Hello, I am a newbee getting ready to make my first batch of mead. I'm planing to start simple with a straight mead of just honey, water and yeast, in a one gallon batch. I've read thru the newbee guide and found it very helpful. I know that I will need to add nutrients to the mix to ensure a healthy yeast colony.
This is where my problem starts. I was unable to find any of the products mentioned in the guide at my local home brew stores. They only carry "yeast energizer", primarily used in adding carbonation, as far as my understanding goes, and "7 day yeast nutrient" used to speed fermentation in wine. I bought the 7 day yeast nutrient because I remembered seeing in the newbee guide that it would work. After rereading it, it also says that the energizer will work as well. The package has no info on it besides the words "7 day yeast nutrient" and an exp date.
My question is how do i use it? Do I add it at the 1/3 and 2/3 sugar breaks, or do I just add it all right away like the guy at the store does with wine? He also told me it contains yeast. Do I have to rehydrate it? Should I rehydrate a separate batch of yeast and pitch it first, then add the nutrients? He said it "should" have the same strain in it as the yeast I bought (EC-1118). I'm not super confident about that though, and I know mixing yeasts can add a lot of uncertainty. Maybe I should just order some proper nutrients online and remove the uncertainty.
If anyone has any experience or insight on the matter I would be very grateful
This is where my problem starts. I was unable to find any of the products mentioned in the guide at my local home brew stores. They only carry "yeast energizer", primarily used in adding carbonation, as far as my understanding goes, and "7 day yeast nutrient" used to speed fermentation in wine. I bought the 7 day yeast nutrient because I remembered seeing in the newbee guide that it would work. After rereading it, it also says that the energizer will work as well. The package has no info on it besides the words "7 day yeast nutrient" and an exp date.
My question is how do i use it? Do I add it at the 1/3 and 2/3 sugar breaks, or do I just add it all right away like the guy at the store does with wine? He also told me it contains yeast. Do I have to rehydrate it? Should I rehydrate a separate batch of yeast and pitch it first, then add the nutrients? He said it "should" have the same strain in it as the yeast I bought (EC-1118). I'm not super confident about that though, and I know mixing yeasts can add a lot of uncertainty. Maybe I should just order some proper nutrients online and remove the uncertainty.
If anyone has any experience or insight on the matter I would be very grateful
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