A five mead starter

[MourneMead]

Hi,

This is really my first posting and I thought I’d give a run down of what’s “cooking” it will even help get my own thoughts in order. I'm new to mead making.


Mead one – a traditional mead.
Ingredients
1.36Kg Rawse honey
2 large oranges
Topped up to 1 gallon of spring water.
Specialised mead yeast ( a 'Super' Yeast made by Hambleton Bard which can ferment right up to 18% ABV and is very temperature tolerant)
SG 1.11

I’ve done everything as per normal and it more or less stopped fermenting at just over 2 weeks so I racked to another demijohn and it’s sitting like that now. I left quite a bit of sediment at the bottom of this one when first racking and didn’t fill the demijohn up again, however there is some secondary fermentation so there shouldn’t be any oxygen at the top. After Racking the SG seemed be about 1.0 or just under.

Mead 2 – metheglin – of a sort
Ingredients
2 large oranges
tea spoon yeast nutrients
1.36Kg Rawse honey
2 large oranges
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
20 raisins
1 clove
Specialised mead yeast
SG 1.10
Topped up to 1 gallon of spring water.

Again, I’ve done everything as per normal and it too stopped fermenting at just over 2 weeks. I racked this but topped up the must with spring water to lower the void at the top of the demijohn. Again some signs of secondary fermentation and the SG was under 1.0

Mead 3 – cyser – of a sort
Ingredients
1.36Kg Rawse honey
tea spoon yeast nutrients

4 litres of pure apple juice
Specialised mead yeast
SG 1.10

This one was treated as the other examples before and again stopped fermenting after just over 2 weeks. This one has also been racked but remains very cloudy. Again some signs of secondary fermentation.

Mead 4 – melomel – of a sort
Ingredients
1.36Kg Rawse honey
tea spoon yeast nutrients
4 litres spring water
2lb strawberries
1/4 teaspoon of oak chips
Specialised mead yeast


I followed the same process in this one as the other four except I added a quarter teaspoon of wine making oakchips. The strawberries were quite finely chopped before I added them to the demijohn.
I’m just about to rack this one as fermentation has largely stopped
SG 1.11

Mead 5 – back to original
Ingredients
1.36kg organic honey
4 litres spring water
tea spoon yeast nutrients
20 raisins
Specialised mead yeast
SG 1.10

My fifth experiment is a back to basics one with just some variation from my very first one with the simple approach. Again, this one stopped fermenting at just over 2 weeks – all very consistent. The temperature in my cupboard where I keep them is quite consistent at around 65 degrees. I kept this one fairly simple but I’ve used organic honey – hopefully that will provide a better flavour.


I'm not really clear on if I'll need any backsweetening for any of these so any hints would be appreciated. Im going for quite a dry wine in each case - my preferred choice.

thanks and sorry for the long post. I tried to upload a few pictures but I'm in work with no access to a picturehost server - but I can maybe add them in later.

MourneMead

 

[fatbloke]

Ok, so not a bad start at all :icon_thumleft:

Now, a couple of points/queries.

This so called "specialised mead yeast" ? I can't find anything like that on the HB site, so maybe you could post a link ?

Question that, because the only "mead" yeasts I've heard of as currently available are the liquid type ones from Wyeast and Whitelabs. I question them in any case, because how the hell do they "know" what yeast was originally used in the various places with a history of meads as we understand them, when yeasts weren't understood until Pasteur etc, plus they didn't write much, if anything, down for us to even get some idea of the original sources for any such yeast ? Unless of course, the makers have the best resources and the deepest pockets on the planet to be able to work through yeast DNA, from possible historic samples/evidence on items of crockery or other drinking vessels that might have contained yeast ?

Nah! can't see it. It's more likely that they are just using marketing bollocks to sell more yeast....

That said, the only one of the 4 (1 dry and 1 sweet from both makers - and remember that we can't get the white labs yeasts here - it's not easy to find places that do the Wyeast ones either, but there are some) seems to be know to potentially cause us problems - the Wyeast sweet mead (4184 I think is the number type they give it - you can find info by searching here anyway). Personally I wouldn't waste my money on it again. Finicky as hell, seems to stick easily or even fail to start. It's a low tolerance yeast (listed as 11% ABV) etc etc.

Hence my wondering about any, apparently, relatively unheard of, "mead" yeast, gives me pause for thought......

