Simple Mead Making in Africa

[Sky Bell]

I live deep in the rain forest of West Africa and have been making mead for myself for about three years. I use self-venting mason jars, ‘cause that’s what I have (no other mead making “stuff”.) I usually drink my mead within four months and have been mostly content with the results. (I am TRYING to age some.

I wanted a beverage that was more enjoyable than the expensive bottles of wine which taste like they are mixed with mouthwash! The bonus of living here is that raw honey is abundant and cheap - bee bits, pieces of wax and other additions are included free of charge!

I was using bread yeast initially, then I had some wine yeast shipped here, but it took six months to arrive and then it had a short shelf life. I am now experimenting with wild yeasts, totem sticks and other ideas to start fermentation. So far the results look promising!
My mead has ranged from sweet to acidic. Some great, some not. I’ve dealt with that by adding fruit juice or herb tea before consuming to compensate. However, I am now focusing on developing a more consistent outcome (maybe not possible with the honey I get.)

All that as background to my question. Sorry it was long.

I’ve been reading and am confused about sweetness. Some people say more honey makes a sweeter mead, others say more honey produces higher alcohol. Somehow I doubt it does both. So which is it?

Given that I can’t (and possibly don’t want to) stop the fermentation process in my mason jars, is there a way for me to make sweeter (less acidic) mead without sweetening before serving?

I guess that was kind of two questions. Thank you for your responses.

 

[rb2112br]

More honey can make a sweeter mead if you add more than enough honey to reach the maximum ABV that the yeast can handle. There are other factors that could stop a yeast from reaching the ABV maximum before all of the available sugar is gone (stalled fermentation). So, technically, it can do both. The best way to accomplish what you are looking for is to add enough honey to get to your target ABV. When it ferments dry, stabilize it with potassium sorbate and potassium sulfite to "kill" the yeast, then back sweeten to your desired level.

 

[Sky Bell]

Thank you for your response. I appreciate it. You confirmed what I was starting to catch on to: yeast dies in the presence of a certain level of alcohol. I’m getting it! I’ll experiment with different quantities of honey and see what I come up with.

(Pretty sure I won’t find those stabilizers in this country. Lots of things we don’t have: a Walmart, a McDonald’s, a mall or even a coffee shop!)

 

[Squatchy]

So, each strain has a tolerance to a certain ABV. The cell wall controls what passes through the cell. in both directions. At a given level, the ABV gets high enough that the cell wall starts to leak, and then the ethanol seeps into the cell, killing it off eventually. Each strain is different. Most cultured strains you can buy from a catalog have a tolerance of around 14-16 % ABV. Only a few will go to 20%. You can know the ABV for each strain because it is stated in the description.

Baking yeast will only go a little way before it craps out because it hasn't developed over years of being used in fermentation.

So now, as to the sweetness level. Honey itself isn't any sweeter than anything else if you are comparing the same gravity reading, one to the other. So, it's the amount of gravity point you have in the vessel that has not been assimilated into ethanol that will determine how sweet it is. You can determine how sweet it is based on that, in other words. Let's say, for example. Bread yeast will crap out at 6%, or 50 points of sugar source, measured with a hydrometer. So once you have consumed 50 points sugar. Any amount over that will then start to move the sweetness level up. So you can add a small amount of sugar to it, and it will then be "off-dry". Add a little more, and it will then become sweeter. And even more, and more sweeter. So we then have dry, semisweet, sweet, and Dessert sweet.

So. Now, let's look at this. Suppose you want to make a drink that has 12% abv. Look on your hydrometer, and it will tell you how many sugar points it takes to make 12% ethanol, 90 points. So you make your must with 90 points in it. Run it dry with whatever yeast you want to use. Add sulfites, and sorbat. You have "stabilized," and the yeast can no longer make more ethanol. So now you can pick both your ABV and your sweetness level.

