Hi people,
I'm new to the forums and would like to introduce myself and describe my 1st attempt at making mead. I named it as such in hope that others new to mead may be attracted.
After tasting some mead, I enjoyed and decided to make my own as I couldn't find any local to me. I wanted to use local produce and chose strawberries And blackberries.
I did throughout make a number of mistakes. Firstly I attempted to activate the yeast (youngs yeast/nutrient) in cold water, it should have been warm. Also, I could have left it for several minutes rather than just tipping it in... I put a heaped teaspoon of the yeast/nutrient in - levelled spoon would have been better (the instructions said 1 heaped teaspoon for 4.5 to 22.5 ltr. I was well on the low side at 4 5ltr). The fermentation vecame seriously active and a blow off tube became necessary.
After 30 days with 1 bubble every 25seconds, I racked the mead. I could have left it a little longer - patience is a virtue.. after racking the mead it was very cloudy and I managed to suck some of the strawberry and a tiny bit on sediment with the siphon, thou I tryed to avoid it..
2 week's after, I bottled.. still to early, as it wasn't clear. It stayed in the bottles for a 2-3 weeks, but sediment was at the bottle. It was clear though.. I decided to fix this by recycling the bottles with fresh washed, sanitised and sterilized bottles.
The mead has been kept in a cold dark place for further week's. No more sediment, a lovely colour and is tasting like wine, followed by blackcurrant, then strawberry. The taste is getting better with time and it was a success, though there was a lot of things I could have done better.. then I found this forum..
For any beginners, I keenly suggest you read up as much as you can, watch as many videos as you can and don't be afraid to ask questions, if you are unsure of what/how to do. In my experience brewers and homebrew shops have been such friendly people open to giving advice..
I did make a video blog. Beginner's feel free to watch, but remember what I have mentioned above.. for the more seasoned, feel free to have a look and a giggle at the mistakes.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWYN88xllsSyqCXge2-ulXgx_op_Suq_9
To the beginner.. Mead making is not over difficult, but like all things, does require some learning and practice. Don't be afraid to have a go, but do try to be patient...
I'm new to the forums and would like to introduce myself and describe my 1st attempt at making mead. I named it as such in hope that others new to mead may be attracted.
After tasting some mead, I enjoyed and decided to make my own as I couldn't find any local to me. I wanted to use local produce and chose strawberries And blackberries.
I did throughout make a number of mistakes. Firstly I attempted to activate the yeast (youngs yeast/nutrient) in cold water, it should have been warm. Also, I could have left it for several minutes rather than just tipping it in... I put a heaped teaspoon of the yeast/nutrient in - levelled spoon would have been better (the instructions said 1 heaped teaspoon for 4.5 to 22.5 ltr. I was well on the low side at 4 5ltr). The fermentation vecame seriously active and a blow off tube became necessary.
After 30 days with 1 bubble every 25seconds, I racked the mead. I could have left it a little longer - patience is a virtue.. after racking the mead it was very cloudy and I managed to suck some of the strawberry and a tiny bit on sediment with the siphon, thou I tryed to avoid it..
2 week's after, I bottled.. still to early, as it wasn't clear. It stayed in the bottles for a 2-3 weeks, but sediment was at the bottle. It was clear though.. I decided to fix this by recycling the bottles with fresh washed, sanitised and sterilized bottles.
The mead has been kept in a cold dark place for further week's. No more sediment, a lovely colour and is tasting like wine, followed by blackcurrant, then strawberry. The taste is getting better with time and it was a success, though there was a lot of things I could have done better.. then I found this forum..
For any beginners, I keenly suggest you read up as much as you can, watch as many videos as you can and don't be afraid to ask questions, if you are unsure of what/how to do. In my experience brewers and homebrew shops have been such friendly people open to giving advice..
I did make a video blog. Beginner's feel free to watch, but remember what I have mentioned above.. for the more seasoned, feel free to have a look and a giggle at the mistakes.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWYN88xllsSyqCXge2-ulXgx_op_Suq_9
To the beginner.. Mead making is not over difficult, but like all things, does require some learning and practice. Don't be afraid to have a go, but do try to be patient...
