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There's a difference between not being in a position to help... and feeling entitled to free services. People know which camp they fall in, I'm not judging anyone by lack of patron status. I've spent years being broke myself, so I know what it's like.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde
 
Storm said:
Vicky and Oskaar, thanks for your posts. I was going to post for some good equipment resources. I found Jaysbrewing.com and several more on my own. Being so short on cash I'm going to need to find the best of the less expensive stuff to use. I will look around and post my thoughts equipment-wise and see what you guys think.
Click to expand...

Quick note: on the Main Site (yes, there is more outside of the Forums), in the left column is Making Mead > Brewing Supplies. You can find a bunch of brew supply locations all over the country. One may be close to you.

Angus
 
I've never felt entitled to anything, for those who wish to help me, I appreciate it. I expect to become a patron within weeks, once I get some money to do so, but until then....

Angus, thanks. I found those a few days ago after looking on my own, I must have just looked over them the first time.
 
Ok, so I've been looking around at equipemt and I'm curious if it's worth my time throwing up a post of what Im considering ordering and my initial thoughts on how to brew my first batch of mead just so I don't horribly muck it up. Any thoughts?
 
After doing some research :icon_study:, if you have any questions, by all means post away. :icon_thumright:

I have always posted my recipes for input. There is nothing like the help of veterans to get you going. Post them in the discussion area, then when your ready, post your brew in the brewlog area for further help and info on your batch.

Good Luck
:cheers:
 
So, this post will primarily be equipment I need for my first batch, and their roles in the brewing process as I understand. I've been looking at Midwestsupplies and Jaysbrewing, along with AmericanBrewmaster. I'm not quite sure on some of this stuff though, and have yet to tally the cost of buying individually or buying a kit.

If I take the kit approach I was looking at http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6876 as it has some of what I seem to need to brew a first batch.

However, if bought individually I may come in under the kits pricetag. The kit has bottling equipment that I do not need right now and can save for while the batch ferments. The kit also has 5 gallon carboys and I was under the impression that most people use 6.5s. The primary fermenter in the kit is a 6.5 gallon bucket. Herein lies one of my questions: While a glass primary allows you to see your mead fermenting, how do you decide when to rack from a plastic bucket primary and which primary is more feasible?

I'm trying to keep in mind that I would like to do TWO batches at once, a blueberry melomel (for me) and an apricot melomel (for her).

I'm going to look around some more and try tallying individually. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome, I'll post again later this evening.
 
Storm,
Most use a 6.5 gallon so that they have a bit of extra space during fermentation and also that they still have around 5 gallons total for bulk aging. You tend to lose a bit of mead to every time you rack, due to the lees you're racking off of.

Personally I never use a bucket past the first three days, after my batch is done with the need for oxygen strength stirring... it goes into glass. That's not to say you can't go longer... but I think we're all agreed on this site that the quicker you get it out of plastic and into glass - the better it is for your mead.

Technically I don't rack out of the plastic primary, I use a funnel and pour the buckets contents into the Carboy... this acts as my last stir/aeration of the first three days... when oxygen is still a good thing for your yeast and mead.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde
 
Thanks Wrathwilde. I'll go ahead and post what I'm understanding as the process of fermentation/racking. Must preparation, etc will come once I figure out my recipes. I do apologize again for being a supernewb :sad5:, but the sooner I can nail the majority of this down, the faster I can get started once I get the funds for my materials. Being on a timetable really sucks... :BangHead:

I've read through the Newbee Guide numerous times, but I always like to double check that I understand things. That said, to my understanding the first three days should be devoted to aeration. If using the bucket for these three days it seems the only thing needed would be that the lid is drilled to allow a lees stirrer to be inserted and used and to allow for an airlock. Hopefully that's right.

Then, after these first three days, the batch would be racked (or poured) (in)to a 6.5 gallon carboy for fermentation. The 6.5 being used to allow for extra room for gases, etc, correct? When fermentation winds down it will be racked again to a 6 or 5 gallon carboy, and if I am indeed making mels it will be racked onto fruit puree or juice. I am curious about a post I saw a few days ago by Oskaar about completed fermntation in 5-14 days.

Things are still a little sketchy as to the scientific part of all this, that is the use and reading of the hydrometer etc.

Let's see, what else...oh! Why not talk a little about prospective recipes?

As I understand it the more honey that is put into a brew makes it sweeter (and by the way, what exactly does 'sweet' mean?). That is, past the alcohol tolerance of the yeast, the yeast will stop converting the sugars into alcohol and the remaning honey will sweeten the mead.