You have to have a hydrometer, and you will have to purchase potassium metabisulfite and potassium bicarbonate. These can have a good shelf life if you keep them dry and cool. In a fridge or freezer. Or even just dry if you don't have either of those. Cultured yeast has a high enough ABV that drinking a 17% ABV mead is way to alcoholic to taste very good. But I have made several 20% meads. But you have to balance out the ABV with a higher sweetness level.

By the way. If you look up the Podcast here on Gotmead. Then go to 5/9/17. You can listen to the most current science and learn how to make award-winning mead quickly. You can learn in a matter of weeks what to me several years to figure out. I have had many people tell me that by following the protocol. They won medals with their first few meads. And others have said they made mead for years that wasn't very good. And after doing what you will learn in the podcast. They, too, started winning awards. Get a piece of paper and a pen and take notes. You can also go here to download much good information. https://scottlab.com/

 

[Sky Bell]

Great! I initially (three years ago) did some Google searching to figure out what to do. I’ve been going along merrily making a variety of meads in my little bubble. I liked them all, but now I’ve decided I want to produce more consistent results.

i understood you put the stuff together and it ferments. Simple. I have learned so much that is helpful and enlightening on this site.

I’m seeing how useful a hydrometer can be and the value of stabilizing! However I won’t be able to purchase any of those things until my next visit to my home country in about eleven months! (Mail is not reliable and sending by shipping container takes at least six months - then one expects things to get stolen!)

in the mean time I will check out your suggestions in preparation.

A big thank you for taking the time to respond

 

[GregHeller]

It was fun to read your question. I lived many years in central Africa, and can relate, though I was not into fermenting at the time.

Use the wine yeasts you have, even expired, they will likely be fine.

Consider using boiled bakers yeast for nutrients, or throw some fruit (Maybe chopped mangos? Overripe bananas?) in there for nutrients and flavor. Remember to regularly punch down any fruit.

Try to figure a way to keep temperatures towards the low end of the yeast's recommendation. Putting your fermentation vessel in a coolish place and in a tub of water might help.

I would, in your circumstance, probably use about 2 lbs of honey per gallon of must. That will make a dry mead, about 9-10% ABV. In that range, lack of nutrients, poor temperature control, weak yeast, etc should have less bad effects than if you shoot for higher ABV. If you need more alcohol, make more mead

If you need sweeter, add a little honey or juice in the mead in the glass. The juice can be citrus to make it "brighter," or something sweet.

We had access to some fruit syrups in Africa, such as grenadine, and you could try them in the glass. You could make a pineapple syrup by boiling pineapple "skins."

 

[Sky Bell]

Hello! So nice to talk to a fellow Africanite!

It’s a good idea to still use the wine yeasts I have. My batches weren’t going well so I tested those yeasts and they were flat. However, they might do something and, if nothing else, they could be good nutrients for the wild captured yeasts I’m experimenting with.

Yes, I’ve been reading up about yeast nutrients. Good idea. I have a batch going with mango. What do you mean by “punch down” fruit??

There are yeast temperature recommendations? Is that on the package? It doesn’t get much past 28C/82F hère. Is that a problem?

Yes, 2lb per gallon is about what I’m using. I’ve started four batches with increasing amounts of honey just to see how that goes.

I don’t know about grenadine, but there are a variety of fruit “juices” (read “sugar added”) here and ginger juice. (Apple-ginger is one of my favorites - cyser, I believe) I’ve made a strawberry juice mead (guaranteed no less than 10% fruit. Ha!) that turned out amazing!

Thank you so much for your reply! I’m having fun and I’m not at all concerned about the ABV. It’s a hobby and I enjoy the variety of tastes. If it is too tart, I add fruit juice, if it is too sweet, I add chilled hybuscus tea ( did they call it foleré where you were?)

I’m really learning a lot on this forum! How did I get to this place without it??

 

[Sky Bell]

Just read one of the yeast packages. “Keep refrigerated”. Oooops!! Guess I should have read that. It says 35-37C. I expect I am fine.