In the batches you list, there's some that give more than a nod to JAO type meads. In the original recipes, Joe gives a few pointers which might seem inconsequential, they're not. It seems like it's meant to be i.e. an easy, straight forward recipe to follow for the newer mead maker. Yet we all try to run before we can walk.

The use of bread yeast, is because it finishes earlier than most wine yeasts (about 12% ABV) and it would seem that this is so there is plenty of residual sugars i.e. it finishes sweet.

This is likely to be because of the use of whole oranges. If it finishes dry, which is likely when the bread yeast is swapped for a wine yeast, then the batch becomes out of balance and the bitter pithy taste comes to the forefront from the orange pith. Normally with bread yeast, there is sufficient residual sweetness to mask that. It doesn't usually taste very orangey anyway, there's some of the flavour but it's not usually that prominent.

Joes other point in his original recipe is more of a warning about the over use of spices. Where he says about using 1 or 2 cloves, is because virtually all spice flavours come from oils in the original spicing plant material (except black pepper from memory - can't recall about that one). As the alcohol is produced, it will dissolve the spice flavouring oil part, and if too much is used that particular flavour becomes very strong. A hand full of cloves in a gallon of JAO would make it totally undrinkable.......

Finally, ignore most recipes that suggest time frames for fermentation etc, and rely on your hydrometer (if you're not sure about it - test it in distilled water at the temperature that it's calibrated at - should be on the box/packing/leaflet/printed scale inside - sometimes 60F, sometimes 20C, but whatever, if you use the temp and distilled water, it should measure 1.000 - if not, it doesn't matter, just that you know how much to vary any readings you take to get a reasonably accurate set of numbers).

Personally, I don't rack anything until the primary ferment has finished, that way I don't leave most of the active yeast colony behind in a fermenter/bucket/carboy/demi-john/etc etc and end up with possibly getting a stuck ferment........

Dunno how good the home brew places are in NI, but this side of the Irish Sea, while we can't find all of the stuff you read of mentioned here, some of it is available or you can usually work out equivalents. For example, knowing the difference in type between "yeast energiser" and "yeast nutrient" as is generally used here ? Energiser is like FermaidK or Fermax type - both of which are hard to find/locate, but the reasonably easily available Tronozymol is a good substitute. For the "nutrient" bit ? that's usually pure DAP/di-ammonium phosphate, which is equally as much a pain to find - but again, Youngs yeast nutrient, is DAP and another material (which I understand is also a source of nitrogen), so a reasonably good sub...

Again, good effort on your start. I'd urge you to read the NewBee guide, as there's lots of info in there, plus it's free and about as up to date as Kens Book.......

My blog (linked in my sig line) has some good links, either of general info or for UK specific relevance for supplies. For your honey, you're better placed if you can find a local producer and get raw honey - sure it won't seem as marvellous sounding as some of the varietals you will read of here, but it's better than factory produced/processed stuff blended for eating. Plus whether you'd get any info out of Rowse about how they process their varietals - to be able to gauge how varietal they acutally are and whether it's worth paying the extra for.......

regards

John

 

[MourneMead]

Hi John,

Thanks for that huge reply - I'll have a proper read when I get home. for some reason work isn't that keen on me spending huge amounts of time web surfing .

I'm not sure if I can post a link but the yeast I used was this one

http://www.247homebrew.com/super-wine-yeast-25l-939-p.asp

Perhaps specialised mead yeast was the wrong term - but the supplier I was speaking to said it was very good for mead making and he sells it in the mead making pack. It's not actually that expensive. I don't actually know it's proper name hense I called it a mead yeast - probably my error there.

thanks for all the hints and tips

 

[MourneMead]

Hi again,

I wonder if anyone could tell me where in the UK I can buy sheets of blank wine bottle labels?

many thanks

MourneMead

 

[fatbloke]

Hi again,

I wonder if anyone could tell me where in the UK I can buy sheets of blank wine bottle labels?

many thanks

MourneMead

You'd likely have to search stationary stores for whatever size of labels you want to use then print them with a label printing app/prog......

Personally I just use printer paper, set the design so I can get 4 images on one sheet then trim with straight edge and uncle stan.

Glue them on with golden gum from Smiths or Rymans or wherever.

That way its easier to make the labels have an old look but they also clean off more easily.

 

[MourneMead]

Thanks very much for that tip. I was thinking of the self adhesive ones but your suggestion seems better.

