First time Muscat De Alexandrie pyment mead advice

[Meadaroo]

Hey Everybody,

So I would like to try my hand at making my first simple pyment mead and need some tips on what to do and what not to do.

My recipe

700g Muscat De Alexandrie grapes (they're plentifull this time of year)
750g of Bluegum honey
Mangrove Jack's M05 mead yeast
Balance water to 2 litres

I plan on freezing the grapes first then mushing them up skin and all, Valentine's except the pips.

Any advice is welcome.

Thanks

 

[darigoni]

Metabisulfite?

Nutrients?

 

[Squatchy]

WHy such a small batch. Wait how long and then drink it all in one sitting?

My first advice would be make more. Sanitation. Second. Nutrients. Third. Temp control. Fourth. Raisins are not nutrients!

 

[caduseus]

WHy such a small batch. Wait how long and then drink it all in one sitting?

My first advice would be make more. Sanitation. Second. Nutrients. Third. Temp control. Fourth. Raisins are not nutrients!

I agree. Unless it is way out there experiment that you are very skeptical it will come out palatable (such as experimenting with wild yeast or crazy way out there ingredients), I don't ever recommend doing less than a full gallon batch.
Considering how much work you will have to put into it plus the wait from ageing, it is worth putting a little more.

 

[Meadaroo]

Hi Squatchy

Thanks for the reply. To answer your question, honey is just so expensive here number one and secondly, I guess I'm afraid of making a big batch and botching things up a bit. So this would be a sort of test trial batch.

I was wondering if The quantities are ok in terms of grape to honey ratio. These grapes are quite sweet.

What do you think?

I wouldn't want anything too sweet in the end though M05 can ferment out to 18%

 

[Meadaroo]

I have a wee bit of an allergy to sulphites. Some wine has no effect and others...oh boy,.. So I wouldn't want to add more

 

[caduseus]

I have a wee bit of an allergy to sulphites. Some wine has no effect and others...oh boy,.. So I wouldn't want to add more

1) a one gallon batch only uses at the most 1 pound more honey than a 2 liter so well worth the cost;
2) while you can do anything you want regarding the ratios of honey to grape juice, the technical definition requires AT LEAST 50% of the fermentable sugar (this does not include any residual sugar left behind or added later) has to be honey. However you can choose any ratio you want/prefer.
3) wines are usually 10-13% alcohol but you can do whatever you choose. For pyments I stay in the range close to 13%.
4) pyments are technically a mead but since it has fruit it has to be treated as both a wine and mead. Like a mead it requires SNA and daily stirring. Like a grape/fruit wine it is easily prone to oxidation. This is where sulfites come in. If you reduce the number of rackings, keep the pH low when finished fermentation, skip sur lie ageing, then you can reduce the quantity of sulfite added and the numbers of times sulfite is added. If you don't use ANY sulfite at all, then plan on having an oxidized pyment.
5) where are your nutrients?

For those who have never done a grape/fruit wine before I would NEVER recommend a pyment/melomels for the first mead. This is because you have to deal with the limitations/learning of meads AND grape/fruit wines.

 

[Meadaroo]

Thanks Caduseus

Woe! It's clear I need to do more research and reading if I'm gonna make a pyment of this sort.

Thanks fot the wisdom guys!

 

[caduseus]

No problem. Try a traditional mead first as a newbee.

 

[Squatchy]

The additions of tannins will help a lot to ward off some of the oxidation issues with the grapes. Oak or gaul nuts are easily obtainable.