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Joe's Grape Mead / Pyment

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Roharcyn

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Jun 18, 2009
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I had great results with my first batch of mead using the JAO recipe that i want to try again using this one But because I am new to all this and deviating from the recipe scares me I have i couple of questions.

1. Will changing honeys change the time line of the recipe?

2. I have read that honey is a poor nutrient for the yeast so would adding a yeast nutrient and or energizer be beneficial? Or are some honeys more nutritious thus why the mix and blend of honey is important? I have also read that raisins are a good source of nutrients for yeast so could adding some in be beneficial?

3. Can I just use a campden tablet instead of splitting a campden tablet with a potassium sorbate, I ask this because my understanding is that camped tablets kill the yeast while the the potassium sorbate just slows the yeast down. So it seems like mixing the two seems pointless, after killing the yeast with a campden tablet there is no need to retard the yeast. Or am i way off?

Your help and answers will be most appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to GotMead? Roharcyn!!!

When making one of Joe's quick recipes, if you deviate from the recipe, the warranty is void. ;D

With that said, you can change the honey but that will change the flavor of the result, but probably won't affect the timeline very much.

Some honey has more nutrients and minerals than others and is easier to ferment. Buckwheat and most dark honeys contain more nitrogen and higher concentrations of mineral, and blending them in can improve the fermentation speed as well as adding some character to the flavor.

The grape juice provides a good bit of nutrient for the yeast and so you probably don't need to add more. Though a small amount of added nutrient certainly isn't going to be harmful, why use it if it isn't needed?

Campden tablets and sulfites, don't necessarily kill wine yeast (unless you use them at high concentrations - to the point that the smell and taste of burnt match will be quite noticeable). Wine yeast have been selected over the centuries in part because they are sulfite tolerant. The sulfite will stun them and prevent them from fermenting. The sorbate prevents them from dividing and multiplying. The combination of the 2 agents is more effective than either one alone in preventing fermentation from restarting. I would use both.

What type of honey are you wanting to use?

Medsen
 
Roharcyn,

I have personally had great luck with Joe's Quick Pyment. I have made several batches using different Welches Juices. I have used the Concord, Concord/Cherry, Red Grape, White Grape/Pomegranate, and White Grape/Cherry, with my favorite so far being Concord/Cherry. I did use wildflower honey once and thought the resultant mead had a stronger residual honey taste that matched the alcohol well. This recipe can top 16% ABV depending on the juice and can have quite a "kick". ;D

I too am just starting with mead making and found this recipe to be easy to follow with reliable results. The hardest thing is finding patience to allow the mead to finish.

Good luck and welcome again!
 
Thank you both. I will be using a wild flower honey that I purchased at a grocery store. It is the same kind i used for my JAO. I had bought to more honey than I needed the first time and using the rest up. It is a really dark honey compared to all the others on the shelf. The information about the camden tablets was very useful thank you will make sure to use them as the recipe indicates. I will probably add some yeast nutrient since when I bought the yeast the guy recommended buying some if i was making mead and now I feel like I need to use it since i bought it
 
I'm about to start this recipe, and it doesn't mention anything about boiling the water or the honey. Has anyone done any boiling with this one and when did you add the honey or any details that would help with this?
 
Plus Pinupdoll if you don't boil or even pasteurize the honey, more aromas and flavors will remain. It ends up that the mead maker becomes just a mead mixer but if everything that touches the must is cleaned and sanitized, the chances of making a good batch of mead is basically in the cards. Use fresh yeast so it outcompetes any wild yeast in the honey and you're off to the races. With your batch. Be scrupulous with cleaning and sanitation and you will be rewarded in the end.

Buzzer
 
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