from the yeast in terms of length of time it takes to ferment out and expected attenuation? Has anybody used mead yeast for something like this before? Does anybody have any general ideas?

Yeah, I should probably ask these questions BEFORE using the yeast, but hey, I prefer to shoot first and then ask later.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I am currently fermenting a dry mead with 4632, and it has been fermenting for 5 months solid. I asked a bunch of questions about this yeast in the mead section, but it would seem I am the only person here who enjoys dry mead, and no one had any insight into this yeast.

All I can say is that it is a slow and steady churner and it is rated up to 18%ABV. They don't list the attenuation and I have not been able to find this data. I would check gravity and if it is constant for a month, it is likely safe to bottle.

 

[shmevinator]

Thank you! That helps a lot.

But leave it to me to pick a slow churner for a batch that I need to have done by a deadline. Oh well.

 

[Ooompa Loompa]

Yea, honey tends to ferment pretty slowly.

 

[BigKahuna]

it would seem I am the only person here who enjoys dry mead, and no one had any insight into this yeast.

I hope your mead comes out great.

I have no experience with this yeast at all, but I will ask you to post back, as I am interested to see how fast it goes with all of that grainy goodness to feed it. You may be done before you think. I will be interested to hear back on this.

 

[shmevinator]

I will be interested to hear back on this.

Reporting back:

It's done! The SG has been steady for about 2 weeks now and the samples that I pulled have cleared quite a bit. So it appears to be bottling time.

So in sum, OG was 1.075, FG is 1.013, which is almost 83% apparent attenuation. This was brewed on 3/23, so it took about 6 weeks to ferment out.

 

[Beerthoven]

So how does it taste? How close is it to the real Midas Touch?

 

[shmevinator]

So how does it taste? How close is it to the real Midas Touch?

Ya know, I've never tried the real Midas Touch so I can't say. This had a nice subtle sweetness and a champagney/white winey sort of flavor to it. I couldn't really perceive the saffron though, which is a bummer because that stuff is so freakin' expensive.

The BYO clone recipe that I used called for Belgian yeast, so if that's what DFH uses, that will account for a big difference between what I made and the real Midas Touch. Mine is not estery at all.