Today was day fourteen of my first batch of mead. I sterilized a spoon, opened the fermenter and removed the oranges and raisins (which now looked like full-sized grapes!) that were floating on top of the must. I then racked over to a secondary fermenter and then added another half teaspon of yeast nutrient. It's now out in the garage bubbling away at "ten bubbles per minute". I plan on letting it sit this time until Thanksgiving before I rack again. I calculated a solid 8.5% ABV after only two weeks of primary fermenting. Drank what was in the hydrometer tube and it wasn't too bad. It will definately need lots of refining but after fourteen days it's slighty sweet on the tongue and leaves a dry aftertaste on the tongue. I guess that's the champagne yeast.
The recipe that I went with is:
5 gallons water
15lbs. of raw wildflower honey
5 large oranges
1 cup raisins
4 cinnamon sticks
1/2 Tsp. of nutmeg
1/2 Tsp. of yeast nutrient
1 pkg. Wyeast liquid champagne yeast (4021)
We'll see what transpires at the Thanksgiving racking.
The recipe that I went with is:
5 gallons water
15lbs. of raw wildflower honey
5 large oranges
1 cup raisins
4 cinnamon sticks
1/2 Tsp. of nutmeg
1/2 Tsp. of yeast nutrient
1 pkg. Wyeast liquid champagne yeast (4021)
We'll see what transpires at the Thanksgiving racking.