I'm going for it! Making my first ever batch of mead.

[BlindMike]

After years of toying with the idea of making mead, I've decided, "what the heck, 51 isn't too old to start, right?"
So I hopped online and bought a couple pieces of fermenting equipment, carboys, siphon, bottling wand, etc., and thought, Wait!!! I don't know ANYTHING about making mead. I mean, when I was little I helped grandpa make wine in his basement, but what did being in charge of putting balloons on top of gallon jugs teach me? Not much.

So I read, and I read, and I watched youtube, and I read some more....Then I found a JAOM recipe, and then I found GotMead.
Now, here I am after reading a mind numbing amount of information and opinions, and listening to about a dozen of the podcasts so far, with a Fermonster bubbling away under the kitchen table. Wondering if I've done it right.....so far. What I could do better, and what mistakes am I most likely to make next, and how to avoid them.

Here is what I have done so far. I would appreciate any comments, tips, etc. Thanks!

JAOM (Joe’s Ancient Orange Mead @GotMead.com) Modified
2 Gallon Batch

Ingredients:
Zest of 1 large organic Orange (Remember to wash thoroughly.)
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 large organic Orange (strained)
5lbs Honey (3lbs Costco/Kirkland Raw Organic Unfiltered/2lbs Costco/Kirkland Signature Wildflower)
2 Cinnamon sticks
2 Whole Cloves
Go-Ferm (1.25g/1g yeast)
D.A.P. (1/4tsp/gallon, then 1/2tsp/day for 3 days while aerating.
Lavalin D-47

Directions

1. Heat honey in 100F water bath for easy pouring.
2. Heat 1 gallon of filtered water to 165F in stainless steel pot..
3. Zest orange. (Be sure to thoroughly wash first.)
4. Juice orange.
5. Add honey to pot and stir till dissolved.
6. Pour strained juice into pot. Then place zest, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and pulp in a hops/grain bag and add to pot. Aallow to steep for 10 minutes, then remove from heat to cool.
7. Allow mixture to cool to below 135 degrees and transfer must to carboy.
8. Reserve 1 cup of must for rehydrating yeast.
9. Add D.A.P.
10. Top off to 2 gallons and shake carboy well. (Note to self: Ouch, shoulder, purchase wine degassing wand.)
11. Take gravity reading.
12. Rehydrate Yeast
13. When reserved must gets below 95F, combine add Go-Ferm, and stir well.
14. Wait 20 minutes before adding yeast.
15. Next add yeast pack. Wait 20 minutes before pitching.
16. Vigorously shake carboy to aerate. (See note above.)
17. Pitch yeast when

Pitched yeast on 4/11 @ 9:30PM
My original goal was for a semi-sweet with an ABV 14%.....think I was shooting too high and that it will end up closer to 12%-ish.

Batch numbers & history:
2023-04-11/21:30
2gal.s in 3gal. Fermonster with 3 piece airlock filled with StarSan
Water: Target store brand filtered water pH 7.4
5g packet Lavelin D47
7g Go-Ferm
1/2tsp D.A.P.
Starting SG “OG” 1.086 (My wife took the initial sg reading and I promptly lost the paper she wrote it on. She said it was either 1.186 or 1.086. I guessed based upon google searches. I have ordered an ispindel tilt)
Starting Brix 20 (See above....wife thinks this was either 20 or 30)
Calculated Sugar Breaks

1/3 – 1.057​

2/3 – 1.028​

FG – Goal 1.050-1.080 (Figuring I'll rack to secondary when sg hits 1.050 or after the bubbles stop for a few days.)​

2023-04-12
07:30 Degas
23:00 Degas
2023-04-13/10:45
10:45 Degass & Added 1/2tsp D.A.P.

How am I doing so far....ya know, if we ignore the lost OG/Brix numbers. Maybe the cat took it. lol

 

[4give]

