The Armour Archive

I am taking my daughter to the hospital in about an hour and a little ways away from the hospital is the Brewing supply store. So what ingredients do I need for mead? I have all the hardware but none of the software.

My husband and I have been making mead and it hasn't managed to kill anyone yet so we might be able to help. I'm sure there's someone else out there with way more experience, but I could offer some suggestions...

We use about three pounds of honey per gallon. Boiled with two parts water to one part honey, sifting out the foam.

If you're just looking to toss some yeast in and hope for the best, I would say not Montechet (I may have spelled that wrong, but you'll get the gist from the label). The last batch we did we tried that and I haven't been a fan of how it's turning out. We've had good results with Lalvin.

As far as all the rest of the stuff:
Yeast Nutrient: helps kick start the yeast
Pectic Enzyme: helps break down the pectin which causes cloudiness if you're using fruit in the mead
Campden tablets; kills off any rogue yeast or bacteria in the honey so that you know that the yeast you add is the only yeast in the batch. Some books say you have to wait 24 hours after adding it to add the yeast, but some books don't.
Tannin: supposed to add "zest"

Will that help any?

Well having brewed for a while, I can give you a general outline, but granted it is more than just the throwing stuff in a pot and comming back 6 weeks later and "voila...mead".

Are you looking at brewing a Historically accurate mead, or do you want to do it with all the conveniences of today?

If the latter, I would start with a sack mead (a straight honey, fairly sweet mead). I use 3.5 lbs honey/gallon (honey is 12lbs/gallon so adjust your recipie accordingly). I use Premiere Cuve yeast, but there are some good liquid yeasts out there for meads (ask the guy behind the counter, that's their job), but not beer or bread yeast....really. Also avoid champain yeast.

Make sure you have a good cleanser/sterilizer for your carboys - NOT BLEACH! it's hard to completely rinse out and can kill your yeast.

Campden tablets for killing off any beasties living in your must before you pitch your yeast.

Yeast nutrient, and acid blend.

Use bottled water instead of tap to avoid the chloromines (they can retard or kill your yeast).

Use everclear or vodka in your airlocks. Other than that hunt around on the web for some various recipies.

From expeience with mead my wife made at University this year:

Don't put it in a plastic 2 liter bottle if you're gonna store it (post-ferment) in the fridge. the tastes of the fridge, seeped in, and it tasted like leftovers. All of the leftovers.

But about 2 weeks in, if we woulda corbonated it, it woulda made a great lite beer substitute.

Christopher

I'm always down to help with some mead.

Where's it at and how much help do you need?

John
Jehan de Pelham, ecuyer and servant of Sir Vitus
www.mron.org

Mead making has come rather a long way in the past five-ten years. There are some new methods which result in much faster fermenting, better tasting, and better smelling meads (floral nose = awesome!). One of the primary new methods is Staggered Nutrient Additions, which help speed up fermentation by an order of magnitude. Check out <A HREF="http://home.comcast.net/~mzapx1/">this site</A> for lots of useful info.

I know it's sort of a religious thing, but I don't boil my honey at all. YMMV, but I love the floral odor that comes from unboiled honey, and I've never had a batch go bad on me.

-Donasian.

I usually pastuerize(sp) mine. Seems to work really well and doesnt seem to take away from the honey.

you are taking your duaghter to the hospital and you are worried about mead....


just messing

Argyle the Wanderer wrote:you are taking your duaghter to the hospital and you are worried about mead....


just messing

I don't get the joke. Should I be thinking about anything else?

She was having a regular checkup. I really am a loving father (just ask me some time and I will tell you).

I never did get around to making it I just bought some honey and yeast and then I got sent on the road again. When I get home on Saturday that is at the top of my list of things to do.

Assuming you really have all the hardware, you need:
- Water (we've got decent tap water, and just use it (w/ a filter))
- Honey
- Yeast
- Yeast nutrient (not essential, but helpful)

If you think you might be missing some hardware/supplies, here's a list of what we use:
- OneStep(tm) sanitizer (one step to clean them all, and with the O2 bind them)
- 1/2 gallon measure (to measure the water)
- Mixing spoon (to mix the honey/water... duh)
- Measuring utensils (tablespoon and teaspoon)
- 5 gallon stock pot (to heat the water/honey)
- 5 gallon glass carboy
- Fermentation lock
- A bit of brandy/vodka/scotch/... to fill the fermentation lock
- Thermometer (to measure the temp of the mixture)
- Plastic funnel (to transfer the mixture from the stock pot to the carboy)
- Microwave oven (to heat the nearly-empty honey container and get all the honey out)
- Stove (to heat the water/honey mixture)



We use a 4 lbs honey / 1 gallon water ratio (1 gallon honey to 3 gallons water). If we lay on fruit, we do the initial fermentation in a plastic pail w/ a lid and fermentation lock.

I know it's a religious decision, but we do not boil the honey/water. We bring it to about 120 degrees. We then cool it to about 90 degrees (often by adding the last gallon of water cold, rather than heating all of it up).

Bjorn,
If you can, contact Thorgrim, he makes GREAT mead and he should be in your general area. He has taught classes in the past and should be able to give you some tips. Last I heard he was either in Osprey or Arenal.

-BigJohn

Why the alcohol in the airlock?

Uric

Blackoak wrote:Why the alcohol in the airlock?

Uric

Some people like to put alcohol in the airlock because it makes sure that no bugs will get into the brew, through the traditional water. I don't think its necessary, though.

I've never had a problem with using plain old tap water in the airlock, but what ever makes you happy...

-Donasian.

I always use Alcohol in the airlock.

I figure stuff is less likely to grow in alcohol than water.

YMMV

Castus

Donasian wrote:There are some new methods which result in much faster fermenting, better tasting, and better smelling meads (floral nose = awesome!). One of the primary new methods is Staggered Nutrient Additions, which help speed up fermentation by an order of magnitude. Check out <A HREF="http://home.comcast.net/~mzapx1/">this site</A> for lots of useful info.

Facinating! Do you have any more info on it? Have you tried it and if you did, how did it turn out? You mention a floral nose, so I'm guessing you've given it a shot already.

It's a shame I've already pitched this years drink. I'd love to try this. Next year definitely.

Get a hold of Gilebert here on the forum. He makes some of the best mead

Using alcohol in the airlock is more an an ounce of prevention rather than a must do. Water can breed beasties that while normally won't back up into your must, but if you get a fast moving pressure system move in or someone jostles your carboy, you can get backwash from the airlock. In my mind it's better to have a few drops of vodka than some mother of vinegar.

Louis de Leon wrote:Facinating! Do you have any more info on it? Have you tried it and if you did, how did it turn out? You mention a floral nose, so I'm guessing you've given it a shot already.

It's a shame I've already pitched this years drink. I'd love to try this. Next year definitely.

I've got a batch in the secondary now. It smells wonderful, but still has some fermenting to do (I didn't have quite the right yeast nutrient for this method to really shine.)

The <A HREF="http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewforum.php?f=8">Northern Brewer Mead Forum</A> has a ton of people who have successfully used this method on it.

-Donasian.

JT wrote

(one step to clean them all, and with the O2 bind them)

carfull you might get caught for that lord of the rings copywrite