Bray’s One Month Mead (aka “BOMM”) is a mead that is completely drinkable in 1 month. It is the result of a series of yeast screen with various ale yeasts done by Bray Denard (loveofrose on the forums). This recipe has numerous variations found on Got Mead? and denardbrewing.com. Just follow the directions without any substitutions and you will have wonderful mead in a month.

Bray’s One Month Mead aka the BOMM

Bray’s One Month Mead is a recipe that makes an excellent mead in less than a month.

  • 1 gallon Ozarka spring water (NOT distilled water.)
  • 2.4 pounds orange blossom honey
  • 3/4 tsp DAP (3 additions of 1/4 tsp.)
  • 1.5 tsp Fermaid K (3 additions of 1/2 tsp.)
  • 1/4 tsp Potassium Carbonate
  • 1 pack Wyeast 1388 (No substitutions!) (Activate for 1-2 hours.)
  1. Start with 1 gallon Ozarka spring water.
  2. Remove 1/2 cup water to compensate for smack pack volume.
  3. Draw line on jug at this water level.
  4. Remove an additional 3.2 cups of water from jug (757 ml).
  5. Add Orange Blossom honey (or your favorite varietal honey) back to line. -About 2.5 lbs. (SG ~1.099)
  6. Add 1/4 tsp DAP and 1/2 tsp of Fermaid K.
    -Add these again at 1/3 (1.066) & 2/3 (1.033) sugar break.
    -These are nutrients you can get at homebrew shops or Amazon. Diammonium phosphate (DAP) is a free nitrogen source. Fermaid K contains vitamins, minerals, and trace nutrients. Honey is very deficient in nutrients so you need both to prevent fusel production.
  7. Add 1/4 tsp K2CO3. One time addition.
    -Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) is preferred due to high K+ levels, but potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) will work fine. This is for pH buffering and to provide K+ for the yeast.
  8. Shake with the top on until honey is fully dissolved. It will require some effort! You’re earning your mead!
  9. Add activated Wyeast 1388 yeast smacked for about 2 hours.
    -No water in airlock for 7 days or the gravity falls below 1.033. Whichever comes first, add water or vodka to airlock. Ferments dry in 7-14 days.

NOTE: Wyeast 1388 temperature range is best in the 68-74 F range. Some people have reported issues with going above 74ºF, other people say it’s fine. I try to keep my fermentations at 68ºF.

Post Fermentation (Optional!)

-Add 1 whole vanilla bean, 3 cubes American Medium toast and 2 cubes French Medium toast oak for 2-4 weeks to taste.
-You can also step feed small additions of honey until the yeast give up to sweeten. Just be sure your gravity is stable over several weeks to avoid bottle bombs! SG of up to 1.12 will still ferment dry, but the SNAs need to go in at 1.08 & 1.04 in this case.
-I’ve also had good luck racking on 3-5 pounds of frozen berries to make a melomel, but fruit in very prone to oxidation. Use good practices!
-This recipe can be adapted to cysers, pyments, braggots, metheglins or anything else. It’s your mead. Experiment!

BOMM Gravity and Nutrient Update
After much research, I’ve established some guidelines for Wyeast 1388 to make mead making easier/faster (read “I got sick of step feeding”).

It seems Wyeast 1388 alcohol tolerance in mead is 15.7-16% ABV. Using this knowledge, I’ve been adding more and more honey upfront to see if the yeast would remain clean. I’m very happy to say that it does. Below is a chart of starting gravities and where Wyeast 1388 will stop. Keep in mind it’s alway plus or minus a few points. On rare occasions, the yeast can put on their super suits and go to 18% ABV. I’ve only heard of one case of this in 4 years though.

Original Gravity -> Finish Gravity
1.120 or less -> 1.000
1.130 -> 1.010
1.140 -> 1.020
1.150. -> 1.030

If you add more honey upfront, you need to adjust your nutrient timing. Since 1388 eats through 120 points, it’s always subtraction of 40 points per addition. See chart below:

Nutrient Addition Timing Adjustments
1.120 – Add upfront, 1.080 & 1.040.
1.130 – Add upfront, 1.090 & 1.050.
1.140 – Add upfront, 1.100 & 1.060.
1.150 – Add upfront, 1.110 & 1.070.

Same amount of nutrients per standard recipe, just different gravity addition times.

Posted with permission from http://denardbrewing.com

BOMM, Mead Recipes, Traditional Mead

Bray Denard
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