Hydrate the yeast and dissolve the yeast nutrient _separately_ in warm water for 30 minutes. Mix the honey, maple syrup, or both with first hot and then cold tap water in a large open container to almost 5 gallons at your target specific gravity. Splash or spray the water to oxygenate the must so that the yeast will multiply. Pour the must into a glass carboy, then pitch in the hydrated yeast and dissolved yeast nutrient, dregs included.

Use a blow off tube for the first few days and then switch to a water trap. In a month or so, the alcohol will kill the yeast before it runs out of sugar. If not, and the mead turns out too dry, add some more honey. It is ready to drink as soon as fermentation stops.

Maple wine becomes crystal clear with a beautiful sherry color within 60 days. Mead will sometimes clarify in 90 days. If you choose to bottle the mead before it is clear, it will clarify in the bottles, leaving an unsightly but delicious sediment.

Use Bentonite (clay) to quickly clarify a mead anytime after fermentation stops. Boil 12 ounces of water in a saucepan. While simmering, slowly sprinkle and stir in 5 tsp of bentonite. Cover and let stand for 24 hours. Add during racking. It may be necessary to rack and bentonite twice. The result is crystal clear.

Comments:

Traditional Meads and Maple Wines have an alcohol content of 12-15%.
Always use yeast nutrient and plenty of yeast for a strong start. The fermentation will take off with a bang and the rapidly rising alcohol content will quickly kill off any wild yeast. There is no need to sulphite, heat, or boil the must. Why ruin good honey? I have never had a bad batch of mead, except when I added acid.

Source: John Gorman ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Mead Lover's Digest #19, 17 October 1993