Anyone Made Vanilla Mead?

[NoSnob]

For my first foray into mead making, I see two recipes of interest. One is JMAO, for its reliability and relatively quick drinkability. There are plenty of comments on this board about JMAO.

The other is Jack Keller's vanilla mead recipe, ready in a year or two. Before I pull the trigger on 6 pounds of mesquite honey, I thought I'd see what you thought. Anyone tried it? How good is it and is it worth the wait?

NS

 

[mmadmikes1]

I don't know Jack Kellers Vanilla mead, but I have made my own it twice now. It is wonderful

 

[Wade E]

Have never made it but Ive tasted some from a brew shop near me in which 1 of the workers only makes meads and it was very nice. Meads like that need lots bof time for them to come around. Basically anything with a gentle flavor needs lots of time for the alc to settle in.

 

[Redtrk]

I'm thinking about trying my hands at making a mead. This one looks good.

 

[Arne]

If anybody has a good recipe for this, post it up on here please. I think I have enough honey to make about 3 gal. of this stuff. Been waiting for something that sounds good to use it up on. Thanks, Arne.

 

[fatbloke]

If anybody has a good recipe for this, post it up on here please. I think I have enough honey to make about 3 gal. of this stuff. Been waiting for something that sounds good to use it up on. Thanks, Arne.

It's probably in here somewhere Arne. While I feel humbled by the amount of Wine Making info that Jack Keller has put out, I find his website very hard work. To my way of thinking, it's crying out for a redesign.

I understand he's a very busy man but there's surely someone who's got enough of a handle, experience, etc with web design who could make it easier to work through.......

 

[NoSnob]

If anybody has a good recipe for this, post it up on here please. I think I have enough honey to make about 3 gal. of this stuff. Been waiting for something that sounds good to use it up on. Thanks, Arne.

If you Google "Jack Keller, Vanilla Mead Recipe" it will take you to his web site where he lists many mead recipes. Scroll down to Vanilla Mead. I will cut & paste it here:

Jack Keller's Vanilla Mead (5 gallons)​

9 lbs of mesquite honey
1 tblsp gypsum to harden up the water a bit
4 ounce bottle of Madagascar vanilla extract
6 tsp yeast nutrients
Champagne yeast
Hydrate the yeast in a cup of lukewarm water. In a separate container, dissolve the yeast nutrient in another cup of lukewarm water. Mix the honey in two gallons hot water in a primary and stir well to dissolve the honey. Then add three gallons minus two cups of cool water and stir some more to mix ingredients and oxygenate the water. Add the yeast and yeast nutrient. Cover and ferment 7 days. Transfer to a glass carboy and fit airlock. Allow to ferment out (30-45 days). Taste. If too dry, stabilize and add another cup of honey, stir, and taste again. Wait 10 days and rack and top up. Allow to bulk age 60 days and rack into bottles. Age 1-2 years (the improvement between one and two years will astound you). [Adapted from a traditional recipe]

Has anyone on this board used this or similar? I am interested in making 3 gallons.

Now that I have included it here, I would appreciate your opinions about it.

NS

 

[fatbloke]

Not a recent recipe ! the hot water thing tells me that.

Plus, with only 9lb of honey in what seems to be a 5 gallon batch, will make for a lower than normal alcohol, very dry mead. Yes, I know it says about stabilising and adding some honey if it's too dry (which I'd suggest it will be), I'd rather make it up with about 3lb of honey in the gallon and use vanilla pods, rather than extract!

I'd be thinking if using a staggered nutrient addition technique too.

don't get me wrong, it's quite feasible that it'll work fine, but I certainly wouldn't make mine like that.