 

[GregHeller]

Punching down the fruit means pushing the floating fruit down into the must, so that it doesn't dry out and mold. Do this 1-2 times a day.

 

[Sky Bell]

Ah, i understand now. I have been stirring 3-4 times a day,so I guess I’m good.
Thanks for the tip.

 

[Squatchy]

If you look up the Gotmead podcast. And then go to 9/5/17 there is several podcast where we start at the very beginning of "how to make modern mead" and then tell you not only h\"how" but also "why"

 

[Sky Bell]

By the way. If you look up the Podcast here on Gotmead. Then go to 5/9/17. You can listen to the most current science and learn how to make award-winning mead quickly. You can learn in a matter of weeks what to me several years to figure out. I have had many people tell me that by following the protocol. They won medals with their first few meads. And others have said they made mead for years that wasn't very good. And after doing what you will learn in the podcast. They, too, started winning awards. Get a piece of paper and a pen and take notes. You can also go here to download much good information. https://scottlab.com/

Hi Squash. Yes. I did listen to as much of the
Podcasts as I could endure. Most if it was useless to me, so I didn’t take notes. As I said, I’m nowhere with access to nothing until I emerge into the “established world” in about a year. (Thanks for taking note if that, but I realize you need to blow your horn.)

I did conclude that one idea for me to try is feeding the yeast once it starts to grow. I found a recipe for yeast nutrient That I can make from things which are available here.

 

[Sky Bell]

Based on the feedback about how yeast acts, I’ve concluded it would also be good for me to increase the amount of honey I use as well, especially for the batches that don’t also contain other sweetening such as fruit juice.

Back sweetening just seems wrong to me. I heard one of the ladies in the podcast say that she does NOT back sweeten and can taste the difference if a need has been back sweetened. So, it is possible to make a sweetened mead without doing that.

 

[4give]

Hi - Many fermented products the world over are tweaked in some manner after fermentation. Of course you would tell a difference in the taste after back sweetening. Regardless of how far your fermentation went, if you add sweetening, or nearly anything in significant portion for that matter, it's going to taste different.
It certainly may be a matter of preference as to what people add to a mead post fermentation, or whether or not they back sweeten. Oak, acids, fruits, herbs, etc., will all change the flavor.
Is it possible to get a sweet mead without back sweetening? Absolutely! There are a lot of considerations in doing so though. Just one is the fact that whatever yeast you use will have to be able to handle the starting SG because you're going to have to increase it above the range the yeast can ferment to. There are multiple considerations in just this facet, but let's say you have a yeast that is rated for 14% ABV. You think you want to end with SG 1.010. You do the calculation and start with SG 1.12 because you want just a little cushion in case it goes beyond that 14%. Fine, it might stop at 1.010, but what if it goes past that to say 1.005, and now you have too high of an ABV that maybe you don't like. Or, maybe there are no perceived flaws, and it's pretty good, but it lost part of that honey profile you want/like, or you just like it sweeter. Best option is to back sweeten. What I'm saying is stopping a fermentation in an exact spot is possible, but far harder then just letting the fermentation go, and making the tweaks you like so you can enjoy your mead. What precludes all this is how do you know what SG you want your mead to stop at? Do you know how every batch - even with the same ingredients - is going to taste at that SG? Lastly, what are you going to do if your fermentation stops short and is way too sweet?
I can tell you from my experience, that I back sweeten nearly every mead I've made. Most times by only a few SG points. It's far easier to control and tweak for me when I plan on letting the fermentation go to 0. We'll all do what we want and like, and that's the important thing - that you like your mead. If you want to figure out how to stop your fermentations, then go for it. Maybe you don't want to back sweeten, but it's not "wrong" to do.
If the person on the podcast says there's a taste difference between a fermentation that stopped as a sweet mead compared to a back sweetened mead to the same SG, then I'd agree with that, but only in a very young mead. I'd be willing to bet money that they can't tell if something has been back sweetened with some aging. Maybe she can, and maybe you can, but it's still a matter of preference.

