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Thread: Mead!

  1. #1
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    Default Mead!

    Having another go at making mead. I'm not entirely convinced that there's enough honey in it, but there should be. Last year was purely cappings honey, this year I topped it up with pretty much everything that wasn't this year's (including some very old rows honey) to try and get it up to strength for two demijohns worth.

    Last year it didn't clear but still had the desired effect but was perhaps a bit too sweet for most (and a distinct taste of cough medicine). This year I've tried to be a little more precise but am now in the wait and see bit.

    If I have any advice, don't leave solution in a sterilised bucket for any length of time, after a week, half my mead ingredients were mouldy already

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    Nellie -- what's the recipe you recommend I have never made mead

    I have made wine many times in the past
    The cough mixture effect happens with wine sometimes as well either stray yeasts or the cambden tablets for sterilising /stopping fermentation ?
    I haven't had a great honey crop this year -- too dependant on rape-- so small quantities will be the order of the day
    I have read you need to mature mead for a long time ? what do you think ?

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    Depends on the recipe.

    If you look out on the interweb thingy, there are recipes that are supposed to be ready after 6 months.

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    I'm trying the simple approach again, no boiling on general faff required.

    The original recipe called for 3lbs of honey per Gallon (5 pints) but I don't think that's enough so I've upped it to approximately 5lbs of honey per demijohn.

    To that mix I added 1/4 of a cup of very strong tea, half a teaspoon of marmite/vegemite and the juice of a lime and approximately 1 gram of wine yeast.

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    Hi Neil
    If you want to make a 12% wine strength mead you need 3 1/2 pounds of honey to the gallon.
    5lbs will give you 17% alcohol and very few yeast strains will tolerate that.
    What usually happens is that the fermentation 'sticks' at maybe 13% or 14 % and you are left with an alcohol with a specific gravity or 1020 or higher which is sickly sweet.

    Honey is too expensive an ingredient for serious wine making. I make about 50 gallons of apple wine every autumn and the windfall apples are free.
    I have just spent 3 solid hours pressing apples in a wine press and shredding another 25k to soak for pressing next weekend.

    The downside of this is that you get to see all the alcohol you drink in 12 months lined up in 5 gallon fermenting vessels and it is a frightening sight.

    Beats walking to the off licence and paying for it though.

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    This yeast should, it was suggested by the man as a high strength strain. I found 3lbs just seemed too weak a solution and didn't ultimately taste of very much so I've upped the concentration with an old jar or two of the year before lasts honey in addition to the cappings. I'll see what happens to it, I'm quite enjoying playing around with the recipe and seeing what works and how it turns out at the moment.

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    So, if it does turn out that it's appallingly sweet at the first rack off, what are my options? Can I simply take 1/3rd off (for argument's sake) each demijohn, top it up with water, make sure it still tastes of something, maybe add a little more yeast and carry on?

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    When a fermentation sticks it can be hard to start it again. The best option would be to remove some of the sickly solution, top up with water and add a half pint of actively fermenting yeast. Keep it somewhere above 20c.
    Make your wines lower alcohol and just drink more of it if you feel the need.

    Mead needs yeast nutrient to ferment out properly as there is no nutrient for the yeast in the honey.

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    I don't think the fermentation is likely to be an issue, the yeast should be good to 18+% according to the pack and the man in the shop. I do wonder though whether I might have overdone the honey to water ratio and personally I'd rather have a drier than sweeter drink.

    The mead has a nutrient (vegemite, marmite is too harsh imo) and tannin. both Of which I can top up as per quantity.

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Drone Ranger View Post
    Nellie -- what's the recipe you recommend I have never made mead

    I have made wine many times in the past
    The cough mixture effect happens with wine sometimes as well either stray yeasts or the cambden tablets for sterilising /stopping fermentation ?
    I haven't had a great honey crop this year -- too dependant on rape-- so small quantities will be the order of the day
    I have read you need to mature mead for a long time ? what do you think ?
    DR the official recipe is:

    3lbs of honey
    1/4 of a mug of stewed tea (for the tannin)
    1/2 teaspoon of yeast extract as a nutrient
    5ml of lemon juice (citric acid?) I used a couple of old limes in mine rather than chuck them out.
    Yeast as per instructions which seems to be typically 1gram per demijohn if you buy a 5gm packet
    top up with water to fill.

    That's what I'm working from and playing around with

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