mead making help

[ks.bee.kpr]

What is a simple way of making mead? I understand the arguments of boiling vs "coldbrewing" but what is racking and do you have to rack more then once?

[nursebee]

Simple mead: Mix gallon of honey with 4 gallons of water, add yeast. Let sit 2 years. Drink. This is VERY SIMPLE

Racking is when you remove the liquid off of the particulate matter that has sunk to the bottom of your fermentation vessel.

You do not have to rack at all, but I have found that I need to rack several times prior to bottling.

[ks.bee.kpr]

So basicly rack off the liquid in to another carboy over and over til there is no setament falling to the bottom? also would you recommend 2 carboys to switch back and forth and one more question does the top of the carboy need to be closed when fermenting or will the top blow off.

[nursebee]

Yes on the racking question. Yes for 2 carboys. The top should be closed off with an airlock. Do a net search for homebrew shops and search the site for airlock.

[ScottS]

One more thing - you should add some yeast energizer and nutrient to the above recipe, 2 tsp each. Honey is very short on free nitrogen that yeast need for healthy reproduction. Without nutrients, you will likely either get a stuck fementation or significant off-flavors.

[ks.bee.kpr]

Hey Thanks for all the help. Ill tell how it ends up

[BULLSEYE BILL]

KS.BEE.KPR, If you drift down here off the high plains we will have a 'tasting' of my stocks.

I am too impatient to wait two years. My mentor taught me how to coldbrew a very drinkable mead in less than seven weeks.

Since you are going to the brew shop to get a couple of carboys and airlocks, pick up a must bucket and Premier Cuvee yeast too. They hold just over six gallons.

Measure 18 to 22 pounds of honey, according to how sweet you want your mead to be, into the bucket. Add hot tap water (105) to the six gallon mark. Add one packet of Premier Cuvee and stir until all is disolved. Cover with lid and airlock. After about two weeks rack into carboy, then again on about a ten day to two week interval. In about six weeks the yeast dies at about 15% alcohol. At this point flavor can be added but is not necessary.

Aging will improve it, but who can wait? or more to the point why? Be sure to save a couple of bottles of every batch for special occasions.

[ks.bee.kpr]

Hey Bill long time no talk

Thats exactly my thoughts... I do not have the patients and noticed some of you do not wait the 2 years. Ill have to take you up on that offer in the near future.Also I went up to "whats Brewin" and They want like $26 for a 6.5 gal carboy. any suggestion on a better source?

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>Hey Bill long time no talk

Went to Vegas on business trip, had a major fire at the range, router on computer would not let me log onto Beesource and a few other sites. Still a little busy with more than a few irons in the "fire".


Hey, I didn't know you were that close, you must be down south of here? In that case go to the Wine Celler just off the Turnpike and Mulvane exit for better deals. They are also a good source for used stuff too.

The ole gal at What's Brewin had some used five gallon carboys last time I was there for seven dollars. They needed some work to get them cleaned up.

Buy the plastic must bucket. Don't buy a 6.5 gal carboy, fives are cheaper anyway. If you have a little left over from the first rack put it in a one gal jug with an airlock. Then if you need some to top off the next rack use the one gal and drink the rest. ;)

[Ben Brewcat]

Hey KS,
Note the added "intro to" link above the topics section for an overview on mead.

[dcross]

<<Went to Vegas on business trip>>

Whatever you say, Bullseye;)

[ks.bee.kpr]

Bullseye Blackjack?

[Ray Keller]

The Recipe I have obtained calls for
Malic aacid
Tartaric acid
Tannin
Energizer
Crushed campden
some of you all, have stated, you dont use chemicals in your must, are these the Kind of CHEMICALs you all are speaking of.
My recipe was obtained from www.fermentationproducts.com (http://www.fermentationproducts.com) under there wine recipes

[nursebee]

No Campded use here. Yes the others are chemicals but they contribute to a healthy fermentation. Campden will inhibit wild yeasts.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>some of you all, have stated, you dont use chemicals in your must, are these the Kind of CHEMICALs you all are speaking of.

Yes, among others.

[Ben Brewcat]

You might consider adding the acids and tannins later on to taste (they are for flavor and mouthfeel) instead of from the getgo... meads acidify as they ferment and sometimes a low pH can stall out a ferment prrematurely.

[ScottS]

I agree with Ben about acid and tannin additions - doing them to early is risky unless you've got a good proven recipe. I never use sulfites (campen tablets). Nutrient is vital though, honey is so low in the free nitrogen needed for fermentation that if you leave it out, you are likely to get a stuck ferment. There are more natural ways to get the needed nutrients (raisins, etc), but I've never felt the need.

[ks.bee.kpr]

Scotts so do you or do you not add nutrient yourself?

[ScottS]

I add both commerical yeast energizer and yeast nutrient. Yeast energizer has the trace minerals etc that yeast need for healthy lives. Yeast nutrient has the nitrogen necessary for fermentation. I prefer to use diammonium phosphate (DAP) for yeast nutrient rather than the normal yellow urea-based nutrient you find in most homebrew shops. I just don't much like the idea of putting dehydrated pee in my mead. smile.gif

[Ben Brewcat]

Worth noting that there are differences in what's called nutrient and energizer depending on your source. CellarPro (from Steinbart), for example, is the opposite (energizer=nitrogen and noots=yeast hulls and vits/minerals) and is commonly avaliable.

