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Author Topic: Mead recipe  (Read 2772 times)

Offline Jeff M

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Mead recipe
« on: July 03, 2014, 06:54:33 pm »
SO i need to make a friend of mine some mead, He did a lot of Electrical work for me and its part of the payback.  Im looking for some suggestions and tweaks but im thinking the following.

1 Gallon of Honey
4 G of water to Aprox 1.085 or so.
de-Chlorinate water with p meta(amount?)

P Meta to control Wild yeast once mixed(how much?)
1tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp Acid Blend(?)
Aerate

Pitch 2 packages of 47B wine yeast 1 day after p meta
Ferment at 70-75F
Add 1tsp yeast nutrient 12-24 hrs after yeast pitch
Aerate(?)

Ferment for 7-14 days until final gravity has been reached.  Expected to ferment dry to 1.000 or below.

I will probably Oak the entire batch to add tannins and may split off a few gallons to add fruit too.


Any thoughts or recommendations on amounts would be great.

Thanks
jeff
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2014, 09:07:48 pm »
No need for Campden for wild yeast control in a mead. There isn't anything really of concern that would be growing on/in honey.

Read up on "Staggered yeast nutrient" additions, it will make a huge improvement in the quality of your mead, especially when it's young.

I'd save the Acid Blend until after it is done fermenting and adjust to taste. A normal mead fermentation tends to drive the pH down, potentially to the point where it may start to affect yeast activity. In a dry mead there may be enough acidity produced by the yeast where you don't need to adjust it.

You want to aerate/degas 2-3 times a day for the first week or so. You'll know when to stop your aeration regime when you don't get much foaming when you aerate.

I'd ferment mid-to-low 60's to keep it clean.

If you use staggered yeast nutrient, you could possibly have enjoyable mead within a month or two. But it could well be a year or longer before it starts to hit its prime. Mead generally takes a lot longer than a beer of comparable gravity to be ready.
Eric B.

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Offline Jeff M

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2014, 07:01:10 am »
OK, so 5g of Yeast Nutrient at pitch with aeration.  Every 24 hours add another 5g of Nutrient and Aerate until end of fermentation?
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
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Offline smkranz

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2014, 07:18:39 am »
Best to keep fermentation down around 65º.
Steve K.
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Offline Jeff M

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2014, 07:22:04 am »
Best to keep fermentation down around 65º.

Sadly with my current lack of ferm control and the weahter, im not sure i can get it below 70.  It will be what it will be sadly till i finish my brewery.
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Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline realbeerguy

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2014, 06:55:28 pm »
Basically everything Eric said.  D47 is good to leave on the lees.  If you want to have a quicker turn, 71b-1122 may be the way to go.  If you can do a swamp cooler to get below 70dF, do it.  I'ts worth the effort to ferment in the low 60's to minimize the creation of fusals.  Nutrient & degas to 50% sugar depletion, typically 3-4 days.  Total fermentation should be around 30 days to complete and let the yeast do some clean up.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2014, 07:06:33 pm »
This is from Curt Stock's "Melomels for Dummies" document, that is required reading for fruit meads, but worth the read regardless. Here's his approach to SNA:

Quote
SNA was developed by the commercial wine industry as a way of supplying nutrients as the yeast needs it during the growth phase – kind of a just-in-time delivery. Healthy yeast are essential for a clean fermentation with less chance of off-flavors or the production of higher alcohols (fusels) which can give mead a burning sensation on the back of the throat – the “rocket fuel” sensation.

I prefer to use Fermaid-K (yeast energizer) and diammonium phosphate or DAP (yeast nutrient) for adding the additional nutrient requirements of the yeast during fermentation. One teaspoon of Fermaid-K and two teaspoons DAP should be adequate for a 5 gallon batch. You can mix them together for a stock blend and add them using the following schedule:

Add ¾ teaspoon yeast energizer/nutrient mix immediately after pitching yeast.
Add ¾ teaspoon yeast energizer/nutrient mix 24 hours after fermentation begins.
Add ¾ teaspoon yeast energizer/nutrient mix 48 hours after fermentation begins.
Add ¾ teaspoon yeast energizer/nutrient mix after 30% of the sugar has been depleted.

Personally, I just add the first addition to the must when I mix it with water, then add the remaining ones at days 1, 2, and 3. His amounts work in melomels, but if this is just a straight mead with no fruit, I'd probably bump these additions up a bit (maybe a full teaspoon for each addition). The fruit in melomels does provide some additional nutrient that you won't be getting in a straight honey mead.

Fermaid K works great, but you could use another yeast nutrient if that's what you have. I've used the Wyeast nutrient that I use for beer in place of the Fermaid with no ill effect.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline Jeff M

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2014, 07:43:34 pm »
Thanks Man, ill go with a teaspoon at day 0-3.  I have fermaid k so it should work perfectly.  Ill mix it with a little water to get the DAP dissolved and then pitch.  Should i aerate at the same time?   Also, i have 2 packages of dry wine yeast, should i re hydrate it in water the same way i do fermentis yeast or is there a different protocol?

Cheers,
Jeff
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline smkranz

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2014, 09:17:58 pm »
Thanks Man, ill go with a teaspoon at day 0-3.  I have fermaid k so it should work perfectly.  Ill mix it with a little water to get the DAP dissolved and then pitch.  Should i aerate at the same time?   Also, i have 2 packages of dry wine yeast, should i re hydrate it in water the same way i do fermentis yeast or is there a different protocol?

Cheers,
Jeff
De-gas (beat it up, don't just stir), *before* you add nutrients.  There is so much CO2 in the must during the first week that adding anything dry or granular and then whipping it up will result in a very dramatic "volcano" effect of CO2 coming out of solution, that can make one holy mess.  It's almost worth doing just one time, to see what happens.
Steve K.
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Offline Jeff M

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2014, 09:25:39 pm »
  It's almost worth doing just one time, to see what happens.

This part isnt super helpful to my cleaning times;)
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Offline Jeff M

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2014, 09:26:28 pm »
I have a fizz-X.  so i will "whip it good" before adding the nutrients.

Cheers,
Jeff
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline erockrph

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Re: Mead recipe
« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2014, 09:35:42 pm »
Thanks Man, ill go with a teaspoon at day 0-3.  I have fermaid k so it should work perfectly.  Ill mix it with a little water to get the DAP dissolved and then pitch.  Should i aerate at the same time?   Also, i have 2 packages of dry wine yeast, should i re hydrate it in water the same way i do fermentis yeast or is there a different protocol?

Cheers,
Jeff

As said before, degas & aerate before your nutrient additions to avoid a Krakatoa reenactment in your fermenter. Speaking of fermenters, what size were you planning on using for a primary? You want a lot of headspace so you don't have issues with degassing. I don't usually do 5 gallon batches, but if I did, I'd probably want to use a 7.9 gallon wine fermenter instead of the usual 6.5 gallon bucket/carboy.

Rehydrate your yeast per the instructions. If you can use Go-Ferm (a rehydration nutrient), it is highly recommended. If you don't, you should still be OK - especially since you're pitching two packs.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer