Mead Beginner Questions

[User196221]

Just got a gallon of honey (12#) and a mead recipe for my birthday from a friend. Here's the recipe and was wondering if there are any problems with it.
For three gallon carboy:
2 gallon distilled water
16 cups honey (1 gallon)
1 pkg Red Star Cote des Blancs yeast
1 handfull of ground up raisins

Heat up water to 160 degrees and add honey. Put in carboy. Cool down to about 90 degrees. Mix yeast per directions and add to carboy. Add a handfull of chopped up raisins to carboy. Put on air lock and set in dark warm place for 3 months. Rack 2 or 3 times. Stablize before bottling.

Shouldn't the first fermentation be done in an open bucket? Also no campden mentioned to kill wild yeast. I don't think the distilled water is correct either. I'm a little nervous about doing this as I don't want to waste a gallon of honey. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for reading.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Welcome first and foremost. You can find an answer to probably most of your questions here.

Top of the list...Do you have a hydrometer? You need one. You need it to chose a starting point as well as indicating when your must is thru fermenting.

I do not recommend distilled water. Yeasts need minerals that are contained with in tap water. You wouldn't need camden tablets in the beginning as honey is too thick for that but maybe if the raisins are questionable.

I do not know if mead needs any other nutrients. It would probably benefit with some pectic enzyme too.

Just a start for you.

 

[mmadmikes1]

First off, Yes you will need nutrient. I don't boil the honey, just heat it to about 120 degrees to break down proteins and float wax to top. I skim off wax. Boiling ,in my opinion, takes away flavor. Honey has no wild yeast to worry about.Also I use apple juice and get a real good yeast starter going. Honey does not really like to ferment so give yeast every advantage you can. Keep temp up is 70's. Make sure raisins don't have preservatives in them.

 

[woodsxdragon]

i just started a another gallon.
my ended up being 2.5 lbs worth.
no raisins. no oranges.
starting s.g. was like 1.060
boiled the water and honey for a bit. dropped in the nutrients/acid blend/cam tab.
got up in the AM and tossed some lavin d47 into it. came home from work and she was all ready starting to bubble a little. it's been 4 days so far and it seems like it's a reall nice slow ferment.

 

[mmadmikes1]

With honey AND BOILING there is no need for cam tabs(K-Meta)

 

[BobF]

I hope I don't get banned for this, but ...
http://www.gotmead.com/index.php is a great mead making resource.

 

[fatbloke]

As others have mentioned, a hydrometer is a virtual must.

As for a gallon of honey into what 2 gallons of water ? Damn! that's gonna be a high enough gravity to give the yeast osmotic shock and stall before it even starts.......

I'd suggest something like the gallon of honey into 4 gallons of water, giving a 3lb to the gallon ratio which is enough to get going.

As for yeast ? I'd suggest the "swiss army knife" of the yeast world, Lalvin K1V-1116

Nutrients ? Yes.

Boiling honey and water ? No, definitely not.

A little extra honey for back sweetening and maybe some acid blend (I like to mix my own, 2 parts Malic to 1 part tartaric - No citric), but the acid is only used after the ferment.

Some grape tannin, liquid or powder, whatever is easiest to obtain.

Sulphite is a must, and possibly some Sorbate for stabilising later.

Or you can just cheat a bit and make a couple of different batches - maybe the first one being JAO - quick, easy and all the other ingredients available from the nearest grocery store.

regards

fatbloke