Tools, tricks, tips and tests – lessons learned by _______.
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Ok. I'll chime in. I'm pretty new to this community, so I hope I don't say anything that the elders of the board have determined to be bad practice.
1) The invention of the bottle tree and avinator is probably the single greatest event ever in the history of bottling.
2) Buy honey in bulk. You are much more likely to experiment if you have 60lbs of honey in a pail in the basement.
3) There's no shame in using beer bottles and crown caps.
4) Brew 6 gallon batches and split the batch into 2, 3 gallon batches. The smaller batches allow some experimentation with sweetness levels or adding different fruits, or oaking.
5) I often buy commercial honey in small (1-2 lb) containers from sketchy grocery outlet places. I get all the honey out of the little jars by first pouring out all the honey that will easilly flow out, then refilling the bottle half way with water, capping, and shaking for a few mins. The water will dissolve all the honey and can be poured directly into the must. This is so efficient, I typically overshoot my expected OG when I do this.
6) Leave "The complete meadmaker" on your night stand or in the bathroom. Partake regularly.
7) Supplement the complete meadmaker by doing searches on this board.
8) Brew big batches. There is an economy of scale in brewing. It takes nearly an equal amount of time to brew a 1 gallon batch as a 6 gallon batch.
9) Taste as many honey varieties as often as possible. You will quickly get a feel for which might make the most amazing meads.
10) Your local friends will probably think you are a freak even if they are beer brewers, so at least lurk on online mead forums so you feel more normal. If you still feel like a freak, self medicate with a bottle of your finest mead.
11) Marry someone who likes your mead and you will never cease to have full spousal support for your obsession. I regularly receive buckets of honey as Christmas presents.
12) Giving up smoking is freaking hard and a noble undertaking. Took me a very long time to kick the habit.
1) The invention of the bottle tree and avinator is probably the single greatest event ever in the history of bottling.
2) Buy honey in bulk. You are much more likely to experiment if you have 60lbs of honey in a pail in the basement.
3) There's no shame in using beer bottles and crown caps.
4) Brew 6 gallon batches and split the batch into 2, 3 gallon batches. The smaller batches allow some experimentation with sweetness levels or adding different fruits, or oaking.
5) I often buy commercial honey in small (1-2 lb) containers from sketchy grocery outlet places. I get all the honey out of the little jars by first pouring out all the honey that will easilly flow out, then refilling the bottle half way with water, capping, and shaking for a few mins. The water will dissolve all the honey and can be poured directly into the must. This is so efficient, I typically overshoot my expected OG when I do this.
6) Leave "The complete meadmaker" on your night stand or in the bathroom. Partake regularly.
7) Supplement the complete meadmaker by doing searches on this board.
8) Brew big batches. There is an economy of scale in brewing. It takes nearly an equal amount of time to brew a 1 gallon batch as a 6 gallon batch.
9) Taste as many honey varieties as often as possible. You will quickly get a feel for which might make the most amazing meads.
10) Your local friends will probably think you are a freak even if they are beer brewers, so at least lurk on online mead forums so you feel more normal. If you still feel like a freak, self medicate with a bottle of your finest mead.
11) Marry someone who likes your mead and you will never cease to have full spousal support for your obsession. I regularly receive buckets of honey as Christmas presents.
12) Giving up smoking is freaking hard and a noble undertaking. Took me a very long time to kick the habit.
OMG!!! Oskaar, you've corrupted another one!!;D
Heh heh heh, the force is strong in this one! >
I too am trying to give up smoking. I've made the decision now gotta stick to it! I'm going to start doing Joes Grape quickmead to satisfy my immediate needs LOL and let the good stuff age like it should. Just finished off gallon of JAOM today it lasted 2 days LOL. A bit cloudy and carb'd in bottle in 2 days haha. no explosive bottles as it didn't get a chance 
Good stuff though and i am hooked on mead now.
On another note lets say you have a batch of JAOM/JGQM finished fermenting and want to bottle with carb, how about adding a bit of fermenting must from a HG must like my Blueberry/Grape Pyment instead of adding sugar? I did this and had carb in 2 days, a bit of sludge in bottom of bottles but i don't care about that for a quick drink LOL and yeast is healthy part of diet right?
Good stuff though and i am hooked on mead now. On another note lets say you have a batch of JAOM/JGQM finished fermenting and want to bottle with carb, how about adding a bit of fermenting must from a HG must like my Blueberry/Grape Pyment instead of adding sugar? I did this and had carb in 2 days, a bit of sludge in bottom of bottles but i don't care about that for a quick drink LOL and yeast is healthy part of diet right?
I think both of those recipes finish sweet, so most people would say that bottle carbonating is not a good idea, and probably won't work anyways (but if it does work it could just keep going and you end up with glass in the face). Think about it, if it finished sweet that means the yeast are done eating sugars, they can't take any more alcohol - so why would they decide to go ahead and eat then new sugar added for priming? And if they do wake up, why would they stop exactly when they're through the small amount you add for carbonation, they could keep going and kaboom.
That's my understanding anyways. I avoid anything that might explode and kill/blind/maim me like the plague though, erring on the side of caution!