So, armed with just about a thimble-full of knowledge I would like to do both a blueberry melomel and an apricot melomel. Now, I am aware that there are blueberry melomel recipes floating around, but what I'm curious about is how someone actually arrives at a given recipe. That is, the method of deciding on the amount of honey total and per gallon, the yeast and extra ingredients. Really, what I'm looking for is a low-alcohol content mead (stop laughing) that has a lot of flavor, much like a juice drink. I've seen numerous ways of brewing a melomel like racking onto fresh fruit, puree or using juice and I'm wondering which will provide me with what I'm looking for.

Thanks guys. Night. I think...
 
Storm,
Brew buckets are usually pre drilled with a gasket to hold an airlock, to use a lees stirrer you remove the lid completely.

Also a rule of thumb guide to sweetness can be found in my post here.

For a 5 gallon batch a quick way to estimate is to use the same amount of honey (in pounds) as your yeasts alcohol tolerance. For example if your yeast's tolerance is 14%, then you'll want to use anything up to 14 lbs of honey for a dry mead, you'll need more than 14 lbs to to start leaving residual sugars. (Starting point: Any yeast tolerance % = base lbs in honey) For off dry you'll need to add 1 pound, for semi-sweet 2 pounds, for a sweet mead 3 to 4 pounds. This will get you very close to your desired result. If you are making a show mead, NO NUTRIENTS, it's best to estimate as [% - 1] = lbs of honey.

Yeast will often not hit their tolerance without nutrients.

To figure out what you need for larger batches, use the above formula to get your estimate for 5 gallons, then divide the amount of honey you need by 5 to get the amount of honey you need per gallon. Then multiply the amount of honey needed per gallon by the size of the batch you're making.

Always use the best tasting honey you can find, with a minimum of processing, filtering and heating.

Low alcohol meads are difficult, as active fermentations require lots of sulfite/sorbate to stop, they are best used when fermentations are slowing. Using less honey also means a less full bodied mead. A low alcohol Melomel with a predominately juice taste, as you're wanting, would likely spoil quickly without Lots of Preservatives AND Sterile Filtering.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde
 
Hmm...

Well, thank you Wrathwilde. I'm glad I know that before going into it. If I don't worry so much about the alcohol content, how prominent will the juice taste be?
 
You would be very surprised at the amount of flavor you get from some Mel's. I think you need to try some commercial mead and guess for yourself what you would like to find. Strawberry is one of the most flavorful in my opinion along with cherry and blueberry. It's hard to say what your going to come up with until you post a recipe and let us disect it giving you what you want.
 
I'll try to find some mead somewhere locally.

Oh! Just got back from my grandfather's house and was surprised when a neighbor came by and told us he and his wife had just gotten a buttload of cherries. He said to help ourselves and I plan on going tomorrow to pick the trees clean. So, with such a fortuitous turn of events for me, I'm thinking of going to try and find stuff to do a few batches.

For those who have experience with melomels, what would be the best way to use cherries? Do they need to be frozen at all? Can they be frozen and used later? Should they be racked onto during secondary? Pureed? Do they need to be pitted? Both? Suggestions? If I can get enough I'd like to do several batches once I have enough equipment, which should be in several weeks.

I'll try and figure out some kind of preliminary recipe tomorrow and see what you guys think.
 
Oh, I suppose I'll have to ask then. All I know is that they're growing up the hill from my grandda's. I'm going to pick in about an hour or so, I'll post whne I return. Thanks Yomomma.
 
Well, there are 2 kinds, Sweet and Tart. Sweet are a dark purple while the tart ones are a red color. It is said that Sweet Cherries make mead taste like cough medicine. I don't have any experience with brewing cherries yet, but that is some peoples opinions.
 
I aksed and was told that he thought they were Bing Cherries. My fiancee and I gathered, washed, pitted and froze three containers that hold some 16.5 liters each, not sure what that is imperically. I'm going back tomorrow for more. Can anyone tell me if those are ok for Cherry Meads? If not, I know that they're great for pies! ;D

Tomorrow I'm going to call some local wine shops to see if they have any homebrewing equipment. Can anyone point in me in the right direction on how to build a recipe for my first mead? Also, would any problems arise by doing a large batch, say in a 3 gallon carboy for a primary and racking into three 1 gallon carboys?
 
Yo momma said:
Well, there are 2 kinds, Sweet and Tart. Sweet are a dark purple while the tart ones are a red color. It is said that Sweet Cherries make mead taste like cough medicine. I don't have any experience with brewing cherries yet, but that is some peoples opinions.
Click to expand...

Bing Cherries are Sweet - I'd suggest mixing the cherries with tart cherries or if not avail... tart cherry concentrate. I'd suggest at least a (2:1) possibly a (3:1) ratio - tart to sweet.

Cheers,
Wrathwilde
 
I wonder if he was wrong then because they taste tart and are extremely red.
 
My copy of the Compleat Meadmaker is here! I'm no longer on a timetable so I'm going to read this and then begin working on my new hobby.
 
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