Welcome to NewBees

[mts198]

Meadmaking will teach you patience, my friend!

BTW - Welcome to the "Gotmead?" community!

In all seriousness, the amount of time that any particular mead will require to integrate and smooth out will be highly dependent on the recipe (generally lower ABV meads are ready more quickly than higher strength versions), and on how you managed fermentation (higher temperatures usually mean quicker ferments, but also produce more harsh tasting components such as fusels). Additions of things like glycerine will change mouthfeel, perhaps influence the perceived "sweetness" of the result, and the like, but won't do much to change the amount of time required for that particular mead to be really ready to drink. Likewise, you can fine with bentonite, gelatine, or any of a number of other fining agents, but that won't make your mead drinkable any earlier -- it'll just make it clearer.

Thanks a bunch. That helps me out a lot, straight to the point. I'll have to just be patient then. Maybe i'll start a couple different batches at once that way i'll always have something going.
I'll keep in mind that there is no substitution for aging and test the glycerine out for that "mouthfeel" and "sweetness" result

Thanks agian

 

[magarcia12]

Thirsty Viking, I have started my third Melomel mead and my question is related to pH adjustment. My initial pH is 4.12, I have read that this should not exceed 3.8.
Local supply house suggested adding "Acid blend" to lower the pH and subsequently raise the acidity. Thi is a 6 gallon batch and I added six teaspoons to the fermenter prior to pitching the yeast. Someone had told me that a phosporic acid addition would lower the pH and not affect the acidity. Ever heard of this idea. Do you know a measurement per gallon. Would appreciate anyones advise. magarcia12

 

[Medsen Fey]

Hello magarcia12,

A question such as yours warrants its own thread so that it gets the attention it deserves. Whenever you have a question that you can't find the answer to using the search tool, if there isn't a recent thread discussing that topic, you should feel free to start a new thread. Also, when posting such a question, if you provide the details of the recipe, folks can give better answers.

With regards to your question, yeast can function in a wide range of pH from about 3.0 to up above 5.0, but they are happiest somewhere around 3.4-3.8. They are however, pretty good at making the must pH suit themselves and you will usually see the pH drop in mead musts once the yeast get started, especially in traditional meads (without fruit).

Sometimes in meads, when acid is added at the beginning, and then the yeast start producing acid, they can drop the pH to a point where they stall the fermentation. This is why we usually recommend adding acid to taste after the fermentation is done.

With melomels such as you are making the buffing capacity of the fruit tends to make the mead less prone to drops in pH and so adding acid usually doesn't present as much problem, but even then, I usually wait unless I see the pH remaining high 24-48 hours into fermentation. If you've already added the acid there is nothing to do but wait and follow the pH as long as it doesn't drop down to 3.0 or below, you'll probably be fine.

As for using the phosphoric acid, I haven't tried it. I reckon the theory is that the phosphate will be taken up into the yeast so titratable acidity would not be increased. I'm not sure if that is really true, but someone will have to do a little research. Of course, in meadmaking we don't worry much about titratable acid because doing the titration testing in meads is inaccurate due to gluconolactone in the honey. We usually just make such additions based on taste, and from my standpoint, I am much more concerned with taste than I am with a number. Of course, amounts needed to achieve taste (or pH) will vary widely based on your ingredients.

Phosphoric acid might be something to consider. That is an interesting idea.

I hope that helps.
Medsen

 

[Buliwyf]

!st Try

I need some advice I want to try a lemon tarragon mead It will be my 1st attempt I have brewed beer a long time ago and have 22 years as a chef and still have no idea as to where to start looking for a light semi sweet recipe and tech support I have all the equipment and access to raw honey just need a basic recipe to brew please help

 

[Medsen Fey]

Welcome to GotMead Buliwyf!!!

I haven't seen a specific recipe for a lemon tarragon mead, but it sounds interesting. I'd probably approach it by making a traditional mead and then adding lemon juice for acidity, lemon zest for aroma, and tarragon into the secondary. Adding a lot of lemon juice at the beginning of fermentation can cause pH problems, though if added in modest amounts would probably be no issue.

I think I would want a light honey for this, not a dark heavy honey.