Hey! My first mead was a JAOM too. Tried to follow the recipe exactly, but my issue was the oranges I used had way too much pith, and the bitterness came through. It was "drinkable", but nothing to be proud of.
Your OG is likely close, but seems a little low with 5lbs of honey in a total of 2 gallons by volume with all those ingredients. Actual sugars in the honey can vary, but I'd think you'd be closer to 1.095. Likely not a big deal either way IMO.
Your rehydration protocol is confusing to me. I typically rehydrate in water and go-ferm, and ten slowly add some of the must in. I add the yeast into the go-ferm solution at about 104F.
I've never used DAP as most brewers I've corresponded with will tell you Fermaid O is better. You may not be able to get it in your part of the world though and folks have made good mead with DAP too.
If your batch is fermenting and the SG is going down, you don't need to feed it after the 1/3 break. It's OK to give it the rest of any staggered nutrient additions if you happen to check it and it's a bit past 1/3.
You should try to keep the temperature of your fermenting must below 68F with D47 yeast. It can be a robust fermenter and get a bit stinky over that 68F. Remember that your ferment temp can be much higher than ambient temp. I've found D47 can also really emphasize 'citrus'. If that ends up to be a characteristic that is coming though a bit too much, you can balance it by adding a bit more honey after stabilizing.
I think you'll be fine letting it sit in primary all the way to the end without racking. I'm assuming your secondary container(s) won't have a lot of headspace. If SG isn't moving for 3 days, cold crash if you can, then your good to rack and stabilize (in whatever order you prefer - there are nuances here that may depend on your preferences and/or what you're plans are with the mead).
Just my thoughts!
Let us know how it turns out.

 

[BlindMike]

Day 7 Update.

• 2023-04-17
• 19:48 – Degassed w/wand
• SG – 1.046
• Brix – 11.5
• Tasting Note: Notes of honey, lightly sweet with slight citrus finish. Very subtle cinnamon and clove. A bit fizzy and yeastie.

I was surprised by how subtle the cinnamon and clove flavors were. I think the whole cloves were a bit old but the cinnamon was good quality. Planning on continuing to degas and rouse lees once daily throughout primary.

Updating estimated FG to 1.005-1.010 10.5% A.B.V. Now that I've found Batch Builder on meadmkr I think I'll be a little more on target next go round.

 

[darigoni]

You might also want to check out the TOSN Calculator on Mead Made Right:

TOSNA CALCULATOR | Mead Made Right

www.meadmaderight.com

And, I assume you've checked out the GotMead calculator:

The Mead Calculator – Got Mead? The Largest Mead Resource on the Web

%CODE1%

gotmead.com

 

[mannye]

I am super interested to hear how this shakes out. My first mead was the original JAOM and I still make it on occasion. It ages very well, and an extra 90-100 days can make a world of difference.

 

[BlindMike]

End of week 2 we are now at SG 1.040. I kind of expected it to be a little lower than that given it went from OG - 1.086 to 1.046 at the end of week one. I was guessing it would be somewhere between 1.020 & 1.030. Am I stalled?

After degassing once per day for past week. Todays notes:
2023-04-24
19:00 – Degassed w/wand
SG - 1.040
Brix – 10.0
Tasting Note: Still a little fizzy. Smoother orange flavor with no pithiness. Maybe a hint of cinnamon but no clove.

 

[4give]

Thanks for the update. Only moving 6 points in 7 days with that much sugar left to go seems a bit slow to me. I'd probably take an SG reading in 2 days, then in another 2 days. If it's still moving, then maybe let it go to see how far. If not, then it may stall, or already is. I've had some ferments take a long time to chew through the last few points. The only one's I've had stall on me are my high ABV trials.
You can always adjust clove and cinnamon later if you want more, so don't worry too much about that for now. The big thing is getting a clean ferment.

 

[Squatchy]

After years of toying with the idea of making mead, I've decided, "what the heck, 51 isn't too old to start, right?"
So I hopped online and bought a couple pieces of fermenting equipment, carboys, siphon, bottling wand, etc., and thought, Wait!!! I don't know ANYTHING about making mead. I mean, when I was little I helped grandpa make wine in his basement, but what did being in charge of putting balloons on top of gallon jugs teach me? Not much.

So I read, and I read, and I watched youtube, and I read some more....Then I found a JAOM recipe, and then I found GotMead.
Now, here I am after reading a mind numbing amount of information and opinions, and listening to about a dozen of the podcasts so far, with a Fermonster bubbling away under the kitchen table. Wondering if I've done it right.....so far. What I could do better, and what mistakes am I most likely to make next, and how to avoid them.

Here is what I have done so far. I would appreciate any comments, tips, etc. Thanks!

