Labels question...

skunkboy · Jan 31, 2014

Rather than hijack the thread where people are posting images of their labels, I thought I would start this. Do many people put dates or info like batch numbers onto their labels? I usually put yeast pitch date, bottling date, batch number, and mead name. Sometimes I will also include ingredients or other information like what the batch was brewed for if it was for something particular.

Would a mead vintage be the year the yeast was pitched, or the honey extracted, or when the honey was collected in the hive?

BBBF · Jan 31, 2014

Legally there is no vintage. I like the idea of honey vintage, but half your fermentables might be from a different year, not to mention blending honey. So start of fermentation is the only date that really matters to me.

Chevette Girl · Jan 31, 2014

I put start date (which is usually within a day or two of pitch date), bottle date, % alcohol, contents (generally fruit + style for meads and wines although for my beers I also include a name), and any special notes (ie, whether it contains sulphites, made from fresh or frozen fruit, made from juice, spices used, etc). And of course the pic of my 'vette that I use for my avatar here, my standard disclaimer about including chevette parts, and winery name (Chateau Chevette).

And I think you've just highlit the problem with trying to apply a vintage to mead... if I were professional, I would probably want to include the year the honey was produced by the bees and the year the fruit was harvested.

mmclean · Jan 31, 2014

I think the year the mead was produced should suffice for the label. Any finer points as to honey harvest or such could just be added to the mead log.

mannye · Jan 31, 2014

I am new to mead making but I like a very artsy label so what I will do is create a rear label that will contain a description of the mead like "This mead was made using unfiltered raw I Florida Orange Blossom honey during the summer of 2013" and go on to tell a neat little story about how long it took, what yeast was used etc. That story will close with the abv, and some suggestions on storage, serving temp, etc.

This way my front label remains an art piece (advertising art at least) and the two labels also give the whole package a more finished look.

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G

Chevette Girl · Feb 1, 2014

Yeah, if I went pro, I'd have to totally redesign my labels, what I use are pretty utilitarian...

GntlKnigt1 · Feb 1, 2014

mannye said:
I am new to mead making but I like a very artsy label so what I will do is create a rear label that will contain a description of the mead like "This mead was made using unfiltered raw I Florida Orange Blossom honey during the summer of 2013" and go on to tell a neat little story about how long it took, what yeast was used etc. That story will close with the abv, and some suggestions on storage, serving temp, etc.

This way my front label remains an art piece (advertising art at least) and the two labels also give the whole package a more finished look.

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G

Can you post an image of one of your back labels on that other thread? I have often considered doing that, but haven't yet. I use Avery shipping labels for my front label.... not sure what I would use for a back label.

kudapucat · Feb 1, 2014

I haven't yet, but my label is meant to have a square, or a scroll in gold beneath it, denoting the variety of honey, and fruit as well as the fermentation year.

On the back I considered a standard 40-60mmx100mm Avery label with a short blurb, some important facts, ABV, FG, where the honey was sourced, etc.

However I need to be much more organised for that.
For now I just use a silver paint pen for that info.

GntlKnigt1 · Feb 1, 2014

I generally put month and year i bottled it, the ABV, and some kind of name for that batch with a picture or graphic on it...

Sent from Arthur Dent's towel smothering a volume of Vogon poetry, some of which just leaked out.

mannye · Feb 1, 2014

Haha! Love the sig line!

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G

Shelley · Feb 1, 2014

I go really basic for my personal cellar: a name and date bottled, usually on a return address label that I can cheaply produce and slap on (I use beer bottles for a lot of bottling). I use the name and date to refer back to the brewlog, and I use the bottling date to judge when to start drinking the mead. Few but me will see it actually in the bottle, so I just need to know which bottle is which.

Gift bottles get a nicer treatment, adding the ABV and a logo from my homestead name.

Vandall · Feb 2, 2014

I only include the name and the year that it was bottled, along with my logo. Any other info I keep in my BrewLog. Right or wrong, I always considered the date when I bottled it to be the "Vintage".

bernardsmith · Feb 2, 2014

This is just me: I am not in the business of making wines or meads to sell. I make my meads to make them better each time. IMO a focus on labels is wonderful for those who want to take the focus away from the content of the bottle and onto the bottle itself. I make simple labels that allow me to identify the contents and provide me with a quick reference to the log I keep and the date the contents were bottled and the ABV. I also want to know quickly if the contents are sparkling or flat and how dry. However, the bottles I give as gifts will have more decorative and less instrumental labels attached.

kudapucat · Feb 2, 2014

On my stuff at home, I just have a serial number. Have to look it up in my book.

smertz001 · Feb 4, 2014

My labels are the batch number, the type of honey, the added flavourings, the date that I started it, the date I bottled, and ABV. Some times I will add the OG/FG, if I can use those numbers reliably.

My "vintages" are based on when the fruit was picked, like wines. I could do honey, since I use local honey and know when it was harvested usually. My last 1 gallon batch of JOA I did was done with honey that was bottled "harvested and bottled last Tuesday" when I bought it.

GntlKnigt1 · Feb 4, 2014

So....your labels are like mini mead logs. Can you post one for us?

Sent from the Nexus of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which has been infected with Vogon poetry, some of which leaked out here.

mannye · Feb 4, 2014

I almost have the Reaper back label finished. Maybe tonight.

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G

smertz001 · Feb 4, 2014

Here are a couple of mine:

The first one (the png) is from the first mead I made, but it's probably the 8th or so that I have bottled. And my current format.

The second one (the pdf) is from the first one I've bottled and I no longer do it this way.

GntlKnigt1 · Feb 5, 2014

I like it! Very cool!

Sent from the Nexus of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which has been infected with Vogon poetry, some of which leaked out here.

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