For each gallon:

Honey to reach a gravity of 1.120 (about 3.3 pounds)
Water to 1 gallon
Yeast Nutrient (DAP) 2 grams (about 1/2 tsp)
Yeast Energizer (Fermaid K) 4 grams (about 1 tsp)
Lalvin 71B yeast - 5 grams packet rehydrated per instructions

Mix the honey in the water thoroughly, then add the nutrient and pitch the yeast. This will give you a result that should be semi-sweet to sweet with about 14% ABV. That may be a little heavy for what you are aiming for, but it should be good. You can make it with less alcohol, but that will require you to stabilize and sweeten using Potassium Sorbate and Sulfite.

Keep it under airlock and let it finish fermentation. It should end around 1.010. When done, rack it and top it up. I'd let it clear some and rack it again in about 1 month.

Then I'd add the juice of one lemon and taste. If it needs more acidity, I'd keep adding lemon juice a little at a time until it tastes balanced. Then I'd take the zest from half a lemon at toss that in (you can add more later if you think it needs it)

Now the tarragon is something I've not done in a mead, but in reading some old posts in MLD achieves, Chuck Wettergreen recommends 50 grams per gallon. Personally that seems like quite a bit, and I probably wouldn't start with more than 1 oz (28 grams), but I don't mind going slow and adding more over time. You might rinse them with a little sulfite solution before adding them in, but that isn't essential.

In a couple of weeks, (or when the taste is right recognizing that the aroma and flavor of the herb will likely recede some over time) rack it and let it clear. Then bottle. Given all the racking, I'd probably start with at least 1.5 gallons.

That would be one way to do it (there are others).

Medsen

 

[sbdavoli]

New brewer question

Great Forum! We are still new at meadmaking because it took us 3 yrs to brew our 1st batch! We just bottled it and have started a new one. We lost the recipe and documentation to the finished batch, but it tastes good.
The new batch has some problems, it is barely fermenting and we pitched the yeast 2 days ago. It looks as if the yeast has decided to sit at the bottom also. The SG may be 1.06 and alcohol 8%, we didn't use Campden.

Recipe: 1 ½ gal. Gibbons Farm Clover Honey
4 Gal. Spring water
1/2 Gal. Spring water
6 tea bags
2 lemons juice
Cheese cloth spice bag-- cinnamon, cloves, orange peel

Boiled 6 tea bags with spice bag in ½ gal spring water, removed spice and tea bags, added 1 ½ gal of honey and juice of 2 lemons, kept temp between 175-180 deg. F. for 10 mins., skimmed foam, (not much) cooled in sink with ice water, at 110 deg. poured through sifter funnel into sanitized 6 gal. carboy containing 1 gal. spring water, poured remaining 3 gals. of spring water through sifter funnel (to oxygenate) into carboy, took gravity and alcohol sample, pitched yeast, put on air-lock with siphon hose connected to gallon bottle for excess fermentation.
Any advice or comments about the yeast would be helpful
Thanks!

 

[Chevette Girl]

Welcome aboard!

I'm going to suggest that you aerate your must a few times (sanitize a spoon handle or something long that fits into your carboy and splash the must around till your arms get sore), or pour some of it back and forth to and from the (sanitized!) pot you used to heat it, making sure to let it splash as much as possible without making a huge mess, it'll get the yeast spread through the must and get a little more oxygen for them yeasties to use. Some yeast nutrient or energizer might not be a bad idea either, relatively inexpensive at your local brew supply store.

What kind of yeast did you use? If it was bread yeast, you could always add a little more, if wine yeast, let us know what type, certain types are finicky.

I'd also recommend that you check your gravity again to see if it's moved, you can't always tell from looking at the must whether the fermentation is proceeding. Also, if it's only at 1.060 SG, that's not going to be very strong, will probably ferment completely dry (I don't know your tastes but I prefer my meads on the sweeter side), and it likely won't keep as well as something closer to the 10% ABV range. Of course, if it's really tasty, it'll all get drunk quickly anyways, right? ;D

I wouldn't worry about not using campden in the must, you heat treated your must so there shouldn't be potential spoilage organisms in there as long as all your equipment that touched it afterwards was sanitized. Some folks always campden everything right at the start, some people never do, some people heat-treat, some don't, most of it all works out fine in the end anyways.

 

[wayneb]

One other multi-part question: What was the temperature of your must when you pitched the yeast, and what was the temperature of the yeast?

Also, WELCOME to "Gotmead!"

 

[thorngrove]

Hello and secondary fermentation question

Hi all,

I'm super happy to find this forum. I've already learned heaps and the instructins/tables are a godsend - thank you!

