Hello, from MN!

mcrow24 · Sep 16, 2014

Just thought I'd stop in and say hello!

Just finished getting my first batch in the carboy/jug:

I got turned on to mead at the Ren fest here in Minnesota, but really got into it when I found out I had Celiac Disease and can't drink most beers anymore. Also, it is very expensive to buy ingredients to brew gluten-beer. So, I decided why not go with mead? By nature it is gluten-free in it's most basic form in most common additives are as well.

So here I am.

Anyway, my batch is simple:
1 gallon batch
3lbs Orange Blossom Honey from local farm
1 large orange
a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon
Lalvin D-47 yeast, most of a packet (activated with warm water before pitching )
1 teaspoon of energizer and nutrient

Sterilized everything with a left over packet from a Mr. Beer kit.

Not bad, bought two airlocks, two drilled stoppers, one solid stopper, two 1 gallon jugs, orange water, honey and yeast for less than $40.

Honeyhog · Sep 16, 2014

Welcome to the obsession! If you used the whole orange, pith and all, the D-47 has a high enough alcohol tolerance and will take it to dry. It will be quite bitter from the pith so it will need to be stabilized and then backsweetened to counteract the bitterness or you step feed the must until the D-47 poops out and you reach your desired level of sweetness. A common recipe here is Joe's Ancient Orange Mead (JAOM), which uses 3.5 lbs. of honey per gal., whole orange, spices and bread yeast that poops out at about 12% ABV leaving the mead quite sweet to offset the bitterness of the pith.

mcrow24 · Sep 16, 2014

So to step feed, do I just add more nutrient later on in the process?

Honeyhog · Sep 16, 2014

mcrow24 said:
So to step feed, do I just add more nutrient later on in the process?

When it goes dry, add honey to your desired sweetness level then leave it to ferment. If it goes dry again add more and so on until, when you add honey, the gravity doesn't drop and stays stable for a long period of time.

curgoth · Sep 16, 2014

Welcome to the post-beer world! I started making mead a few months ago for similar gluten-based reasons. I've had some luck with hopped mead, if you're missing the hops. As far as recipes go, I have become a convert to the BOMM recipe (search on BOMM 1 gallon here), which produces a mead in the general alcohol level of a strong beer.

mannye · Sep 17, 2014

Step Feed can be a confusing term. It does not mean adding nutrient. It means adding more honey in steps. You use your hydrometer to determine when the sugar content is getting low (1.020 .010and then you add enough honey to bring it back up to 1.040 or thereabouts and let it go back down. Eventually, the yeast will not be able to eat any more and will stop lowering the sugar content of the must and you're done! This often helps the yeast go beyond the advertised tolerance. In some cases FAR beyond.

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.

skunkboy · Sep 17, 2014

Howdy, looks good, but next time you might want to cut the orange into smaller bits, to make them easier to get back out...

pokerfacepablo · Sep 17, 2014

Always nice to meet another Minnesotan. Maybe we can trade sometime.

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pokerfacepablo · Sep 17, 2014

Might want to ferment well under 70 degrees with the D 47. Otherwise you might have to age out some fusels.

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mcrow24 · Sep 17, 2014

mannye said:
Step Feed can be a confusing term. It does not mean adding nutrient. It means adding more honey in steps. You use your hydrometer to determine when the sugar content is getting low (1.020 .010and then you add enough honey to bring it back up to 1.040 or thereabouts and let it go back down. Eventually, the yeast will not be able to eat any more and will stop lowering the sugar content of the must and you're done! This often helps the yeast go beyond the advertised tolerance. In some cases FAR beyond.

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.

Thanks, I will try that. Do you have to shake it or stir after you add honey? How often should you check after adding honey?

mcrow24 · Sep 17, 2014

curgoth said:
Welcome to the post-beer world! I started making mead a few months ago for similar gluten-based reasons. I've had some luck with hopped mead, if you're missing the hops. As far as recipes go, I have become a convert to the BOMM recipe (search on BOMM 1 gallon here), which produces a mead in the general alcohol level of a strong beer.

I might try that one next time around.

I also tossed another batch of Joe's Ancient Orange Mead this morning, exactly as the instructions say.

mcrow24 · Sep 17, 2014

pokerfacepablo said:
Might want to ferment well under 70 degrees with the D 47. Otherwise you might have to age out some fusels.

Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk

Yeah, once I make something that's drinkable and that you'd want to trade for, I'd be up for that. I go through St. Cloud several times during the summer/fall, so we could probably work out a swap.

I have it in my basement right now and it gets down to about 65ish right now and in the winter maybe 63 if we don't use the fireplace.

Chevette Girl · Sep 17, 2014

Welcome, mcrow24!

You gluten-free folks, if you miss the hops, the low alcohol content and the carbonation, like Curgoth suggests, hopped meads are neat but you can also do some fun things with hydromels, they ferment quick and clean and don't need a whole lot of fussing with... I made a hopped pumpkin hydromel a couple years ago that ended up tasting pretty good, in a beerlike way. I often do that kind of thing with once-used fruit bags when I make melomels.

Typically the way I step feed is with my hydrometer, like Mannye. I let it go down to my dry tolerance (1.005) and then boost it up to my sweet tolerance (usually around 1.020) until it quits.

Sometimes if I'm feeling lazy and I already know how much honey I need to boost it (ie, I've done it already a couple of times) I won't stir, the honey will eventually dissolve, have no doubt, the yeast will find it! You do have to stir it in to get an accurate SG reading though, so you either have to have done it before with that batch or be reasonably confident in what the Mead Calculator suggests you add.

I usually check every day or two, if you leave it alone for a week it should still kick back up but you don't want to leave it too long without sugar or it'll think it's done.

Oh, and if you have trouble getting the orange bits out again? Crochet hook or chunk of bent wire, they get mushy after a while so they're more flexible to squeeze through the carboy opening.

mannye · Sep 17, 2014

X2 on the oranges. The first time I made JAO I was worried about the oranges and getting them out. Turns out they get really mushy and pop out no problem.

I have heard rumors that JAOM gets really good after 6months/a year but I have never kept it around longer thAn a few weeks after the initial 90-100 day ferment.

It's too good!

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.

mcrow24 · Sep 17, 2014

mannye said:
X2 on the oranges. The first time I made JAO I was worried about the oranges and getting them out. Turns out they get really mushy and pop out no problem.

I have heard rumors that JAOM gets really good after 6months/a year but I have never kept it around longer thAn a few weeks after the initial 90-100 day ferment.

It's too good!

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.

I was wondering about that, if it was going to be good after only 3-4 months.

mannye · Sep 17, 2014

It will be yummy. Keeps getting better.

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.

mcrow24 · Sep 17, 2014

mannye said:
It will be yummy. Keeps getting better.

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.

Good! Looking forward to trying it.

I have been drinking J Bird Mead at the Ren Fest for a while, just tried some B Nektar Black Fang and Necromangocon and those are pretty darn good. Don't expect mine to be that good but if it is tastes good, it will be great.

mcrow24 · Sep 18, 2014

So far so good.

the JAOM batch started bubbling in the airlock about 2hrs after I pitched the yeast, bubbles probably every 5 seconds or so. The other batch with the D-47, nutrient and energizer is bubbling probably every 2-3 seconds.

mannye · Sep 18, 2014

Don't freak out when you taste the d-47. It will be nasty when it goes dry. Just rack it off the lees into a second carboy, put an airlock on it and let it sit for 12 months in a cool dark place. You will be surprised how much it will change (for the better) in that time. Your by-the-book JAOM will be good right out of primary but it too will improve A LOT with just a few more weeks once you take it out of primary. Just keep both away from excess oxygen and you will be happy.

And don't forget to start another batch!

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.

mcrow24 · Sep 18, 2014

mannye said:
Don't freak out when you taste the d-47. It will be nasty when it goes dry. Just rack it off the lees into a second carboy, put an airlock on it and let it sit for 12 months in a cool dark place. You will be surprised how much it will change (for the better) in that time. Your by-the-book JAOM will be good right out of primary but it too will improve A LOT with just a few more weeks once you take it out of primary. Just keep both away from excess oxygen and you will be happy.

And don't forget to start another batch!

Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.

How do I know when it is ready to add honey to the D-47 batch? Should I check it after a couple of weeks or when the bubbling slows or a month down the road? I know people have been saying when it "goes dry" but at what point should I start checking to see if it is dry.

Hello, from MN!

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