Agreed on the DAP vs. urea for sure, though some of those formulations are non-urea derived.

[Ray Keller]

hello again everyone. I got me a problem i'll explain everything I can. My Mead stuck in fermentation but I know dont know why. I used this recipe (1 Gal)
3lbs Orange Blossom Honey
1 tsp Yeast energizer (DAP)
7 pts of spring water (Store bought)
1 PKG Lalvin ICV D-47
water to 1 Gal (spring)
My starting S.G.was 1.095 on 2-27-05
do not know acid level
Fermentation Room Temp 72(F)
On 3-5-05 my S.G. was 1.072 it never changed after that on 3-16-05 it still stayed the same. I have since used Lalvin EC-1118 Champagne yeast to restart. I am very careful about keeping every thing clean. Any clues as to my fermentation failure. And was D-47 the right call to restart my fermentation. Thanks for any help in advance!

[Ray Keller]

<And was D-47 the right call to restart my fermentation.>

Sorry for that, what I ment was EC-1118 Champagne Yeast the right call to restart my fermentation.

[Ben Brewcat]

That's kinda weird. The yeast don't read the same books we do, so they can be uncooperative sometimes. Usually (once they start) they'll run better than that, even if there are problems later on. Some thoughts:

Make sure you're not using the tube the hydrometer came in for a sample jar. The hydrometer needs to float freely without touching the walls, and the tube just isn't big enough. Your inital gravity reading is pretty close to what I'd guess you'd start at, but it's worth asking.

Was the water really spring (OK) or was it distilled (less OK)?

How did you rehydrate the yeast? Sprinkling right onto the mead is sometimes recommended but is stressful for them. Rehydrate in warm water instead for 5 mins, then pitch.

Was the must boiled extensively? If so it might need gentle aeration.

Champagne yeast is a traditional re-starter for its aggessiveness, though the D-47 should be fine here too.

The lack of nutrients might well be a problem; try adding 1/4 tsp (or half what's recommended on the package) of nutrients to the mead.

And rapid temperature swings can shock yeast, like your house is 70 when you're home at night but then you go to work and turn it down to 55. A one-galloner will stay pretty close to ambient temps.

Can you describe what it did? How'd the airlock bubble, was there foam on the top, etc?

[Ray Keller]

Thanks for the fast reply Ben. You've helped me alot so far Thanks again. Here is the answers to the questions you asked me.

I'm using a larger tube to float the Hydrometer(not the tube it came in)

Was it spring water? It said so but it was a generic. So I cant be 100% sure

Rehydrated in warm water for around 20 min

Must was heated but never boiled Max temp was around 130(F)+/- a few degrees

Aerated around every other day for first week then around ever 3 to 4 days after that(Got Busy)

House temp stays at 72(F) or my wounderful Wife would shoot me.

Airlock Bubbled at a real regular pace for a few days even putting a little foam into my airlock then it just quit

The Nutrients May very well be my problem. My recipe only called for Yaest Energizer 3/4tsp, I used 1tsp of L.D. Carlson Brand energizer (DAP). I have Yeast Nutrient, But it is urea Based, and I didn't want to use it after reading Both your and ScottS Post on the subject.

I have 1 more question- could I have just ended up with a bad Pkg of yeast even though they did start at the begining. I'm sure I am the cause of the failure to the fermentation. I just cant figure it out. The champagne yeast did restart it. I added it on 3-16 at S.G. 1.072 today 3-21 it sets at S.G. 1.060 so it still seems slow to me. thanks again Ben for your help

[Ben Brewcat]

Slow mead's not unusual, you can't hurry love! If it's chugging along, let it go. Don't be TOO afraid to use the nutrient in moderate amounts; the yeast eat it. "Bad" yeast won't start at all. If they do get going, they'll reproduce and be healthy and happy if they can get all their needs met in the medium; I'd bet it's the nutrients. Occasionally there are so few viable cells that it takes them so long to reproduce to adequate levels that another organism (that wouldl've been overwhelmed quickly in a normal ferment) can build to numbers that can influence the mead. This is very rare with dry yeast, there are just tons of cells in a packet. Enough, in fact, for five times your volume! I'd let it rock and roll for awhile and see where it goes. Good Luck!

[MeadMan]

Just a note here on the chemicals. I really don't like adding chemicals either but I do add tannin at must preperation to aid in clarifying my mead. And its kinda hard in my opinion to call tannin a chemical its really just dryed and pulverized grape skins. But becareful with the tannin it adds a strong astringent taste to the mead and if over done and will take an extended time to age out.

[Ben Brewcat]

Many commercial tannins are actually extracted from something else, "Mimosa trees" if I remember. Tastes the same to me, even side-by-side.

[MeadMan]

really i didn't know that
All i know is what i tastes like to stick my finger in it and taste it. One day I decided to stick my finger in all my acids so I knew exactly what they were adding to my meads. Wow what a lesson! Since then I haven't added anything but tannin and only very gingerly.

[ckinser]

You might want to try irish moss as it is a great clarifier and unlike tannin will not impart flavor

[Ben Brewcat]

Note that Irish Moss (a seaweed) needs to be boiled to release the charged particles that attract hazers.