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Author Topic: Making Mead  (Read 14333 times)

Offline fermentedhiker

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #20 on: December 28, 2008, 09:21:31 pm »
I honestly don't know if the level of chlorine in city water(some municipalities use chloramine) is enough to kill the yeast.  I'm sure it'll kill some of them.  My gut tells me it'll be ok.  You should know within the next day or two.  You'll probably be seeing some light foaming by the time you read this.

67 is a little cool for primary fermentation.  I would let primary finish out upstairs and then move it down after you rack it to a carboy.  67 is great from letting it age out, especially if it's really stable.  Alternately you could do the primary in the cooler room, but wrap some insulation(ie a blanket) around it to help retain the heat naturally produced during fermentation.

Hope it helps.

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Offline Greg Peck

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #21 on: December 29, 2008, 12:35:56 am »
Well it has been 8 hours. Not much going on with the mead. I dont see any activity at all. There is a slight foam on the top but that could have been from shaking it up prior to adding the yeast. Should there be more happening by now? Should I see it bubbling inside or is that later on? Some thing else I noticed was that I used sodium free spring water. Does the yeast need sodium from the water to live? If the sodium free water is ok and nothing is happening in the morning would it be ok to rehydrate another package of yeast in non city water and put it in?
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Offline BMAC

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #22 on: December 29, 2008, 08:44:11 am »
Greg I have used both D47 and EC1118 with making meads.  You would have chosen well with the D47.  Not that the strain you picked will not work well. 

EC1118 though good for making high content meads takes atleast 2 years to drop out the hot alcoholness this yeast tends to give.

D47 is about right for your amount of honey. 

You city tap water will not bother the yeast.  It will still hydrate just fine.  Also you will always have abuot a 24-48 hour lag time if you do not make a yeast starter.  To make a starter just add your yeast to 1 cup of honey to 1 quart of water with your nutrients and energizer. 

I generally dont concern myself with the fermentation temps of meads.  A little fruitiness in your mead is fine.  You dont want it too low and your 67 degrees maybe a tad on the low side.  I always make my meads in the summer months and beer in the winter months.  I leave the mead in a pail in the kitchen till fermentation is complete.  Usually this only takes about 3 weeks for me.  I find it is important to stir out all the built up CO2 everyday or every other day.  I also add smaller amounts of the nutrients each time I stir out the CO2.  So if your recipe calls for 1tsp per gallon of nutrient and 1/2 tsp of energizer per gallon I would add 1/2 tsp, 1/4 tsp each time I stirred the mead. 

You nutrients, energizer is like vitamins to the yeast.  You wouldnt give your child a life time amount of vitamins all at once, so dont do it to your yeast.

Next time you decide to make a batch of mead pick up a "Smack Pack" of "Sweet Mead" yeast made by WYeast.  You smack the pack and add the contents to your mead.

Final note on all this.. 

I dont boil nor do I add any sulphur products to my honey.  If your yeast starter is good and strong you will divide and conquer all lesser strains of yeast without problems.  I know some folks are dead set against this but out of say 40 batches of mead I have made I have never run into an issue with wild yeasts contaminating the final product.
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Offline fermentedhiker

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #23 on: December 29, 2008, 09:24:50 am »
I wouldn't be worried about not seeing a lot of action just yet.  I've had it take as many as 3 days before it really started to kick.  The slight amount foam is a good indication that the yeast is working.  Remember in this initial phase you're more worried about the yeast reproducing than actually consuming sugar and making alcohol.  During this phase the yeast needs oxygen so it's a good idea if your fermenter is air tight to open the cover and stir things up a bit at least a couple times a day until you start to see some real action.  Once you see vigorous fermentation start to drop off is time to work at lettling as little oxygen into the process as possible.