That's my understanding anyways. I avoid anything that might explode and kill/blind/maim me like the plague though, erring on the side of caution!
Like i said i don't let them sit long enough to explode i drink within 2-3 days of bottling. (The quick mead LOL) not the good stuff .. the Blueberry/grape pyment will be a still mead
Tools, Tricks, Tips and Tests - Lessons learned by PamW
1. JAO is the fastest, easiest mead to start with. Nothing like a bit of success to keep you going.
2. Convincing my DH (Dear Husband) that mead is not beer and should not be treated as such was difficult.
3. Containing my smugness that my first gallon of JAO turned out better than all 4 of DH's batches of beer is much more difficult than I suspected.
4. Starting a second batch using Ken Schramm's book before the JAO was done was a good idea. Taking his advice regarding the no-heat method of creating a must should preserve the smokey subtle flavor of the mesquite honey I used. Making another batch of JAO while waiting for my mesquite show mead to come to fruition is on the agenda.
5. Relying on chemicals to clean things is not good. A little elbow grease, long brushes and microfiber cloths is much better.
6. Reading here has enlightened me lots and has answered more questions than i realized i had. Thank you all for posting the questions you have and thank you to all who answered! As soon as I have a question that hasn't already been posted and answered, i'll post it!
I just finished bottling my first one gallon batch of JAO and am taking the results to a BBQ this weekend. I like how it turned out very much otherwise i wouldn't take it along. One bottle i'm holding back and stuffing it in a cool (60 to 65 F) closet because it was the last bottle siphoned off the lees. I plan on opening it on Halloween to see how it has progressed.
PamW
1. JAO is the fastest, easiest mead to start with. Nothing like a bit of success to keep you going.
2. Convincing my DH (Dear Husband) that mead is not beer and should not be treated as such was difficult.
3. Containing my smugness that my first gallon of JAO turned out better than all 4 of DH's batches of beer is much more difficult than I suspected.
4. Starting a second batch using Ken Schramm's book before the JAO was done was a good idea. Taking his advice regarding the no-heat method of creating a must should preserve the smokey subtle flavor of the mesquite honey I used. Making another batch of JAO while waiting for my mesquite show mead to come to fruition is on the agenda.
5. Relying on chemicals to clean things is not good. A little elbow grease, long brushes and microfiber cloths is much better.
6. Reading here has enlightened me lots and has answered more questions than i realized i had. Thank you all for posting the questions you have and thank you to all who answered! As soon as I have a question that hasn't already been posted and answered, i'll post it!
I just finished bottling my first one gallon batch of JAO and am taking the results to a BBQ this weekend. I like how it turned out very much otherwise i wouldn't take it along. One bottle i'm holding back and stuffing it in a cool (60 to 65 F) closet because it was the last bottle siphoned off the lees. I plan on opening it on Halloween to see how it has progressed.
PamW
Tools, Tricks, Tips and Tests - Lessons learned by Tycoon
As this month it is one year since I started making mead, I would like to add my two cents as a total newbee to this fantastic thread. By adding to it, I hope that those others "old in the Force" around here will notice the thread in their "unread posts" and keep adding to it too (me, self serving?....nooooooo!!!!)
1) While books I own like Ken Schramm's are excellent, nothing beats searching this forum to learn how to make mead. I agree with all the others that patron membership is excellent value for money
2) I love Iodophor as a sanitiser. It is cheap, easy to obtain, easy to use and very effective (so far!).
3) Getting as close to the source of honey as possible pays off both in terms of cost (i.e. lower) and quality (i.e. higher).
4) Making some extra mead in a small bottle at the same time as your main batch (20 liters in my case) to top off after rackings pays off.
Thank you all for a year of learning and enjoyment! Cheers.
As this month it is one year since I started making mead, I would like to add my two cents as a total newbee to this fantastic thread. By adding to it, I hope that those others "old in the Force" around here will notice the thread in their "unread posts" and keep adding to it too (me, self serving?....nooooooo!!!!
)1) While books I own like Ken Schramm's are excellent, nothing beats searching this forum to learn how to make mead. I agree with all the others that patron membership is excellent value for money
2) I love Iodophor as a sanitiser. It is cheap, easy to obtain, easy to use and very effective (so far!).
3) Getting as close to the source of honey as possible pays off both in terms of cost (i.e. lower) and quality (i.e. higher).
4) Making some extra mead in a small bottle at the same time as your main batch (20 liters in my case) to top off after rackings pays off.
Thank you all for a year of learning and enjoyment! Cheers.
How about just getting 2 copies so that you don't have to remember where you last left it?
It's worth reiterating: keep a log book of ALL brewing endeavors! Experience is the best way to improve, and the more you remember - because you wrote it down, so you can just reread it rather than actually have to remember - the better off you'll be... seriously.
Share good mead with fellow brewers, funny thing is that people are more likely try making it themselves after having some which makes them happy...
And record ALL the details... how many batches in my early logbook don't have the type of yeast listed? Granted, aside from bread yeast, my two options until recently were K1V and EC, but still. I wish my notes were more complete than they are, and I thought they were pretty good when I started.
Very true. You never know what you'll find important at a later date. As my ol Pops says "better to have and not need, than need and not have".
