Mead, Nectar of the Gods!

Dwayne_Delaney · Post by **Dwayne_Delaney** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 11:24 am

How about posting some of these mead recipes!!

My plain Jane mead has been fermenting steady for about 3 weeks now.

Plain Old Mead
14lbs. Good-quality clover honey
Juice of 3 lemons
1Tbls. instant tea
3 Tsp. yeast nutrient
1 Pkg. Nottingham ale yeast

I figured that an ale yeast would be a good choice to allow some sweetness to remain, but I sampled it last night and it has already started to dry out.

I know that I could add more honey at this time but I'm not wanting to make something too alcoholic.

I read somewhere that you can add Potasium Sorbate to the mead after fermentation subsides and then add some honey to sweeten to taste. I hate the idea of adding chemicals to my mead, but it seems to be common practice to "adjust" the properties of your mead post-fermetation with honey, conditioner, herbs, spices, fruit, tanin, acid blend, ect. Has anyone used Potasium Sorbate this way?

Also, does anyone know of any local liquor stores that stock any meads other than Oliver Camelot? Camelot is the only commercial example that I have tasted.

Chris Norrick · Post by **Chris Norrick** » Sat Jan 21, 2006 9:05 pm

Ok, I've got two 1-gallon batches going, stared them in July. Same recipe with different honey. They are supposed to be semi-sweet.

One has 2.5 lb Orange Blossom Raw Honey, the other has 2 lb of Clover honey and .5 lb Orange Blossom.
2/3 tsp yeast energizer
2/3 tsp yeast nutrient
5g Lalvin D47 dry yeast.

That's it! Mead in it's purest form. No boiling or anything. Supposed to be ok in a year and good in two years and great in three years! I doubt two gallons will last that long. Glad I checked my notes, recipe says to bulk age 9-12 months, so I've got a few more to go.

Here's a pic I took tonight. Clover on the left and Orange on the right.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 2:14 pm

Made my 1st batch of mead on Jan10 and it is bubbling like crazy. The recipe is from The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian.
Chief Niwot Mead 5 gal.

13# honey
1 tbsp. gypsum
4 tsp. acid blend
1/2 oz. yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp. Irish moss
1 pkg. champagne yeast
1/3 cup corn sugar to prime

Boil 15 min., skim foam off the top, cool, aerate, and pitch yeast.
Medium sweet and slightly carbonated. Bottle w/ priming sugar like beer.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 2:25 pm

Dwayne, winemakers use potassium sorbate to prevent renewed fermentation when the wine is fermented to the right alcohol % but is not sweet enough. No reason it wouldn't work for mead. Lots of meads are pretty highly alcoholic and the alcohol is what kills the yeast. Unless you use a yeast has low attenuation, I think you'll have to use potassium sorbate or else fermentation will continue in the carboy or the bottle.

Dwayne_Delaney · Post by **Dwayne_Delaney** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:29 pm

Thanks for the info. I think that I'll give the stuff a try.

Dwayne_Delaney · Post by **Dwayne_Delaney** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 6:29 pm

UPDATE: The potassium sorbate kept fermentation from starting up after I added another pound of honey to sweeten the mead. It should be ready to consume in another couple of months.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:51 am

Bottled Chief Niwot mead today. Tasted some pre-bottle. GREAT!! Primed with corn sugar so it will have some carbonation. Now I just have to wait for it to age in the bottle. There is a possibility that not all of it will survive until it has reached a ripe old age! It was a fun project, may have to try another batch. Maybe another style. Looking at making Barkshack ginger mead.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:59 pm

Made mead this afternoon. Maybe 1/2 this batch will be a fruit mead. Depends on what kind of fruit is in season when primary fermentation is done. Thinking about blackberry or raspberry. I have some sour cherries in the freezer. Big decision to have to make!!

I think I'll have to pasteurize the fruit before I add it to the fermenter. Maybe 170 F. to do that? Anybody made fruit mead before?

Mead

15# honey (I used clover honey)
1 tbsp. gypsum
4 tsp. acid blend
1/2 oz. yeast nutrient
1/4 tsp Irish moss
Nottingham yeast ( Just rehydrated, not a starter)

Boil everything but yeast for 15 min. Skim. Chill to under 80 F. Aerate and add yeast. This will be still mead if no corn sugar is added for carbonation at bottling. If sparkling mead is desired, add 1/3 cup corn sugar at bottling. I may have to test the sweetness. Didn't use champagne yeast this time because I want it to be less dry and less alcoholic.

I'm going to bottle this batch w/o added carbonation.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:10 pm

Interesting segment on Basic Brewing Radio about making mead. New in April. Most mead recipes call for boiling honey, this one does not. Watch the video!

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 6:05 pm

The mead I made April 2 with nottingham yeast reached the point where it was the right sweetness so I added potassium sorbate to all but 1 gallon to stop fermentation. I added frozen grape juice concentrate to the other gallon and set it aside to ferment a bit longer. Never made a flavored mead(with grapes this will be pyment). The rest just needs to settle and clear before bottling and aging.

JohnD · Post by **JohnD** » Wed May 24, 2006 8:51 am

Took mead to my son's wedding last weekend. Had 3 different meads. One was made with champagne yeast and was carbonated. Very dry almost like champagne. One was made with Nottingham yeast and was sweet because I added potassium sorbate to stop fermentation at a certain sweetness level. The other had grape juice concentrate added late in fermentation and then fermented from there(with Nottingham yeast). Semi dry is probably a good description. All were really good and really easy to make. None were aged for all that long so I have no idea how much difference that might make. Good time was had by all! Everybody had different opinions about which one they liked best but lots of mead was consumed by the wedding guests.