Mead q&a

[MmmBeer]

I just got 15 lbs of honey at a really good price, I've been reading up on mead and know that some of you around here have some experience in brewing it just a couple questions:

1) to boil or not to boil? has anyone noticed the taste difference? what is it?
2) tannins and acids- when to add? what major effect?
3) time in secondary/tertiary- don't want to make bottle bombs, but don't want to wait a full year.
3) hops? other additives I don't know about?

i know toneyc has done some batches. any help would be appreciated, I want to do this batch before November.

[toneyc]

Um, I think I boiled my first batch, but didn't boil the last 4 or 5. It is supposed to be more flavorful if you don't boil it, but I couldn't tell if it is or not.

Tannins and acids. If you don't use fruit, you should use an acid blend because the honey doesn't have enough acid for good yeast development. And Yeast nutrient, don't forget yeast nutrient.

Time? Depends on how you like your mead. I like mine dry and sparkling. I've read all kinds of rules on racking and finally just decided to rack it once a month. Lightning has struck me dead, yet. Taste it every time you rack it. Here's where it gets sticky. I keg mine, now, so I don't care if the yeast is done or not when it goes in the fridge, but if you're bottling you'll want to go by the hydrometer readings, I guess.

So far, all I've made have been straight meads, no fruit, or other additives. Um, wait, I did make a cyser that's way too sweet for me right now, and the Liquid Sex mead posted here some time ago, but neither of those are ready yet. But anyway, I don't really have any experience to speak of with flavoring agents.

[edit] Before *November*? Of *this* year? Um, you can do a quickie sorta thing with about 1-1.5 pounds of honey per gallon of water that might be ready in the middle of December. The alcohol content won't be very high, and it might be a little sweet, still, but it might be worth a try if you don't have much time. I would make a good sized starter with DME. And don't forget the yeast nutrient and acid blend. [edit]
:)
Toney.

[MmmBeer]

Thanks toney!
I think I will start as soon as my supplies get in, and let it ferment 3-4 months, at 3 lbs per gallon this should be long enough? I'll check hydrometer readings I guess.

[brewmonkey]

I have both boiled and not boiled. I have found by far the better one were those where I used campden tablets rather then boil.

[toneyc]

Originally posted by MmmBeer
Thanks toney!
I think I will start as soon as my supplies get in, and let it ferment 3-4 months, at 3 lbs per gallon this should be long enough? I'll check hydrometer readings I guess.

3 pounds per gallon will take longer than 3 months, for sure. The Cyser I mentioned above was a one gallon batch with 3 pounds of honey. Too sweet for me, but if you like sweet mead it may be perfect! It fermented for 3 months, maybe a week less. I mixed a bottle of the cyser with a bottle of cider that I made at the same time that had fermented almost flavorless. Still sweet, but very good. And don't blow any candles out after drinking that mixture, either!

:)
Toney.

[MmmBeer]

I read an article that said if you keep the honey at 176 for an hour it will eliminate bacteria/wild yeast. Campden tablets can be used overnight right? can they be used to end a ferment? after using them can you still make sparkling mead/cider? or do you have to add more yeast?
What if I cut my honey from 15 lbs to 12 lbs? will this be decent mead? how long you think it would take?

[Beerconnoisseur]

Originally posted by MmmBeer
I read an article that said if you keep the honey at 176 for an hour it will eliminate bacteria/wild yeast.

I remember reading recently that there are some strains of bacteria that can survive boiling (212 degrees F). Don't remember the source, though.... and I've no idea if you'd ever find this bacteria in honey.

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Beerconnoisseur
I remember reading recently that there are some strains of bacteria that can survive boiling (212 degrees F). Don't remember the source, though.... and I've no idea if you'd ever find this bacteria in honey.

I read the same thing recently - that bacteria was found in an under ocean volcanic chimney if I remember correctly - so it's probably not a factor ;)

[mortong]

Anyone know of any meads sold bottled by breweries - I'm assuming that if they're around they'll be in a specialty beer shop. I'm thinking of trying a batch just to expand my horizons, but want to see if I'll even like it first (although I can't imagine I wont).

Also, is anyone able to link a few recipes. I can Google and find 1000 I'm sure, but I'd trust what you all have to say more than someone I haven't had experience with.

Thanks,
Geoff

[Herb Ninja]

Anyone know of any meads sold bottled by breweries

I don't think so although ive been wondering that question as well. Maybe there is too little profit and demand for mead. I have never seen any bottled mead. Ive always wanted to try it.

