Step-by-step guide to mead making

[im1dermike]

I just read some mead making instructions and below is how I interpret it for a still mead with fruit addition. I have additional questions at the bottom.

*Ferment in the low 60s
Day 1:
- Boil the water you plan to use.
- Rehydrate yeast with Go-Ferm (use 1 gram per gallon) in ~104 degree water.
- Add honey to water (cooled to ~10 degrees warmer than honey).
- Pitch yeast after 30 minute rehydration.
- Oxygenate the must.

Day 2:
- At the first site of fermentation add 1-2 grams of DAP per gallon of must.

1/3-1/2 sugar depletion until fermentation is over:
- Add 1 gram of Fermaid K and 1-2 grams DAP per gallon of must.
- For the remainder of fermentation, stir the lees back into solution every 1-3 days.

Fermentation is over:
- Transfer to a secondary.
- Add 1/4 tsp of sulphite per 5 gallons of must.
- Add fruit.
- Let sit for 6-12 months.
- Bottle with minimal headspace.


Questions:
Is there anything incorrect with my procedure above?
OG?
FG?
Should you top up your carboy? If so, at what point?

[yabodie]

It seems OK but I have a couple suggestions/questions.

What yeast do you plan to use?

1st design your must based on what you want in your final product. Do you want a sweet or dry mead? For example if you have a wine yeast that tops out at 15% and you want a dry mead only add enough honey to get you at 15% potential ABV. If you want it sweeter add honey for 17% potential ABV. This way when you add your fruit the yeast will not be able to ferment the fruit sugar as the ABV is too high for them.

Do you want massive fruit flavor or mild? Add fruit after fermentation or before respectively to get what you want.

Add your fermaid-K at 1/3rd and at 2/3rd depletion. After fermentation is over, depending on your yeast, let it sit till it is clear then transfer to your serving vessels. No need to top up the carboys as long as you still have a CO2 layer.

Prost...

[im1dermike]

I really have no idea as far as a recipe goes. I was probably only going to make 3 gallons. I've only had a mead once, a quick pyment made by Michael Fairbrother where he use concord grapes. He said the recipe was called Full Circle Mead. I don't have any other mead styles to compare it to, but I enjoyed the pyment. I'm not sure whether that is sweet or dry.

[yabodie]

Here is a simple one for you then. Give it a shot and use honey you like the taste of, preferablly something local to you.

enough honey to get to an OG of 1.130
Enough water to dilute honey for a final volume of 6 gallons
1lb non SO2 raisins-pureed with a small amount of water
10g K1V-1116
10g Go-Ferm
100ml tap water at 104F

Process:
Rehydrate yeast with go-ferm and warm tap water for about 15 minutes or as long as it takes to mix up the must.
Mix honey, water and raisins to get your final OG and volume in a plastic bucket aerating vi-ga-rosly

Pitch yeast and let it ferment till SG is about 1.040

Rack to a carboy and let sit till you can read news print through the carboy.

Rack to bottles or keg, let sit about 6 more month then drink...

[im1dermike]

Thanks yabodie. I'll have to scale it down to 3 gallons.

And I should just follow the previous Fermaid K, DAP, and sulfite additions?

[yabodie]

If you do a 3 gallon batch use 5g of yeast and 5g of Go-ferm.

If you use the raisins then no need for DAP or fermaid-k as the raisins provide the nutrients for the yeast, more of a natural way of fermenting. I my batches, the ones with DAP and fermaid-k ferment out quicker, but my palate can't find the differences. Use them if you wish they won't hurt.

If you add fresh fruit, first freeze it, then add the pulp and juice after fermentation is done. There should be enough alcohol to keep other bugs from starting up. Also the K1V-1116 is a killer strain and will, on its own, inhibit other bugs.

Keep your sanitation good and you should have a tasty mead in about a year. Oh and depending on the fruit add about 2oz American medium toast oak after fermentation for about a month. Nice touch there...

Damn I want a pint of mead now...

[UcfLumberjack]

+1
I made a cranberry mead that is nice. It went dry but it still pretty awesome. The cranberry flavor carried through the ferment well. I like k1v1116 quiet a bit. I would use 10g yeast in 3 gallons and 20g in 6 gallons but that's just me...

Sulfite is really only used when to want to prevent fermentation from continuing. ie. you wanted a sweet mead but your mead went dry. you sulfite to kill yeast, sorbate to keep them dead, at this point they shouldn't be able to ferment any new sugar, add honey to sweeten it up. it can also be used to sanitize fruit, but if the fruit is being used in a mead (12%+abv) its not really necessary.

edit: cheers yabodie! I'm tasting my last sweet mead right now. mmmmm....

[im1dermike]

If I'm doing 3 gallon batches and you have to stir the lees back into suspension often at the beginning of ferm (I have a drill-powered degasser), should I get a 3 gallon carboy or 5 gallon?