Mead

[John Prince]

I have a week off starting Monday and might try to make some Mead. Any recipes, tips, and instructions would be nice.
I would like sweet or semi-sweet. 6 gallons? Maybe with oranges or another fruit?

 

[vcasey]

Do you already have the honey?
You are looking at about 3-4 lbs. of honey per gallon - please use really good honey and your hydrometer to get it to the level you want. I highly recommend using a clean and sanitized blender to mix because it adds much needed air as well as blends the honey much better then by hand. Use as much fruit as you want but I would again recommend doing something different and putting the fruit in the secondary instead of the primary. The reason behind this because of the initial fermentation can drive away the aroma and the taste of the fruit. From that point treat it like you would any other fruit wine - just be patient, its worth the wait.
Oh and while you are waiting pick up the book "The Compleat Mademaker" by Ken Scramm. This book is full of fantastic information and a couple of recipes that are true classics.

 

[John Prince]

I plan to buy the honey at the farmer market. Is Ec1118 good yeast?

 

[vcasey]

You can use it or 2 other excellent choices are 71B and D47. Get a nice starter going to help the yeast out.
Look for Orange Blossom Honey if you can find it, Wildflower is good but sometimes can take a bit to mature, stay away from clover its good to experiment with but when it comes to a mead use the very best you can because you can tell the difference.

 

[John Prince]

I bought 18 pounds of raw Arkansas honey. Five oranges. Three lemons. I need some orange juice and cinnamon sticks. I'll start this week. I'm still scratching my head.

 

[Wade E]

You should use Head & Shoulders for that itch!

 

[vcasey]

Sounds like it could be a winner, but go light on the cinnamon. You'll want to treat it, and all spices, like oak - you can always add more but you can't take it out ..........
Speaking of oak some light oak may add a nice touch to this one.

 

[John Prince]

I'm scratching my bald head.

I was on the road all last week thinking about making this. I've been reading watching YouTube videos.

 

[John Prince]

Here's what I'm going to do. 18 pounds of honest, 1/2 gallon of orange juice, 5 gallons of water, 3 cinnamon sticks, all spice, nutmeg, clove, 5 oranges.
I'll add the oranges after 4 days. Any thoughts?

 

[vcasey]

Sounds good, I would zest and juice the oranges to add to the secondary and trash the shell of the orange, no need for the pith. Also adding the juice of a lemon will help firm up the mouth feel, or you can add acid blend.

 

[Wade E]

I totally agree with vacsey, the pith will usually add a nasty flavor to what ever your making!

 

[John Prince]

I started a batch of mead Feb27th. I racked to a secondary Mar 3rd at SG 1.04. It is still fermenting as of now but I won't be home until the 22 nd of March. Is there any problems going that long? When I return on the 22nd and rack, should I use clarifiers and kmeta?
Thanks,
John

 

[Bert]

If you getting bubbles in your airlock, you still have co2 coming off your wine, that should protect it while you are gone.....After Mead is done fermenting I treat it like any other wine with degassing and K-Meta....I don't use clarifiers as I have my meads in the carboy for about a year and they usually clear on their own...

 

[John Prince]

After the bubbles stop how many days do I have before I have to degas? I won't be home for 10 more days and the bubbles are pretty slow.

 

[vcasey]

This is where I tend to get into trouble with lots of wine makers... But here is the deal -
Mead is pretty resilient stuff and believe it or not lots of mead makers will let the mead sit in a primary with the lid snapped down for a long while and some how, some way it just works. I've had a couple that sat in the primary for 4 months (maybe longer) and so far they are just fine but they still have a few years more of aging to go. So basically as long as it is sealed the mead should be fine and you can rack it and such when you return.

Like Bert I let the mead clear on its own as mine tend to age for a year or 2 (or more) in the carboy. Have I had to use superkleer even after all that time, yes but not very often.

 

[shanek17]

You can use it or 2 other excellent choices are 71B and D47. Get a nice starter going to help the yeast out.
Look for Orange Blossom Honey if you can find it, Wildflower is good but sometimes can take a bit to mature, stay away from clover its good to experiment with but when it comes to a mead use the very best you can because you can tell the difference.

Iv never heard of someone advising against the use of clover honey, why do you suggest that? iv heard its good for mead so i choose it as my honey for my first mead. I went to a local honey farm and bought 5kg of natural unpateruized honey to use. So atleast its not store bought honey..