JAOM (Joe’s Ancient Orange Mead @GotMead.com) Modified
2 Gallon Batch

Ingredients:
Zest of 1 large organic Orange (Remember to wash thoroughly.)
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 large organic Orange (strained)
5lbs Honey (3lbs Costco/Kirkland Raw Organic Unfiltered/2lbs Costco/Kirkland Signature Wildflower)
2 Cinnamon sticks
2 Whole Cloves
Go-Ferm (1.25g/1g yeast)
D.A.P. (1/4tsp/gallon, then 1/2tsp/day for 3 days while aerating.
Lavalin D-47

Directions

1. Heat honey in 100F water bath for easy pouring.
2. Heat 1 gallon of filtered water to 165F in stainless steel pot..
3. Zest orange. (Be sure to thoroughly wash first.)
4. Juice orange.
5. Add honey to pot and stir till dissolved.
6. Pour strained juice into pot. Then place zest, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and pulp in a hops/grain bag and add to pot. Aallow to steep for 10 minutes, then remove from heat to cool.
7. Allow mixture to cool to below 135 degrees and transfer must to carboy.
8. Reserve 1 cup of must for rehydrating yeast.
9. Add D.A.P.
10. Top off to 2 gallons and shake carboy well. (Note to self: Ouch, shoulder, purchase wine degassing wand.)
11. Take gravity reading.
12. Rehydrate Yeast
13. When reserved must gets below 95F, combine add Go-Ferm, and stir well.
14. Wait 20 minutes before adding yeast.
15. Next add yeast pack. Wait 20 minutes before pitching.
16. Vigorously shake carboy to aerate. (See note above.)
17. Pitch yeast when

Pitched yeast on 4/11 @ 9:30PM
My original goal was for a semi-sweet with an ABV 14%.....think I was shooting too high and that it will end up closer to 12%-ish.

Batch numbers & history:
2023-04-11/21:30
2gal.s in 3gal. Fermonster with 3 piece airlock filled with StarSan
Water: Target store brand filtered water pH 7.4
5g packet Lavelin D47
7g Go-Ferm
1/2tsp D.A.P.
Starting SG “OG” 1.086 (My wife took the initial sg reading and I promptly lost the paper she wrote it on. She said it was either 1.186 or 1.086. I guessed based upon google searches. I have ordered an ispindel tilt)
Starting Brix 20 (See above....wife thinks this was either 20 or 30)
Calculated Sugar Breaks

1/3 – 1.057​

2/3 – 1.028​

FG – Goal 1.050-1.080 (Figuring I'll rack to secondary when sg hits 1.050 or after the bubbles stop for a few days.)​

2023-04-12
07:30 Degas
23:00 Degas
2023-04-13/10:45
10:45 Degass & Added 1/2tsp D.A.P.

How am I doing so far....ya know, if we ignore the lost OG/Brix numbers. Maybe the cat took it. lol

Hi
So you did a bad thing to your yeast when you rehydrated it.
Proper rehydration is probably the top thing you can do for your yeast health is to rehydrate properly.
If you do it right, you will have strong healthy yeast that have a chance of being good workers. If you add modern methods, you can Superman the heck out of them, If you do it wrong, you handicap them from the very start and it is then not unusual to have stalls due to low reproduction and wounded systems inside the guts of the yeast.

Unfortunately, my friend, you did exactly that. Don't beat yourself up. We all started lacking certain things, and much of what you will read on the internet is not correct information.
You never want to use your must as a rehydration fluid. And even worst than that, you never ever want to rehydrate with DAP in the rehydration slurry. You mess them up with DAP in the slurry. They aren't quite as messed up using the must as your rehydration slurry. But just clean tap water. Or I always use spring water. Meaning I buy carboys at the grocery store in the 5-gallon carboys. They have more nutrients in there. I have done taste tests with all of my different choices. And have found that certain water makes better-tasting mead than others. Not all water is the same.
You will also do well to add your spices once the back end of your fermentation. However, this Joes Ancient is different, and anywhere you find the recipe. It tells you specifically to use the exact recipe. There are reasons why you will learn later.
So you more likely end up with a "too sweet" flavored mead. You didn't tell us what yeast you used, and that is also an issue as bread yeast craps out much sooner than cultured yeast you can buy. And even those are all different in how much ethanol they can make. Some strains can go higher than others. Much to learn. But you will over time. I'll point you to some podcasts that walk you through a modern protocol that works well. And I hear all the time that guys who followed my leading made mead that won their first medals ever after they used the protocol. And other won medals on their very first mead because they had listened to the podcast first before making their first mead. So just leave your mead alone and hope it turns out drinkable at some point. And then go listen to these podcasts. Take notes, ask questions, and then you can start with a great foundation of the science of fermentation.

Look up the Gotmead podcast and start on https://gotmead.com/blog/gotmead-live/9-5-17-ryan-carlson-modern-mead-making-yeast/

 

[BlindMike]

Thank you all for the help. My first mead has, so far, been a great learning experience.
BAck on 2023-04-24 I noticed that the SG had been stuck at 1.030 for 4 days. Re-pitched yeast using the following rehydration method.
1. Mixed 6g. Go-Ferm with 125ml filtered water @ 135F.
2. Allowed slurry to cool to 104F.
3. Added 5g. packet of Lavalin D47 and stirred for 15 minutes.
4. Added a couple tablespoons of must (71F) to slurry (97F) to temper.
5. Pitched yeast.
6. Lag ended about 85 minutes later, added 1tsp. D.A.P.
7. Added second tsp. D.A.P. 24 hours later.

