NewBee recipe help

Very easy to "get the bit between the teeth".

I'd suggest that you don't worry about the schedule right now. You're in the early stages, so do a bit more researching, note taking etc, to have a more considered idea of what you might like to look for.

Most of the currently used (and recommended) techniques, suggest the use of FermaidK, DAP and GoFerm, but they aren't essentials. Yes the Lalvin/Lallemand stuff is good, as they provide more detailed data than just about any other yeast/nutrient provider.

Plus, focus a bit on yeasts etc. For instance, if you dig around, you'll see that K1V-1116 is quite highly rated, as it seems to be quite flexible, as well as seemingly providing a decent alcohol tolerance, yet low nutrient requirement, etc etc etc. I've read of it being described as "the Swiss Army knife of yeasts" a number of times.

Also, look up about any reasonably local honey dealer to you. That way, you'll know what varieties are easily available (no shipping costs etc etc).

Well done on the early efforts.

regards

fatbloke

First off, Welcome to GotMead? Kun2112!! ;D

The first question I'd ask is what fermentation vessels you have available. I'm assuming you have a couple 1 gallon jugs, but the batch size will help determine what end result you will get. *Edit* I just re-read and saw you are planning on going 5 gallon, but I think my comments still work.

Now, if you were to make a 3 gallon batch, you'd end up with a starting gravity of around 1.108, putting you around 14% ABV if fermented to dry (remember, you can always backsweeten if you want it sweeter ). I think this would be your best bet. You don't even need a 3 gallon carboy, just a food-safe plastic bucket for primary or a 5 gallon carboy, and you can rack into the 1 gallons from making JAO for secondary. Fermenting in a bucket also is much easier to handle in terms of melomels. The cap is a lot easier to manage, and there's less chance for a MEA (mead eruption accident) to occur. *Edit* I'd go this route if you're really dead-set on getting this batch going before picking up any more honey.

For a 5 gallon batch, your 15 lbs of honey sounds like a good amount. It's roughly the same (just bigger) as the 3 gallon batch I described above.

To your melomel comment...what fruit were you thinking of adding? Your suggested amount would more than likely result in a much "lighter" fruit character than you might expect. 3-4 lbs per gallon might be a better idea, especially if you're going for frozen fruit. Another idea would be to add some in primary and the rest into secondary, as primary fermentation can blow off a lot of fragile fruity esters. Dried fruit, however, you need less of per gallon, since a lot of fruit's weight is water, and that's gone with dried fruit. Just make sure the dried fruit isn't treated by SO2. Dried vs fresh/frozen fruit also plays into the decision of which yeast to use. I'd go with 71B if you use some fresh fruit, D-47 if you go with dried fruit.

For nutrients, crushed grapes will give you something, but no-where near enough YAN (yeast assimilable nitrogen) content for a healthy fermentation, especially with the yeast you have. I know it's a pain, but I'd wait and start the batch after you pick up some proper nutrients for the yeast. You could even start the batch, go pick up nutrients, and be done with the lag-phase by the time you're home.

Finally, the lees stirrer. Since you don't have easy access to one, you'll probably want to whip the must for a good 20+ minutes for proper aeration. I will say, it's much easier to just use a lees stirrer. That said, you could also use an oxygen stone if you have access to O2 to pump through for aeration.

My only other comment/advice would be to pick up a hydrometer when you go to your LHBS, if you don't already have one. They're cheap and pretty essential tools for managing your fermentation. Maybe also pick up some pH test strips (wine range), but these aren't necessary.

All in all, sounds like you're well on your way to a rewarding habit...er...hobby. Good luck, and let us know what you end up doing!

One tip when thinking about sugar contribution from berries - they only raise your sugar content if you figure their juice into the total volume. If you add them on top of your total volume, they will in fact lower your SG because while they do contribute sugar, they also contribute water. The sugar content of almost all fruit other than grapes is signifcantly lower than the sugar content most mead musts start at (usually only 1/3 to 1/2 the SG of your must), so they actually dilute your must.