So, I second your question, anybody know of any bottled mead breweries?

[toneyc]

There are a few commercial mead makers. Chaucers is one. I don't much like their product, though. I dunno about beer breweries making mead. Never heard of that, but that doesn't count for much.

The recipe that I've used so far has been about 12 lbs honey, 4 tsp acid blend, 1 tsp yeast nutrient, Wyeast 3632 "Dry Mead" liquid yeast and clean water to make a 5 gallon batch. Rack monthly for about 6 months then bottle with priming sugar. If you prefer sweet mead, use the sweet mead yeast.

I have not used campden tablets, but yes, you could use them to stop the ferment. Though I am unsure of why you would want to do that then add more yeast for carbonation.

Please note that I am not an expert at this, I've only made four or five batches. But like you, I had always wanted to try it and had a really hard time finding commercial examples and the ones I did find were not what I expected. In fact the only commercial example I found that I liked wasn't really a mead, it was a honey ale called BarBar, I think. The first batch of mead I made (following the recipe above) was so far above the commercial examples that I had tried that I was sold on making my own from then on. I kegged my second batch, and a little early so it is a little sweeter than the first. The third batch I used less honey in and it fermented out almost tasteless, so I made a fourth batch with even more honey and mixed the third and fourth batches so the sweetness is about right, but I used a bitter honey in those two so it still isn't quite as good as the first two batches. Then a 1-gallon batch of cider and a 1-gallon batch of cyser, and a 1-gallon batch of the Liquid Sex mead someone posted here. Dang, I guess I need to get another batch going!

:)
Toney.

[MmmBeer]

I saw bottles of (chaucers ?) on sale at my local "exotic beer" store for $13 for a 16oz bottle!! I decided that shellin out the 30$ for honey and ingredients was better than laying down the $13 for a pint.

[jstrausss]

So what is mead anyway ??? I 've heard of it , and read things at this website , but dont know what it is at all. sounds intresting. I would like to brew it . Is it like beer or am I way off base on that statement

[Beaver]

Originally posted by jstrausss
So what is mead anyway ??? I 've heard of it , and read things at this website , but dont know what it is at all. sounds intresting. I would like to brew it . Is it like beer or am I way off base on that statement

Others can answer better than I. But essentially it's an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey.

[toneyc]

Mead is honey wine. In it's simplest form, it is honey and water and yeast and it can get as complex as you want to make it.

I think Chaucers sells around here for about $11 a bottle, but I can't remember if that bottle is a 350ml or a 750ml. I'm going senile.

:)
Toney.

[jstrausss]

is there a certain type of special yeast for making mead ? So what dos it taste like ?

[axis714]

I make 1 and 2 gallon batches of mead.{actually to be politically correct Metheglin} I do this in 1 gallon glass jugs with airlocks
and heres my basic recipe for 1 gallon .

2 lb. clover honey
1/4 tsp. citric acid
1/4 tsp. tannin powder
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
1 pint flavoring {flower petals, herb tea}
champagne yeast


Boil 1/2 gal water and add honey, stirring to mix. In primary, pour hot water over all dry ingredients except yeast. When water cools to lukewarm, add remaining water and sprinkle yeast on top. Cover with cloth and ferment 7 days. Strain out flowers and transfer liquid to secondary. Fit airlock. Ferment 60 days and rack. Refit airlock and allow to sit another 60 days. Rack into bottles and allow to age one year.


So far I like using lavender flowers, rose petals or jasmine tea also I have used whole cloves as flavor with good results.
add a campden tablet each time you rack and dont be in a hurry this is excellent after 1 whole year in bottle cellar in a constant 50 deg. area....I sure hope this helps maybe at least as a base recipe.
BEWARE THE MEAD HANGOVER

[fretlessman71]

Is there a way to use honeysuckle to flavor it? Honeysuckle always smelled like something I'd like to drink...

[jstrausss]

definatly helps . I'm going to try it . Any other recipe's out there ? Sounds like a real interesting drink

[toneyc]

There's the champagne dry yeast, and there's the Wyeast 3632 Dry Mead liquid yeast. I have used the Wyeast in all my meads.

:)
Toney.

[OldHooky]

I thought I saw a bottle of mead at a liquor store in Muskegon. Never appealed to me. I tend to stay away from brews with high alcohol content. Anything over 6-7% just don't taste right to me.

[fretlessman71]

Would you stay away from a wine because it has a similar alcohol content? No, no... mead is meant to be sipped even slower than your beer. Be brave - choose Courage! (And try some mead as well! :D)

[OldHooky]

So right. I'll make it a point to try some. Any suggested brands, or does anyone nearby have any they'd like me to try? I'll swap a heather beer for a mead.