 

[Sky Bell]

Lots if good information here. Thanks for taking the time.

 

[Squatchy]

Based on the feedback about how yeast acts, I’ve concluded it would also be good for me to increase the amount of honey I use as well, especially for the batches that don’t also contain other sweetening such as fruit juice.

Back sweetening just seems wrong to me. I heard one of the ladies in the podcast say that she does NOT back sweeten and can taste the difference if a need has been back sweetened. So, it is possible to make a sweetened mead without doing that.

I would bet a thousand dollars. Maybe, at best, five people in the world might be able to call this out and be over 50% right on 10 meads. And the ones I know that might be able to tell you what I just said are more likely than not correct.

Hi Squash. Yes. I did listen to as much of the
Podcasts as I could endure. Most if it was useless to me, so I didn’t take notes. As I said, I’m nowhere with access to nothing until I emerge into the “established world” in about a year. (Thanks for taking note if that, but I realize you need to blow your horn.)

I did conclude that one idea for me to try is feeding the yeast once it starts to grow. I found a recipe for yeast nutrient That I can make from things which are available here.

Hah. Did I ever say I did the [podcast? I wish someone else would have. That way, I wouldn't get disrespectful replies like this. Only after you find out after you went to listen that I had a part. Have fun, brother. Just disregard any of the suggestions I gave you, as I don't know anything about making mead.
.

 

[Sky Bell]

Was I being disrespectful? I didn’t mean to be, sorry you took it that way.

You are promoting the podcasts. I get it.

Thanks for taking the time to reply

 

[Sky Bell]

Hi - Many fermented products the world over are tweaked in some manner after fermentation. Of course you would tell a difference in the taste after back sweetening. Regardless of how far your fermentation went, if you add sweetening, or nearly anything in significant portion for that matter, it's going to taste different…..

Great discussion on back sweetening pros and cons.

I guess for me it’s because I’ve been anti-sugar all my life - it is the one “food” that our bodies are quite capable of producing on their own! We don’t need to add it to our diet.

Yay for honey! It has other nutrients and such that are good for us (like yogurt). And in mead, I’m happy to think the yeast has eaten up a bunch of the “nasty” sugar. Well, hopefully not all of it…

You pointed out:
Lastly, what are you going to do if your fermentation stops short and is way too sweet?

Yep, there’s the rub! I don’t like super sweet things (oh surprise!).And I have had a couple of meads like that. I usually add something tart (cold hibiscus tea works). Yes, sigh, it’s watered down, less ABV and less mead-like. The mead is basically ruined, but I’m not doing to throw it down the drain. Thankfully that hasn’t happened much.

My problem is tartness. Have I back sweetened? Yes. But it rubs me wrong every time I do. My preference is to use pure fruit juice - a healthy choice! (Again: watered down, less mead-like…) I’ve also used honey, sugar, corn syrup, fruit cocktail…

I think what I really want is to know that yeasts have done their work on whatever “sugars” I’ve added. I hope to come up with some recipes that won’t need me to back sweeten.

On that note, I have a tomato-celery version that is tart but oh so good! It’s much like a Bloody Caesar (if you know what that is. It’s a Canadian vodka drink with Clamato juice.)

Thanks for letting me know that aging will probably mellow out the flavors of back sweeting. (Ha ha, trick myself into thinking I didn’t add extra sugar!)

 

[Squatchy]

Was I being disrespectful? I didn’t mean to be, sorry you took it that way.

You are promoting the podcasts. I get it.

Thanks for taking the time to reply

Well. I'm not promoting it because I'm it in. The only reason I encourage this is because I know of nowhere that you can get modern info from A-Z. I get so many people wanting help. For years now. If all I did was try to reteach everyone. I could never get to everyone. I
Not in a million lifetimes. I'm sorry I misread your comments.

 

[Sky Bell]

Yes, exactly. I see you promoting the podcasts regularly. I realize you want to be helpful.