 

[mmadmikes1]

I don't do recipes. I add yeast to a honey water mix that starts at 1.05 with PH set at 3.6. I add yeast nutrients. I like champagne yeast fine. Last time I used 1118 because it was all I had in drawer. I Warm the mix to 135 for 20 minutes normally but have read you dont need to so last batch I didn't. It is not finished but looks great in carboy.
As fermentation progresses I add honey and nutrients. Every time the SG goes below 1.0 I add more honey to 1.02. That is where I like it to finish at 1.02. I will do this until it stops fermenting. This is strong mead that requires no sulfites of sorbate. I add 3 vanilla beans I grind up in my coffee grinder at start of fermentation in six gallons. If it needs more vanilla when it is done I will add some extract. Don't know what I am forgetting but This is my first batch without heating honey the only downside was the wax buildup on side of fermenter but no harm to mead at all. BTW I never anything the same twice

 

[NoSnob]

Not a recent recipe ! the hot water thing tells me that.

Plus, with only 9lb of honey in what seems to be a 5 gallon batch, will make for a lower than normal alcohol, very dry mead. Yes, I know it says about stabilising and adding some honey if it's too dry (which I'd suggest it will be), I'd rather make it up with about 3lb of honey in the gallon and use vanilla pods, rather than extract!

I'd be thinking if using a staggered nutrient addition technique too.

don't get me wrong, it's quite feasible that it'll work fine, but I certainly wouldn't make mine like that.

Maybe in my scaled-down 3 gal batch I should use 6 lb of mesquite honey instead of the 5.4 Jack's would indicate. And I could phase in the yeast nutrient. Good ideas.
NS

 

[NoSnob]

I don't do recipes. I add yeast to a honey water mix that starts at 1.05 with PH set at 3.6. I add yeast nutrients. I like champagne yeast fine. Last time I used 1118 because it was all I had in drawer. I Warm the mix to 135 for 20 minutes normally but have read you dont need to so last batch I didn't. It is not finished but looks great in carboy.
As fermentation progresses I add honey and nutrients. Every time the SG goes below 1.0 I add more honey to 1.02. That is where I like it to finish at 1.02. I will do this until it stops fermenting. This is strong mead that requires no sulfites of sorbate. I add 3 vanilla beans I grind up in my coffee grinder at start of fermentation in six gallons. If it needs more vanilla when it is done I will add some extract. Don't know what I am forgetting but This is my first batch without heating honey the only downside was the wax buildup on side of fermenter but no harm to mead at all. BTW I never anything the same twice

Mad Mike, I like your intuitive approach. I do that with cooking, after I've made a recipe enough times I get a feel for it and begin to experiment. Eventually then I forget the recipe & make it MY Way. I'm not there yet with wine!
Your pH & SG targets are good guideposts. Thanks!

NS

 

[mmadmikes1]

I don't use a set amount of honey pure gallon, I use the hydrometer and set SG. This is, IMHO a better method . Personally I do the same with all wines.
Keep the mead warm when fermenting. Somewhere between 75 and 78 degrees. Honey does not like to ferment

 

[mikev63]

Does anyone have a 1 gallon recipe for this?

 

[Arne]

Does anyone have a 1 gallon recipe for this?

Look at madmikes post above. He tells you how he makes his. Doesn't really have a recipe as such. By starting out with a lower than normal s.g. I think it probably makes the honey easier to ferment. Keep adding the honey when it ferments down and eventually you get the yeast killed off from too much alcohol. Then he adds a little more honey til it is as sweet as he wants it. Let it sit for a long time and it will be done. Arne.

 

[BoatNut]

I made a 1 gallon basic mead recipe and at the first racking added 3 cinnamon sticks and 1/2 of a vanilla bean split open and tied with kitchen string and dropped into the gallon jug. After two weeks the bean was ravaged and I didn't have the taste component I was looking for so I took out the bean and put in another 1/2 bean. After another two weeks it tastes great. The cinnamon sticks have come out on the next racking and after a year or so it's going to be an awesome vanilla-cinnamon mead. Good luck!!

 

[mmadmikes1]

last 5 gallon batch I made I put in 4 beans, ground in the coffee grinder. (Makes the coffee taste good too) added 1/2 small bottle of pure vanilla extract at end to get the taste I wanted