 

[fatbloke]

Thanks very much for that tip. I was thinking of the self adhesive ones but your suggestion seems better.

Well, there's always places/stuff like this but you'd have to fanny around to get your actual label image to fit each label. Are they the "correct" size (I often pick up labels like wine bottle ones from a local label printing place (lots of different products - but similar sized packaging). The sizes are bespoke according to the packaging design, plus they're spooled for automated application etc etc.

With a bit of laser printed paper and tube of golden gum (ruler and stanley knife), you can modify the image easily, you can just chop or crop as you need, a tri-square can be used as a guide when putting them on, they come off with a soak in warm water, and if you did want to distress them a bit for effect, then a bit of cold black tea in a spray bottle and a bit of dust from your hoover bag work wonders........

Plus as mead has a reputation of being an old, historic type drink, I cork with proper corks, but I'm gonna be using a wax dip to seal the bottles......

 

[MourneMead]

Thanks again, that's very helpful.

I haven't "played" with glue since school so that will be refreshing

I have access to a colour lazer at work so I should be able to print out fairly good quality images. I also have paint shop pro software so I can do up exactly what I'm looking for on that and give it a go. It will be a cheap way to expiriment.

I was going to use proper corks too but use those sealer caps to make it look as professional as possible (I can't say that about the contents though!)

There is a homebrew shop close to work in Belfast which mostly caters for wine and beer but I can pick up all the ancilliary materials there so thankfully no postage costs. The yeast is the one I wasmost unsure about, but the one I got seems dynamite. I know this may not necessarialy transfer to good taste but at least I'm sure it works.

thanks again

MM

 

[fatbloke]

As for the yeast ? It's not bad, even Youngs "super wine yeast" isn't bad, just that there's better......

But if you're happy too, go with what you know for now.

The plastic shrink seals need a bit of practice. Hair drier is usually too cool, paint stripping gun usually too hot, boiling water works but is a bit unpredictable, so an electronics heat shrinking gun is likely best but if you can only get a paint stripper practice with it and waste a few seals on a broom handle or something.

As you don't want to burn them and you dont want to split them or leave them wrinkled. They should be smooth and tight to look professional. ...

Got some here but I'm not a big fan......IMO they're a bit "factory", hence using wax.....

 

[MourneMead]

Again, many thanks for the great tips. I have one of those heat guns for stripping wallpaper was thinking of using, but you're right, I'll have to practice before trying it on a bottle.

Once this batch of 5 demi-johns are bottled I'll try out different yeasts to see how they work out. I'm really trying to get a wine that isn't sweet but one that doesn't pucker your mouth at the taste of it either.

Expirimentation is part of the fun, though it seems with mead there is a long maturation wait which is a bit of a pain.

Cheers.

 

[mannye]

Personally I just use printer paper, set the design so I can get 4 images on one sheet then trim with straight edge and uncle stan.

I know uncle fred is bread... but what's uncle stan?

 

[MourneMead]

As an update I've bottled three, the first show mead I did, the strawberry and the cyser.

I think I may have bottled the cyser too quickly as it's still very cloudy - though I did run it through a wine filter. It's the one with the temperature strip on the bottle


before bottleing



The organic and the spiced one I put back in the cupboard as I don't think they are ready to bottle yet - I'll leave them a few months and see how they clear. - the two on the right.

making labels is quite fun though - thanks for that tip.

 

[MourneMead]

The 5 have become 10

This was the last two - a blackberry and a blackcurrant.





I used
1.5kg Marlene blossom honey
about 1 KG of fruit
topped up with spring water and that's it.
OG was about 1.120 for both
Youngs wine yeast

How I prepared it
1. Steralised everything
2. Warmed about a pint and a half of water in a saucepan
3. Emptied all the honey into this and whisked like b'jesus
4. funnelled this into the demi-johns
5. Put the washed fruit into freezer bags and roughly mashed them
6. Squeezed this into the demijohns
7. Topped up the demi-johns with the water
8. pitched half a packet of Youngs All Purpose White Yeast in each
9. stoppered and airlocked.

Nothing happened for nearly 24 hours and I was starting to think something wasn't right then everything just started. I think I slightly overfilled the blackberry one as it's just creeping into the airlock but it's ok - just. I have underfloor heating so it may just have been waiting to get a few degrees more from sitting on the cement in the storage cupboard.

Fingers crossed.