[unkle bik]

I have made several batches of mead, each with different results.
The best batch was made from raw, unrefined honey. Unrefined honey comes straight from the hive, no filtering. It will look like wax. The batch I made from this was superior because of the flavor complexities. The store bought honey didn't have such a full flavour. 12- 15 lbs. is usually enough for 5 gal. Adding grated ginger root adds a taste worth noting.
I boiled all my batches with acid blend for 15 min. to kill off any bacteria. I then skimmed the meringue off the top. (Tasty!)
I fermented @ room temp. for about 6 months using dry champagne yeast . I am told the acid blend gets rid of some of the alcohol bite, too. I racked several times during this peroid. I then bottled with priming sugar & waited at least a month to drink. Much longer, & the taste improved immensley. A year was even better.
Results: 10-12% abv of the greatest carbonated beverage you can find.
If you want a recipe, PM me.

[bierboy]

Originally posted by toneyc
There are a few commercial mead makers. Chaucers is one. I don't much like their product, though. I dunno about beer breweries making mead. Never heard of that, but that doesn't count for much.

The recipe that I've used so far has been about 12 lbs honey, 4 tsp acid blend, 1 tsp yeast nutrient, Wyeast 3632 "Dry Mead" liquid yeast and clean water to make a 5 gallon batch. Rack monthly for about 6 months then bottle with priming sugar. If you prefer sweet mead, use the sweet mead yeast.

I have not used campden tablets, but yes, you could use them to stop the ferment. Though I am unsure of why you would want to do that then add more yeast for carbonation.



I have used a similar recipe. It has been in the fermenter for over a year now and I am in no hurry to bottle it.

Campden tablets (or potassium/sodium metabisulfate) is used before pitching the yeast. Potassium sorbate is used to stop the fermentation. At least, that is why I read in The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schram.

Also, Schram does the no fuss method of sanitizing the must. This means that he does not even bother to sulfate the must. He just adds the honey, acid blend, yeast nutrient, and yeast and does not worry about killing any of the little beasties.

As for commercial examples. I know that there is a winery in northern WI and one in MI that makes mead. I am not sure how far they ship their product. You can probably order bottles through the mail though.

[danno]

here's (http://www.winehaven.com/index.phtml) a link to a Minnesota Winery that makes a couple of meads, or Honey Wines, as they call them on their website. I've had them, the medium dry is still pretty sweet (for someone that likes his wines dry, anyways). very, very tasty...

(getting back into arcane and draconian liquor laws, they can only ship to 16 states, and can't take online orders...)

[axis714]

the dose of SO2 must be regenerated periodically. If you add the Campden or pot meta to the must at the beginning, add another dose at the 2nd, 4th, and 6th rackings and just before bottling (it must be added at the same time as potassium sorbate when stabilizing a wine, as the potassium sorbate will not effect the yeast without pot meta being present at the same time). If you add Campden or pot meta at the time of the 1st racking, add it again at the 3rd and 5th rackings and before bottling (when stabilizing the wine). This should be done whether the recipe mentions it or not.

[hubcity]

I have just started my first ever Mead and have a couple of questions. It is a 5 gallon batch, 14lbs wild honey lightly boiled for 30 min added Irish moss in the last 10 min.Hand Juiced enough Naval oranges to get 1 gallon pulp/juice. Added 5 tsp Yeast nutrient and used white wine/champagne yeast pitched at 75 degrees. OG 1.080

I want to filter out the orange pulp after 10-14 days maybe through a coiple folds of cheese cloth??

After filtering can I top up my batch with something??

Is there anything else I should be doing other than racking monthly??

Thanks for your input.

[axis714]

I am no expert by any means on this subject...maybe someone else here is more of an authority on Mead making but I believe by adding the orange what youre making is a Melomel. What I usually do is save a wine bottle full of the must and use it to top up or i suppose you could just boil a little more honey in water and cool and add after topping up...I have never done a 5 gal. batch so Im not sure how much liquid youll lose. Also alot of Mead makers use an acid blend powder when making melomel.
Looks like an awesome recipe to me..dont forget to send us all a bottle next year :D

[toneyc]

Yep, sounds like a great recipe. I don't know that straining the pulp out will be necessary, it may clear on it's own. I would probably top up with boiled and cooled water. If you don't want to water it down, you can sterilize some marbles and use them to fill out the volume.