2023-05-05
Must burned down to 0.996
Racked to secondary, very cloudy. Smells & tastes ike everything I don't like about super dry white wines. But that's okay. I'm planning on back sweetening it with honey and maybe aging in a little cinnamon/clove once it has aged a little.
This morning 2023-05-08, upper half of carboy starting to clear. Sampled from the top. Very hot, can taste the CO2, just a hint of citrus but no cinnamon or clove. Tasted some of the honey I used for this batch, then came back to my sample glass. I can definitely detect some of the notes of honey in the mead.

Going to let it sit for a few months, sampling every few weeks.

Started a 1 gallon batch of cherry mead using Trader Joes 100% Tart Cherry Juice & 3lbs wildflower honey with Lavalin 71b last night. Will be creating a post on it soon. Planning on starting a Pomegranate juice based mead in the next few weeks as well....just waiting to learn from any mistakes I make with the cherry first.

 

[Squatchy]

Thank you all for the help. My first mead has, so far, been a great learning experience.
BAck on 2023-04-24 I noticed that the SG had been stuck at 1.030 for 4 days. Re-pitched yeast using the following rehydration method.
1. Mixed 6g. Go-Ferm with 125ml filtered water @ 135F.
2. Allowed slurry to cool to 104F.
3. Added 5g. packet of Lavalin D47 and stirred for 15 minutes.
4. Added a couple tablespoons of must (71F) to slurry (97F) to temper.
5. Pitched yeast.
6. Lag ended about 85 minutes later, added 1tsp. D.A.P.
7. Added second tsp. D.A.P. 24 hours later.

2023-05-05
Must burned down to 0.996
Racked to secondary, very cloudy. Smells & tastes ike everything I don't like about super dry white wines. But that's okay. I'm planning on back sweetening it with honey and maybe aging in a little cinnamon/clove once it has aged a little.
This morning 2023-05-08, upper half of carboy starting to clear. Sampled from the top. Very hot, can taste the CO2, just a hint of citrus but no cinnamon or clove. Tasted some of the honey I used for this batch, then came back to my sample glass. I can definitely detect some of the notes of honey in the mead.

Going to let it sit for a few months, sampling every few weeks.

Started a 1 gallon batch of cherry mead using Trader Joes 100% Tart Cherry Juice & 3lbs wildflower honey with Lavalin 71b last night. Will be creating a post on it soon. Planning on starting a Pomegranate juice based mead in the next few weeks as well....just waiting to learn from any mistakes I make with the cherry first.

Nice. Run your plans by us before you fire up the Pom mead. So we can steer you straighter from the start. The podcast will make you a master.

 

[BlindMike]

Nice. Run your plans by us before you fire up the Pom mead. So we can steer you straighter from the start. The podcast will make you a master.

Will do! The Podcast has been a great help and inspiration. Jumped around the episodes at first but decided to start from day one. Just finishing up episode 9 as I type.

Added to my equipment this week, picked up a second hand 3.4 cubic foot beverage refrigerator last night and received my RAPT Pill over the weekend.

Last nights lesson learned......Melomel's need more headspace than JAOM. Degassing my cherry must turned into foam-a-geddon lol Doesn't look like I lost more than an ounce or three, but sticky sticky sticky sticky. Tastes great though.

 

[Squatchy]

Will do! The Podcast has been a great help and inspiration. Jumped around the episodes at first but decided to start from day one. Just finishing up episode 9 as I type.

Added to my equipment this week, picked up a second hand 3.4 cubic foot beverage refrigerator last night and received my RAPT Pill over the weekend.

Last nights lesson learned......Melomel's need more headspace than JAOM. Degassing my cherry must turned into foam-a-geddon lol Doesn't look like I lost more than an ounce or three, but sticky sticky sticky sticky. Tastes great though.

So I actually ferment in plastic containers larger than the amount you are making. That way, let's say you want to make a 5-gallon batch. If you make 6 gallons. Now you will have enough to fill the glass up to the top once you fine your mead. And over time, you would be doing to taste test. So anyway, when it comes time to age long term, you will have a full carboy. " I also ferment in "open top" fermentors and just sit the lid loosely over the top or a towel. Something to keep anything falling into it. And then transfer over to glass after it has dropped most of the detritus once the primary is finished.