I have a question re secondary fermentation. I have started a couple of 1 -gallon demi-johns; a mead and a melomel (?), the latter made with a 300gm mixture of blackberries, raspberries, redcurrants & blackcurrants, a tsp of ground long pepper and 1.36 k (3lb) of standard honey. I only just got some pH papers so I've no idea what the acidity was (I just relied on the berries for the acid and half a cup of strong tea for tannin).

I used Ritchies Champagne yeast for both and the primary fermentation took 7 days and seemed to go OK. The mead is doing fine on the secondary.

The melomel prettymuch stopped after I racked it, so the next day (last Sunday) I added a couple of teaspoons of yeast nutrient. It's now bubbling every 6 seconds so I figure it's going OK (the mead is going every 3-3.5 seconds). The question is about how long should the secondary go? I thought it was supposed to take weeks, but it's already at the Gravity I want it.

My aim is for a dry (but not too dry) melomel with strong berry taste and a little peppery kick from the spice. I figured the target SG should be 1.006-1.010? The starting SG was 1.090. When I racked it, the SG was 1.010.

Am I supposed to wait until the fermentation slows, or is it OK to stop the fermentation with Campden tablets now and bottle it? Will it be underdeveloped or something (sorry, have no idea what the correct words are) if the secondary is only a week? Should I just leave it and just accept it's going to be very dry? Advice please?

cheers
Tina
:icon_flowerbrewing in Berkshire, UK):icon_flower:

 

[Medsen Fey]

Welcome to GotMead Tina!

With a starting gravity of 1.090 a champagne yeast (or virtually any wine yeast) will take it completely dry with a gravity less than 1.000. Attempting to stop a champagne yeast by adding Campden tablets and sorbate will probably fail. Those stabilizing agents work better to keep a fermentation that has stopped from starting up again.

You best bet will be to let it finish fermenting completely and totally (with no more drop in the gravity). At that point, you can rack it off the sediment and treat with a combination of Campden tablets (at least 1.5 per gallon) and potassium sorbate so that they yeast won't ferment more when you add some sweetening. After that, you can sweeten it until it tastes best to you.

 

[thorngrove]

Re Welcome to GotMead Tina!

Thank you! I shall do that.

My mead had 2k (4.4lb) of honey and a starting SG of 1.115, and is now 1.040. I was hoping to go for a sweet with that (maybe finishing SG of 1.020?), but from what you say I should also let it finish, then sweeten it after too?

Is it better to sweeten it with honey or sugar? I'd rather not use sugar in the pure mead.

Also, why does the champagne/wine yeast take it to dry with a SSG of 1.090? Is it too little sugar? Not enough? Something about wine yeast? I bought some Lalvin K1-V1116 for my next attempt. Will that be the same?
Hope all these questions are ok.

cheers
Tina

 

[wayneb]

Both of those yeast strains, EC-1118 and K1-V1116, have rather high ethanol tolerances, and so both of those strains can usually easily take a "standard wine strength" must of 1.090 to dryness, unless there are problems with the fermentation. You can generally find the characteristics of different strains of yeast listed on manufacturers' websites. Lallemand have theirs here: http://www.lallemandwine.us/products/yeast_chart.php

Wine yeasts are generally able to eat all the sugars available in a mead must, since they are 100% fermentable. That is different from beer, where some of the sugars are complex, and many beer strains of yeast leave the complex sugars untouched.

More of this kind of info can be found over in the Newbee Guide; have a look at the link over on the left side of this page if you haven't already done so.

Personally, I always backsweeten a mead with honey rather than sugar. The honey is both more consistent with mead, and it will add some aromatic components that you won't get from sugar. So, IMO, honey is a better alternative - although once you've backsweetened you may have to wait a bit longer for the mead to go clear as residual proteins, etc, from the honey will stay suspended and make your freshly backsweetened mead a little bit hazy.

 

[thorngrove]

Thanks for the speedy reply.

Ah, I understand now - it's the point at which the alcohol content kills the yeast. I read the guide (which is fantastic btw), but there was a lot to take on board and that bit didn't sink in. I shall give some of the lower alcohol-tolerant yeasts a whirl next.

Cool! I'll go with honey for backsweetening then. Good to know about the haze, thank you.

cheers
Tina

 

[forester508]

First time brew with simple recipe

Hey everyone, I'm so happy to find a site like gotmead.com. I just wanted some opinions on my first attempt at making mead and maybe some critique on my logic and methods.

