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My first Show mead experiment with D47 - wisdom needed

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Meadaroo

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 12, 2011
45
0
0
South Africa
Greetings Everyone!

So I've got two batches of JOAM brewing at the moment but I want to try my hand at a show mead using a different yeast other than the standard bread yeast we have here. I finally found an online shop that sells the ICV-D47 yeast which I assume is the same yeast used by many on this forum. I want to post my exact recipe here and hear from you what I can expect and how to go about the process which would yield a great mead for one who has only brewed JOAM. Here goes

I want to use:

800 g Bluegum Honey (Roughly 1.8 pounds)
Water to make up roughly half a gallon of mead (We work in litres here in South Africa :)
D47 yeast.

Process:

1. Sanitize all equipment.
2. Mix the honey and water and aerate well (No heating of honey to be done).
3. Rehydrate D47 as per packet instructions.
4. Follow temperature parameters for pitching yeast and pitch the yeast when ready.
5. Add yeast nutrients (raisins if I can't find the proper stuff).
6. Wait for fermentation to begin
7. Rack after one month if primary ferment is done.
8. Rack again one moth later
9. Bulk age if happy with clarity


Some questions:

1. If I can't find nutrient - can I use plain 'ol raisins?
2. How much yeast (grams) to pitch?
2. When should I rack from primary?
3. What can I expect in terms of sweetness using 800 g honey - I'm aiming for something sweet but not cloyingly sweet

Advice and wisdom is much appreciated. I don't have a hydrometer yet as the one I ordered arrived broken :( so I'm gonna have to feel my way through this one

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Meadaroo,

1) Adding nutrients or raisins will disqualify this for being a "show" mead. Only honey, water and yeast are allowed in a show mead, so this would be a traditional.
2) 1 packet (5g) is good for 3.75 - 19 litres. (or 1 gallon to 5 gallons)
3) I normally rack from primary once things have settled down a lot, usually 2-4 weeks.
4) D47 is good for roughly 14% and you have enough honey there for 16%. So you may get a little sweet, but it's still possible to see D47 to go up to 15-16% if it's very happy with what you are doing.

If it does go dry, you can always back sweeten to what you would like.

And lastly, you would do well to wait until your hydrometer shows up (unbroken) before starting so that you can keep tabs all the way through it from start to finish and know when it's definitely done, and where you are at in terms of the fermentation process.


Cheers!
-- Steve
 
Hi Steve,

Thanks for the reply and wisdom. I want to ask then:

Being a traditional, is it possible to use raisins for nutrients with D47 yeast? (Hard to get mead brewing stuff here in terms of the proper nutrients)
Should I use less honey if I want to go sweet but not too much?
 
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