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Hello all, first go at mead.

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Compoundbill

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 3, 2014
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Hello all,
I am new here and just thought I would say hello from Kendal.

I saw some bloke on you tube making mead and decided I needed to have a go.
I read a lot about it and then decided that there seems to be many ways to do it.
So being the engineer I am I decided to have a go and see where it leads and adjust the next batch where or if needed.
This is of course if I actually like mead, I have never tasted it as I normally drink lager.

So yesterday I bought a demijohn, honey and yeast with a few other bits.
Then found I had not bought sterilising fluid and no spring water. Neither had a bought a hydrometer.
Anyway I digress as I am used to doing the impossible at work with nothing so this is nothing to concern me.

So I boiled water for the time it took me to drink 3 cans of lager and let it cool to 70 Celsius (I do have a thermometer).
I then poured in the contents of 4 jars of honey totalling 1.8kg (weight on the jars, from Home Bargains) and mixed well.
I then mixed in yeast nutrient. This got me a bit as the packet says for 25l and I read somewhere more was needed in mead so I decided to chuck in 10l worth.
I poured it into my demijohn which I did sterilise with sterilising fluid strangely enough which I found beauty therapists use (my daughter has made herself useful).
Stood it in the sink with cold water to cool and had me some more lager, thirsty work this brewing business.
When it was about room temperature I poured in the yeast GV10 and went to bed. I picked GV10 because someone on some site said it was good.

This morning I came in the kitchen and was surprised to see the airlock bubbling quite fast and I can't quite believe how much micro bubbles are pouring up from the bottom.
It is still bubbling away merrily as I type. I hope that I am on the right track and if you have any suggestion I would love to hear them.

However I now find myself looking a bigger fermenters, bottles, kegs etc.

Now my wife has told me there is a carrier bag full of Satsuma's, about 10 oranges, melon and a few apples that need using soon.
So melomel is what I will be having a go at this week but in a bigger container.

Cheers guys.
 
If it's bubbling and it's something you like at the end, then job well done!

Even if not, you'll have learned something!

Welcome to the hobby!
 
Give a go at the JAOM recipe with those oranges. It's supposed to be near impossible to mess up. What type of engineer are you? I'm studying aerospace! Oh and go get that hydrometer ASAP


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Welcome to the world of mead making. I highly suggest starting with a JAOM or two. I too am new to mead making, and many have suggested it to me as well. I took their advice and couldn't be happier. Good luck.
 
fatbloke said:
Yeah...... wasn't till I read yer post I re-read his and it was staring me in the face....... DOH! ;D

I promise to pay more attention next time. Can I get off the naughty step now ?
Click to expand...

LOL. He who has never missed a detail throw the first stone!




Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 
Well, I hope Compoundbill comes back; everyone else here is too serious😀

Sent from the Nexus of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which has been infected with Vogon poetry, some of which leaked out here.
 
Thanks guys,
Sorry I have been away to Scotland for the weekend.
I work in the oil industry on an ROV vessel.

I have the hydrometer, wine thief and a 25 litre plastic bin with honey and oranges in it. starting SG 1062.
The mead is still bubbling away quite fast but the orange one seem quite slow in comparison.

I will give the JAOM a go soon but I am off to Lanzarotte in the morning, just to keep the wife happy.

After setting off the bigger fermenter I am still in two minds as to which is better. 25 litres sounds like a great idea but the 5 litres is easier to make.

What is everyone making theirs in please?
 
Fermentation pail.....allows you to take measurements, add stuff, stir etc much easier than a carboy

Sent from Arthur Dent's towel smothering a volume of Vogon poetry, some of which just leaked out.
 
I used the brewing buckets too 27litre size, then rack over to 22.5 litre glass. Cos like Doug says, much easier to do additions, measurements etc with a bucket, but then its handy to monitor its progress clearing etc in glass.....

Oh and is the 1.062 reading your start ? Or from after it'd been going for a few days ?

Only cos that's quite low to start a mead. About the 1.090 to 1.110 is about average.......
 
Hi all,
The SG was at the start and was very low.
It seems to stop bubbling after a few days so I have been feeding it if that's the right word.
I think I will keep feeding it more honey until it stops bubbling completely.
Since I have fed it twice I will not be sure of the alcohol content.
It seems to have a lot of floating bits in it compared to the mead which I made first.
would there be a problem if I racked it and then kept feeding it?
thanks
 
I would finish the step feeding in the primary and wait for it to reach its final gravity before racking. I have heard of people racking before fermentation was finished but I have also read that doing this can possibly cause a stuck ferment on occasion. I have no experience first hand, just passing along what I've read on here. Also, as I understand it, you will get more activity when step feeding in primary because you are feeding on top of the yeast cake. I suppose it's a simple matter of numbers of yeast present.
 
Compoundbill said:
Hi all,
The SG was at the start and was very low.
It seems to stop bubbling after a few days so I have been feeding it if that's the right word.
I think I will keep feeding it more honey until it stops bubbling completely.
Since I have fed it twice I will not be sure of the alcohol content.
It seems to have a lot of floating bits in it compared to the mead which I made first.
would there be a problem if I racked it and then kept feeding it?
thanks
Click to expand...



Bill! Congratulations on your second batch! I'm not an old timer on here but I have a few batches under my belt.

I don't see you mentioning any readings. You really need to take readings if you want to be sure about what's going on with your step feed.

A hydrometer will take the guesswork away and you will know when your yeast are finished and it's time to rack to secondary.

I would not rack to a secondary until primary ferment is done and all those "floating bits" are falling or at least not moving around anymore.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 
Hi guys,
I am still not use to the hydrometer bit.
I fed it and brought it back up to SG1.016 with the addition of another 1.7kg (3.75 Lbs.)of honey. now it is bubbling very well.
The bin now has 27 litres of liquid in it and it full.
It started out with 4.5kg (9.9Lbs.) of honey 2 oranges plus zest 10 tangerines and a water melon (because it needed using up).
I will keep feeding it until it stops bubbling completely.
cheers.
 
Well if the bin is full, maybe take a couple of litres out and put it in the fridge in a pop bottle.

As it chills it will produce some pressure but you can release that as it cools and keep that for topping up later.

Plus with that and if you remove the fruit you should have some feeding space.

Oh and take a gravity both before and after adding a step then you should see the point where it stopps dropping......
 
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