Components:
1 gallon carboy
3/4 gallon tap water
3 lbs 100% processed clover honey (nothing special)
1 lemon (for acidity)
1/2 package of Lavlin 71b-1122 wine yeast (hoping for a relatively sweet mead)
1 tsp yeast nutrient

Methods:
yeast starter in 2 cups pre-boiled water with 1 tbsp honey (15 min)
boiled water for 6-7 min
stirred in honey after water cooled for a couple minutes after boiling
stirred in squeezed lemon juice during cool-down
poured cooled (around 75-79 degrees F) water/honey mixture into sterilized carboy
poured in yeast starter (shaken)
poured in yeast nutrient
shook the whole thing really well to mix and to oxygenate.
put in sterilized stopper and airlock
placed carboy on floor in dark closet.

This was all done last night and when I checked on the carboy this morning, it was fermenting fairly nicely with steady tiny bubbles coming up along the sides and some foam at the top. I am a little worried about the temperature since it is constently in the 60's downstairs in our place. However, I have it in an upstairs closet so it probably runs a couple of degrees higher than downstairs. I chose the yeast based on some online examples where they were shooting for a fairly sweet mead (yeast should kick out at a moderate alcohol percentage). I would like it to turn out this way as it is what my wife likes. I wasn't planning on on using the lemon, but the guy at the brew supply store recommended it for some acidity to help the yeast). They only had one choice for the yeast nutrient, so it's pretty standard stuff. I know that this recipe is extremely basic, but everyone has to start somewhere right

So any comments on what I did would be great. I wouldn't mind some constructive critisism if something that I did was totally bogus.

Thanks,

Forester

 

[mmclean]

First and most important;

Welcome to GOTMEAD?

Next this post could have been better, if started as a new tread in the Brewlog section.

As to your recipe, there is no need to add acid up front. It could cause your yeast to stall before fermentation is complete. You can add at the end of fermentation, if needed for taste.

If you don't have one, buy yourself a hydrometer. Better yet buy two, in case one breaks. You will need one to know when your fermentation is over. Be very afraid of bottling anything with yeast and sugar together.

I highly recommend reading the Newbee Guide, found in the tool bar to your left, before you bottle this up. It is most common to ferment dry, stabilize, then backsweeten to taste.

 

[rico1980]

First batch of old, simple style Mead

First time mead maker here. Let me first start by saying that I'm currently somewhere that resources are very hard to come by, so I'm doing the best I can with what's available to me. My goal is to produce an acceptable first wine, that won't taste horrible, and perhaps be shared with friends. I came prepared with some quality yeasts and the rest will be a great learning experience...I hope.

This recipe is really just my own custom one at this point. It's a collection of different things that I've seen and heard from various sources and modified to fit my current conditions. "Joe's Ancient Orange and Spice Mead" is probably the closest to my actual recipe, but I'm utterly spiceless where I am. Maybe I'll throw in some hot tamales cinnamon candy for cinnamon flavor later, haha! Please forgive me if my attempt offends any of the more experienced members of this forum.

I'm currently 2 days into a very small batch consisting of:

-28 x 1/2 ounce Kraft brand "pure honey" packets (approx 3/4 pound)
-approx 5 oz./3 oranges worth fresh orange juice (hand squeezed with some pulp)
-1.5 liters bottled/purified water
-2.5g EC-1118 yeast

No boiling was done. The total must is about 1.75 liters. I have 4 other kinds of yeasts and elected to use this one because I read that it is a "Champagne" yeast and would be better for this use. I realize that I added enough yeast for possibly 2.5 gallons worth must. Can anybody tell me what kind of effect this is going to have?

So far the must is bubbling quite nicely. I improvised an airlock out of some medical equipment and so far things seem to be going as advertised. I've been keeping it at an approximate 70 degrees, in the dark, and I've read a few other recipes on various sites and was wondering about any feedback concerning what to expect as far as suggested timeline, alcohol content, how it might taste and any worst case scenarios.

I'd be interested in consumption sooner than later but I do understand that the longer that a mead is left, the better it will be. I guess I'm just so new at this that I'm wondering exactly what is the bad part about early consumption. Is it that it will taste "yeasty"? Is it that it will be cloudy? I'm very interested in crafting an excellent mead someday, but for now I'd like to simply make one that I can enjoy, not too long from now (relatively speaking), that won't make me sick or give me one of the worst hangovers ever.