:)
Toney.

[Stodbrew]

Originally posted by Herb Ninja


So, I second your question, anybody know of any bottled mead breweries?

Check this place out: www.rabbitsfootmeadery.com. Apparently they are only a couple miles from the brewery where I work, but I just recently found out about them. Haven't had a chance to try anything from them yet. They sell their products online, too.

[axis714]

Redstone has a few I know of http://www.solorb.com/mead/

[BluesHarp]

White Winter Winery, Iron River, WI

They accept online orders and ship to wherever it is legal, and have a great map outlining all the various laws:

Will ship to:

California
Colorado
District of Columbia
Idaho
Illinois
Iowa
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Rhode Island
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming.


Minnesota (Residents must call to order, internet sales prohibited).
Ohio (Residents must obtain permit).



White Winter Winery (http://www.whitewinter.com/)

I liked their stuff better than Chaucer

[hubcity]

Fours days in and the primary has slowed slightly, not quite the volcanoe looking mixture it was on day two. I took a SG reading and it is 1.028 down from 1.080 and it smells a little weird but it tastes quite good! It is starting to loose the orange color kinda looks like watered down orange juice.

My question at what SG should I transfer to the secondary and how do you purge the carboy with C02, I also read something on sulphiting the carboy??

Thanks,

Jeff

[toneyc]

I would probably not shoot for a particular SG to rack at, but just let it sit for a month and rack at monthly intervals. Depending on the yeast you used, you still have a lot of potential fermenting to go.

How do you purge the carboy with co2? Attach an air chuck to your co2 tank and blow co2 into the carboy as gently as possible. It might help to attach some tubing to the air chuck so you can fill the carboy from the bottom up.

Sulphiting? I have read several places that you should use camden tablets or sodium metabisulphate at each racking to avoid infection. I think this will kill the yeast, too, so you want to make sure fermentation is complete before doing this.

:)
Toney.

[JoeE]

is mead normally sparkling? or is it traditionally servered like a wine?

[toneyc]

I think that *traditionally* it was still, like wine. Most commercial examples that I have seen are also still meads. Personally, I like sparkling mead so that's how I make mine, like champagne.

:)
Toney.

[JoeE]

One more question about mead. Can you rack it to long as in about 2 years?

[fretlessman71]

You bet you can. The longer you leave it the better it is. I think you have to keep reracking it every 3 months or so to a new container, however.

[hubcity]

Well after one month I took another SG reading, it has fallen from 1.084 to 90. Can someone tell me the alcohol content at this point? Taste is very good but has a slight sulphur smell and still needs to clear some, there is a some air space left in the carboy and im worried about oxidation,any idea's? Should I bottle? Or what? Thanks in advance for your input.

[toneyc]

That is about 12%, I think. If the air space bothers you, you can either boil some water and top up the carboy, boil some marbles and drop those in to reduce the air space, or if you have kegging supplies, you could blow some co2 in to displace the oxygen in the air space. I wouldn't bottle after just one month.

:)
Toney.

[axis714]

I agree w/ Toney 1 month is time to rack. nowhere near bottling yet , Just Rack on a crushed camden,(if 12% suits you) top up and put it some where out of sight out of mind.
Because of no hop use and very long conditioning time..the pot meta(campden) is kinda necessary. Not all do - but im not that kinda gambler.

[axis714]

I forgot to mention that the sulphite in mine is merely because i cellar my mead in wine bottles for 2-3 years sometimes and when using corks there is an air exchange via osmosis. I suppose if kept under airlock and bottle capped this may not be necessary??? btw i prefer sparkling mead,melomel,methoglin and still ciders ,cysers, fruit wines...just my .02

[hubcity]

Well it been three months and I have just racked again to a clean carboy. SG is at .88 from the original 1.084. My question are will it still bottle carbonate if the SG is staying close to the same I took a reading about two weeks ago and it was very close to .88?<p>

It has just a little hint of yellow left from the oranges but very close to clear, smells good and I had a little taste mmmm, and your telling me that it will only get better with time!

[Salpta]

Any updates on this? I'm very interested in learning how this turned out and if you've bottled yet. :)

[toneyc]

Yeah, yeah, yeah! Me, too, me, too!!

:D
Toney.

[unkle bik]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
You bet you can. The longer you leave it the better it is. I think you have to keep reracking it every 3 months or so to a new container, however.

Let's say you have it setting for 2 years. You have racked it 6 times.

Would there be any active yeast in there to get a sparkling mead?
Or would you have to add some champagne yeast at this point?