The spring water is just fine.  Yes you can hydrate and pitch another batch of yeast in.  It will help things move along faster as you are helping the yeast increase in population.  Some people pitch double batches as a matter of policy for that reason, or if you're making an especially large batch.  I doubt it is necessary in your case.
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Offline Irwin

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #24 on: December 29, 2008, 09:36:20 am »
  HEY IRWIN!!! Tell them how delicious the mead was that I sent you!!! :-D
 (This was a secret but I just cant keep secrets!!)
your friend,
john
Yes it was a bit strong tasting and it had a high octane level. The color was a beautiful golden color. And it made me happy and the wife mad the grandkids didn't mind that papa was a bit silly. 
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Offline Scadsobees

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #25 on: December 29, 2008, 02:59:40 pm »

Yes it was a bit strong tasting and it had a high octane level. The color was a beautiful golden color. And it made me happy and the wife mad the grandkids didn't mind that papa was a bit silly. 

Yeah, I have some mead like that too...tastes like cr@p but good for a high... :-P
Rick

Offline johnnybigfish

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #26 on: December 29, 2008, 09:31:20 pm »
Yeh, rick....I think i sent irwin one of my bottles from a lousy batch...I cant tell the difference without opening the bottles!! I told Irwin that I took a bottle to dads for Christmas...It was so nasty that I coulnt stand it! I poured it in the sink!!!.....The bottle I opened for thanksgiving was pretty good!!
 Dad mixes it with coke!!!! He had me try it that way........and It make the coke taste crappy too!!!
 But...If it tastes bad, its good for you...if it tastes good,...its bad for you!!
 Next batch, i wont boil.....I'll try a different yeast too, as Ive been using champagne yeast. I think The bottle i sent irwin probably tasted a little like a cross between...hmmm....beer, wine, gin,....and.....vomit!! :-D

your friend,
john

Offline Scadsobees

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #27 on: December 30, 2008, 12:21:09 am »
Johnny, I'm just teasing you!!!  Hopefully my next two batches will turn out how I like them....
Rick

Offline Greg Peck

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #28 on: December 30, 2008, 10:21:21 am »
This morning I looked at the mead and noticed that there was no longer any foam on top. I thought it must have not worked out but then I looked closer and I could see tiny bubbles coming up along the edges of the carboy. So I put some cling wrap over the top and shook it up a little. There was so much pressure that I could not hold it in with my hand.  So I guess it is working.
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Offline Irwin

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #29 on: December 30, 2008, 10:28:14 am »
Yeh, rick....I think i sent irwin one of my bottles from a lousy batch...I cant tell the difference without opening the bottles!! I told Irwin that I took a bottle to dads for Christmas...It was so nasty that I coulnt stand it! I poured it in the sink!!!.....The bottle I opened for thanksgiving was pretty good!!
 Dad mixes it with coke!!!! He had me try it that way........and It make the coke taste crappy too!!!
 But...If it tastes bad, its good for you...if it tastes good,...its bad for you!!
 Next batch, i wont boil.....I'll try a different yeast too, as Ive been using champagne yeast. I think The bottle i sent irwin probably tasted a little like a cross between...hmmm....beer, wine, gin,....and.....vomit!! :-D

your friend,
john
I would leave out the vomit but the beer wine gin cross sound's good :-D :-D
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Offline Big John

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #30 on: December 30, 2008, 12:48:00 pm »
Greg glad to hear your mead is working. Not to try to hijach this post just curious has anybody tried mead brandy, I know how to make brandy just never heard of mead brandy. (I know about the illegal part)
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Offline Greg Peck

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #31 on: January 04, 2009, 06:21:10 pm »
So on Wednesday 3 days after I started this batch not a lot was happening. very few bubbles. So I rehydrate another batch of yeast using non tap water and being very careful with the temps. I added it and the next day had a good bit of activity. I dont know for sure if it was the original yeast finally getting going or the new batch actually working. Anyway today Sunday I racked it into a second Carboy and added a little more yeast energizer and nutrient as the recipe called for. I put an air lock on now and it is bubbling a few times a minute. So that is the update.
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Offline fermentedhiker

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #32 on: January 04, 2009, 09:48:13 pm »
Keep us posted.  btw what was the hydrometer reading the day you started it and the day you racked it?
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Offline Greg Peck

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #33 on: January 04, 2009, 10:52:31 pm »
I would love to be able to tell you but I can not. I was going to buy a hydrometer but I did not. I will be getting one the next time I go to the brew store.
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Offline Sean Kelly

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #34 on: January 05, 2009, 02:00:51 am »
...just curious has anybody tried mead brandy, I know how to make brandy just never heard of mead brandy....

