My First Mead

[Thirsty Mallard]

Brewed my first mead recently. Here is the recipe for a 3.5 gallon yield:

3 gallons Spring Water
9 lb - Texas Wildflower Honey
0.5 lb - Pureed Raisins
0.5 lb - Pureed Dates
3 tsp - Super Ferment Nutrient

Lavlin D-47 Wine Yeast

I was hoping for an OG around 1.120, but added a bit too much water, so I came in around 1.113. I think it'll be fine. After ferment I'm going to put it on some oak chips for about 4 weeks.

How long does wine yeast take to ferment? When should I rack to secondary?

[Lars]

I like D-47 for meads. It should finish out within two weeks or so. Just be sure to check your gravity. With that starting grav you may go kind of dry... so keep an eye on it unless you are after a dry mead.