First attempt at Mead..... Have a question!

[Steve Royer]

I started making a traditional Mead. I used 15 Pounds of Orange Blossom honey for 5 gallons. My Gravity reading was a lot lower then I thought it should be. OG reading was at 1.060, This does seem low for the amount of honey that I used. Should it not be somewhere around 1.100. I did not take the OG reading at the recommended temp, but I did calculate for temperature offset. I did take the reading before I pitched the yeast or added the yeast nutrient. Thank you all in advance for the info and insight.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hiya Steve and welcome. Assuming the total volume is 5 gallons then the gravity by calculation ought to have been 3* .035 or 1.105. That your reading was as low as 1.060 suggests that the honey and water may not have been really well mixed and as honey is so much more dense than water much of the honey may simply have settled towards the bottom of your fermenter but the sample you took to measure the gravity may have been taken from higher up. Assuming you stir the must/mead to remove carbon dioxide the yeast will be able to get at the more concentrated layer at the bottom without too much difficulty. What I tend to do is mix any batch of honey with water in my blender before adding this to the fermenter. This in order to better aerate the must and to help ensure that the honey mixed well enough that it will tend not to settle at the bottom.

 

[Steve Royer]

I Mixed the must really well with a wire wisp to add oxygen, after I had stirred in the honey and scrapped the bottom with a rubber spatula to be sure I had it all dissolved, I took the reading straight from the bucket, instead of a test tube or thief ...... maybe that is why my reading was off. The fermentation is really healthy and looks to be going really well from what I have researched. Once fermentation is done I plan on racking into a 5 gallon carboy and letting it sit for another month or so before I do final racking and stabilizing. Any tips from here would greatly be appreciated.

 

[bernardsmith]

If you think that you had thoroughly mixed the honey I would check your hydrometer. If you have some distilled water check the reading. (It should be 1.000). If you take 2 oz of table sugar and dissolve this in enough distilled water to make .5 pint then the gravity should be 1.080. Add another .5 pint and the gravity should now be 1.040. If all readings are correct then your hydrometer is OK but the mystery still stands

 

[Steve Royer]

i checked my hydrometer and it is off by .050, so my OG reading would be around 1.111

 

[jimmyjusa]

Hiya Steve and welcome. Assuming the total volume is 5 gallons then the gravity by calculation ought to have been 3* .035 or 1.105. That your reading was as low as 1.060 suggests that the honey and water may not have been really well mixed and as honey is so much more dense than water much of the honey may simply have settled towards the bottom of your fermenter but the sample you took to measure the gravity may have been taken from higher up. Assuming you stir the must/mead to remove carbon dioxide the yeast will be able to get at the more concentrated layer at the bottom without too much difficulty. What I tend to do is mix any batch of honey with water in my blender before adding this to the fermenter. This in order to better aerate the must and to help ensure that the honey mixed well enough that it will tend not to settle at the bottom.

I really like that blender method, thanks for that tip

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