There's a name for distilled mead but I can't remember what it's called.  There's a distiller in Oregon that makes a distilled mead.  Never tried it though.  I wish I had a still when my last batch of mead went bad.

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Offline fcderosa

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #35 on: January 05, 2009, 09:56:47 am »
Actually with distillation you'll be creating a neutral, but with characteristics.  I then infuse mine with the same honey and other spices to create a liqueur that's quite tasty. It’s been compared with Drambuie. The trick is only do one run and remove the heads while being liberal with the tails.  Every time you run the batch through the still you'll remove more of the characteristics.  It's a fun hobby but care should be taken, as it is still illegal to make without paying taxes on it. :jail:

I've been making meads for 25+ years and it's the reason I started keeping my own bees.  As I'm allergic to sulfites or sulfa-based drugs I don't bother with the campden tablets.  For cleaning a tablespoon of Clorox goes a long way.  The trick to making good mead is write everything down everything you do. Anyone can luck into a good recipe, and artist can recreate it at will.  Most of all have fun and share.  We recently went on a cruise and brought our own meads to drink for dinner (with corkage fee).  We shared with others at the table who became quite taken with our selection. It caused confusion with the wine steward and even some of the ships officers had to try some of this new type wine.  New? Little did they know they were drinking the drink of Pharaohs. :-D
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Offline Greg Peck

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #36 on: January 07, 2009, 11:45:29 am »
I bought a hydrometer today. Should I take a reading now or is it pointless at this point as I did not know what the beginning reading was?

The guy at the home brew place told me that it is a bad idea to do half batches is a carboy. He said that the carboy should be full, for smaller batches use smaller carboys. I did not see anything about that in all the reading I did. Is it true?
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Offline Scadsobees

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #37 on: January 07, 2009, 01:40:17 pm »
I bought a hydrometer today. Should I take a reading now or is it pointless at this point as I did not know what the beginning reading was?

The guy at the home brew place told me that it is a bad idea to do half batches is a carboy. He said that the carboy should be full, for smaller batches use smaller carboys. I did not see anything about that in all the reading I did. Is it true?

If you know how much honey and how much water, you should be able to get a fair estimation of SG, and if you take a reading now it will give you an idea of how far the mead has fermented.  Not really necessary, but can be interesting to see nonetheless.

As far as half batches...he is correct.  The idea with a carboy is to have minimum airspace.  The fermentation process will fill that with CO2 driving out the O2, the CO2 is a preservative and won't let most of the nasties grow.  The larger the airspace the more O2, and O2 is the enemy of wine/mead/etc.

However, headspace doesn't matter as much for the first step of the fermentation process, many people actually ferment in a bucket with a towel covering it, at that point the oxygen is necessary to get the yeast growing.  So you will want a smaller container(s) when you rack the first time.  If you have 2 gallons, you can put it into 2 (gallon jugs).

Rick
Rick

Offline fermentedhiker

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #38 on: January 07, 2009, 02:11:55 pm »
Not knowing your starting SG means you won't be able to judge alcohol content of the final mead as easily, but taking it periodically throughout fermentation is helpful.  As was mentioned it will let you know when fermentation finished if the yeast has done it's job and used all the available sugar or not.  A very important piece of information.

He's right about matching your carboy size to your batch size.  After fermentation quiets down it won't be able to maintain a blanket of CO2 in the large airspace above the mead.  Since a smaller carboy is cheaper than a CO2 injection setup I would just pick up a 3 gallon carboy.  They're good to have around for experimental batches anyways.  Kind of like NUCs for beekeepers every winemaker should have a couple lying around  ;)

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Offline Greg Peck

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Re: Making Mead
« Reply #39 on: January 07, 2009, 03:30:03 pm »
Ok I tested it and found the SG to be at 1.025. I also used a Vino-o-Meter for alcohol level and it said that the alcohol level was around 8%. Does that sound about right for being 11 days old?

As far as figuring out the SG of the original I dont know how to do that. I added 6 Lb of Honey to 2.5 gal water. The honey when extracted was around 18% moisture content if I remember right.
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