Well, I'm excited to read what people have to say. Thanks to all and "Wassail!"

 

[Chevette Girl]

Welcome to the forum!

Kraft honey packets? Oh my, you ARE somewhere way out there, aren't you!

First off, over-pitching (using more yeast than is required initially) shouldn't hurt your batch.

That particular yeast is good for a really high alcohol mead, it should be done with this current batch within a week since your must isn't that strong (I estimated it to be around 9%).

If you consume this while it's still cloudy and producing CO2, well, let's just say some people's digestive systems react badly to active yeast, there was one mention of someone having stained his toilet

If you let it clear and pour off the clear stuff, it should be fine, although the longer you let it age, the better it will taste. Especially early on, you may want to sweeten this up a little before you drink it, but drink it quickly thereafter, as you don't have the chemicals on hand to stabilize it so the yeast don't continue merrily fermenting any additional sugars you give them.

Take a look at the "mead calculator" over there to the left, its help button actually is helpful. You should be able to figure out an approximate alcohol content for your creation, it even lets you mix pounds and litres , just change the units field before you enter your value or it might auto-convert it for you.

If you can get your hands on a hydrometer (and some more honey) next time you're back to civilization, it's a much better method for determining your alcohol content.

There are also other possibilities if you've got limited supplies, bottled juices are quite fermentable as long as they don't contain things like potassium sorbate.

And also, don't be afraid to start a new thread of your own on the forum, resurrecting really big old threads isn't always the best way to get answers.

 

[rico1980]

Welcome to the forum!

Kraft honey packets? Oh my, you ARE somewhere way out there, aren't you!

First off, over-pitching (using more yeast than is required initially) shouldn't hurt your batch.

That particular yeast is good for a really high alcohol mead, it should be done with this current batch within a week since your must isn't that strong (I estimated it to be around 9%).

If you consume this while it's still cloudy and producing CO2, well, let's just say some people's digestive systems react badly to active yeast, there was one mention of someone having stained his toilet

If you let it clear and pour off the clear stuff, it should be fine, although the longer you let it age, the better it will taste. Especially early on, you may want to sweeten this up a little before you drink it, but drink it quickly thereafter, as you don't have the chemicals on hand to stabilize it so the yeast don't continue merrily fermenting any additional sugars you give them.

Take a look at the "mead calculator" over there to the left, its help button actually is helpful. You should be able to figure out an approximate alcohol content for your creation, it even lets you mix pounds and litres , just change the units field before you enter your value or it might auto-convert it for you.

If you can get your hands on a hydrometer (and some more honey) next time you're back to civilization, it's a much better method for determining your alcohol content.

There are also other possibilities if you've got limited supplies, bottled juices are quite fermentable as long as they don't contain things like potassium sorbate.

And also, don't be afraid to start a new thread of your own on the forum, resurrecting really big old threads isn't always the best way to get answers.

So, to clarify; you're saying that I didn't put in enough honey and it's going to be about 9% alcohol in roughly a week?

 

[Chevette Girl]

So, to clarify; you're saying that I didn't put in enough honey and it's going to be about 9% alcohol in roughly a week?

In my typical long and rambling style, yes, that sums it up quite succinctly ;D Check out the mead calculator and you can run the numbers yourself.

Actually, it's not that you didn't use enough honey, there's nothing wrong with having a 9% mead - the advantages are that it's likely to ferment quick and clean, it's likely to be drinkable sooner than a high-alcohol fermentation, and it's likely to clear up pretty quickly. It's just that the yeast you chose can handle a lot more.

 

[Big Dawg]

Hi,

I'm trying to figure out how to post a message, so I'll give this a try. If you could let me know how I start a new post I'll do it. In the mean time I have a question about my current batch of mead! This is my 3rd batch. This one is raspberry with 20 lb. berries and 20 lbs of clover honey. I've used the usual additives and am also following a suggestion on a similar site where I add about 1/4 Tsp energizer and nutrient each day.

I have the mead in a food grade 7 gallon bucket with a lid that has a hole in it for an air lock. I am not using a lock, but leave the lid loose. I stir the mead at least 6 times a day, when I do it foams up and actually sounds like it's carbonated with the fizzle that comes up!

In my past batches I have had a layer of foam in the morning's that I would remove with a tea strainer. This batch does not have a layer of foam in the morning.

Does this sound normal to you folks?

Thanks for any replys.

Big Dawg