 

[fatbloke]

Not too bad at all. Don't forget, once the ferments have finished there will be an element of dryness so it won't taste as fruity. You might need to consider extra fruit or back sweetening to restore a bit of fruit flavour (both after stabilising of course).

Oh and I'd take a panda pop sized bottle worth out of the one thats pushing into the airlock and keep it in the fridge. Once its died down some (maybe even as far as finished fermenting) as the fruit should have sunk and not be being pushed into the neck, put it back in (this demonstrates why with fruit batches, its best to do them in a bucket because the air space/liquid interface isn't constricted by a funnel shape forcing the pressure anywhere)......

 

[MourneMead]

I'll do that with the overflowing one - good tip.

I do prefer dry wine so I'll have to see about the backsweetening. More trial and error I guess - I'll do a batch with different amounts of honey added just before bottling and see how they mature.

Thanks for your comments - very helpful

MM

 

[fatbloke]

Equally, I drink main red wines, heavy fruit yet tannic dry bordeaux stylie......

At the same time I prefer my meads and my ciders medium. With my meads, if there is fruit in them, I much prefer them t be more cordial like i.e. when most of the fruit is added to secondary.

I'm guessing tbis is to do with up bringing and cultural issues therein. If you think about it, wines and grape juice drinks are very separate, so while we know the fruit base is the same we dis-associate them, but what attracts use to a certain fruit is usually the original fruit flavour/taste as a potential ingredient, ergo we understand that meads are honey wines so we think that we'll most likely prefer the ones that reflect our grape wine preference.......but as is my experience it can be very hard to reject the mental concept of "honey is sweet" so its not so easy to familiarise ourselves to how dry meads taste.

Even harder with young wines and meads, though our cultural programming is such that you could taste a young wine and conclude "not ready yet, but not bad and showing promise" whereas with a young mead there's little to no cultural programming so more likely to conclude "bleargh" and have to rely on the opinions or reassurance of others that it will improve with time - even though, really its the same thing just with different base materials....

Ha! History provides us with a lot of cultural baggage that we don't often want to admit and certainly not to compromise.......

 

[MourneMead]

I think the difficult part - for me - is the length of time from the initial fermentation until it's mature enough to be as good as it can be. It makes experimentation a long term thing. I get the impression I should have started this when I was in my teens, not when I'm in my 40's!

I quite like messing around with ideas, it's just unfortunate that you don't know the results of those until you've perhaps made the same error again and again. Still there is loads of great advice here so hopefully those errors will be kept to a minimum.

I'll backsweeten the next one I bottle and see how that works out after 6 months maturing.

I have a very handy cupboard that I've kitted out for my meads to do their thing. I should be able to bulk age here too. The temperature is reasonably constant so I'm hoping this works out ok



many thanks

MM

 

[fatbloke]

Nice cupboard set up........

As for the aging thing ? Yes it can be a pain having to wait, but if you think about dry reds, most of those are 2 to 3 years old before you get your hands on them.....

So its not really just a mead thing, its just part of the process whatever. And forget or even just didn't know when starting to make meads. Its even more scary when you've just finished the make part, got it nice and clear, only to find it tastes horrible....... not like watered down honey with a bit of a kick to it...... which is what a lot of us expect.....

 

[MourneMead]

A picture of the first strawberry melomel



I racked it and put a crushed campden tablet in it - though I'll need to rack it again. There's still a little fermentation going on though - even with the campden as I unstoppered it and gas came out. I may need to add another campden tablet at the next racking (a month or so)

It doesn't smell particularly strawberry like but it smells like it has potential...

 

[MourneMead]

For example, knowing the difference in type between "yeast energiser" and "yeast nutrient" as is generally used here ? Energiser is like FermaidK or Fermax type - both of which are hard to find/locate, but the reasonably easily available Tronozymol is a good substitute. For the "nutrient" bit ? that's usually pure DAP/di-ammonium phosphate, which is equally as much a pain to find - but again, Youngs yeast nutrient, is DAP and another material (which I understand is also a source of nitrogen), so a reasonably good sub...

regards

John

I've went back to this great post again and again - thanks very much for posting it. It was not until I was really trying to ape some of the recipes that I looked for Fermaid K and DAP substitutes to get them as close as possible and here's the answers.

But you're right there is no easy source for those on this side of the Atlantic - so it's "make do and mend" as they say.

MM