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Sgt Warden · Mar 7, 2018

Hello all!

This is one of those ventures that I just happened to get a burr up somewhere and take the dive and just do it! I have been wanting to drink mead and see how it tastes and see how I like it. Just to let you know, there are very few bottles of mead in South Mississippi. Lots of honey! Just no mead.

I have got to change this...

Like a lot of things in life, start small. I want to try everything, but my pocket book says no. Even though honey is prevalent here in the deep south, it is still not cheap. And as an aspiring engineering student with a family, funds are limited.

So, with a small investment from Amazon of yeast, nutrient, and airlocks, and with an investment of honey from big box, i don't want to ruin the great stuff! Let us begin!

This thread will be updated as the the brew progresses, I want to document some of the problem that are encountered with small batch. And to see what can be done with small batch.

Enjoy!

Seargent

Sgt Warden · Mar 7, 2018

This is the set up I’m going to use.

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joe.vinciguerra · Mar 8, 2018

That's how I started too

The most important thing I learned about going this route... get a used triple beam balance to measure ingredients.

Toxxyc · Mar 8, 2018

You have... a lot of yeast! I started my first fermentations in old 750ml whisky bottles and it worked just fine, to be honest. Good luck, looking forward to your updates!

Sgt Warden · Mar 8, 2018

I want to do this as cheaply as I can.

Yea this a lot of yeast. But only 1/2 pack per quart.

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Sgt Warden · Mar 8, 2018

I forgot to mention that I do have a nutrient in the way. It’s the urea and phosphate stuff. Still can’t believe I’m about to add a waist product to good honey! Oh well, life is an experiment. Been looking and the “pros” recommend it.

I hope to have it in jars Friday or Saturday. I think Saturday. It is suppose to rain then. Great time to make mead!!

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darigoni · Mar 8, 2018

Diammonium phosphate (aka DAP)?!

Just say no!

bernardsmith · Mar 8, 2018

joe.vinciguerra said:
That's how I started too
The most important thing I learned about going this route... get a used triple beam balance to measure ingredients.

Interesting thought. Always the contrarian, I would have thought that accurate measurement of ingredients is far more important in the commercial world where a) consistency is a major concern for many (although top wine makers in France etc may be less focused on consistency than on making the best of each year's unique harvest) and b) where costs need to be controlled - so you don't want to use too much (or too little) of expensive ingredients. But... I would have thought that the home mead maker would be less interested in either consistency or cost control and would be far more focused on how the mead tastes. In which case weighing ingredients to the gram becomes far less important than how much more of X do I need to add given the TA of this batch and given the richness of flavor from this batch of spring honey et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
a

Squatchy · Mar 8, 2018

I wouldn't use those YAN ingredients if you held a gun to my head. And it has nothing to do with the source of the ingredients. But rather the finished profile you might get.

Boil the water. Put an ounce or two in a cup. Add 2 grams to the cup. Let cool and feed. I would feed that twice every other day. I really don't get why you are making tiny batches instead of adding it all together. Especially when your using the same yeast

joe.vinciguerra · Mar 8, 2018

bernardsmith said:
Interesting thought. Always the contrarian, I would have thought that accurate measurement of ingredients is far more important in the commercial world where a) consistency is a major concern for many (although top wine makers in France etc may be less focused on consistency than on making the best of each year's unique harvest) and b) where costs need to be controlled - so you don't want to use too much (or too little) of expensive ingredients. But... I would have thought that the home mead maker would be less interested in either consistency or cost control and would be far more focused on how the mead tastes. In which case weighing ingredients to the gram becomes far less important than how much more of X do I need to add given the TA of this batch and given the richness of flavor from this batch of spring honey et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
a

It's a matter of scaling error and resolution. Let's say a 5% error in measuring ingredients gives you commercial level repeatability, but 20% is acceptable for home (i.e. not repeatable but still makes a good mead). That means if you want to add 2g of FermaidO, DAP, whatever... to a 1 gallon batch you can be ±0.4g and be ok. BUT if you are making a 1 quart batch, now you need to 0.5g ± 0.1g or you risk adding too much or too little of whatever. The same goes for honey and water, a relatively small change can become the difference between sack and hydromel. I agree that a home meadmaker isn't obligated to be consistent, but I would hope they would want to know if it's sweet or dry and 5% vs 18% abv.

Sgt Warden · Mar 9, 2018

It is done!!

Took a while to dissolve all of the honey in the water. Used 1/2 tsp of nutrients for the yeast. Been advised to split the nutrient in half and add the other half later.

I plan on degassing about every other day or so. To help the yeast along.

I used 4 cups of honey to the gallon. So it is a 3:1 water to honey ratio. That should give me over a 10% abv.

No, I did not use a hydrometer. No, I don’t care to know what my end abv is. I just want it to taste good and be a good drink.

The reason for the quarts. If I want to make one a little different from another one I can easily do that. (Add strawberries, blueberries etc)

I did stop by Yeastie Beastie on the coast and quizzed them a bit. Great help there!

We will see how it comes out!!

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Toxxyc · Mar 10, 2018

Hydrometer doesn't only give you ABV, it lets you know how the yeast is doing, when to feed your yeast and if your bottles are going to explode or not. I would HIGHLY recommend you get one.

Sgt Warden · Mar 10, 2018

Update!!

Starting to get good bubbles!! In about 2 weeks I’ll feed them again with a bit more nutrient. I have been told using this method of feeding produces a good strong fermentation till the end.

Speaking of that. I have already added 1/2 tsp if the nutrient to the gallon. With intentions of adding another 1/2 to it later.

Or should I? I am open to opinion on this topic.

darigoni said:
Diammonium phosphate (aka DAP)?!

Just say no!

I have talked to a few mead makers and even watched a couple hours of you tube videos and even went to a home brew store. They all recommended the nutrient.

You are the only one that has told me to stay away from it.

I am not saying you are wrong. But, why don’t you like it? I am totally open to any information on the stuff.

Sergeant.

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Devin Petry-Johnson · Mar 10, 2018

Sgt Warden said:
Update!!

Starting to get good bubbles!! In about 2 weeks I’ll feed them again with a bit more nutrient.

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You might not want to add more DAP in 2 weeks. Once your mead gets to about 9% ABV, the yeast can no longer access (or use) the nutrient in DAP and it will be leftover in your mead, making a bad taste. Since you have several small batches, maybe add it to one and not the others and see.

DAP was the nutrient of choice until more organic options hit the market, such as Fermaid O. The people you told you to use it weren’t wrong, per se, just not aware perhaps. I have only made mead with DAP, and they turned out fine. But I only started 2 months ago. Now that I know better, I have Fermaid O.

If your mead turns out good and you want to keep doing this, I recommend listening to the podcast on this website, specifically the series that started 9/5/17. The people here are much more knowledgeable than the folks on YouTube, in general.

Sgt Warden · Mar 10, 2018

I am just now discovering the podcasts and other stuff that this site has to offer. Good thing I have a long commute!

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darigoni · Mar 10, 2018

Sgt Warden said:
I have talked to a few mead makers and even watched a couple hours of you tube videos and even went to a home brew store. They all recommended the nutrient.

You are the only one that has told me to stay away from it.

I am not saying you are wrong. But, why don’t you like it? I am totally open to any information on the stuff.

Actually, if you read post number #9, of this thread, you see what Squatchy (the resident sage) thinks about DAP. You probably just didn't understand his reference to YAN (Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen).

DAP is described as candy for yeast; you can eat/burn it, but it's not a very balanced diet and can cause temperature spikes and off flavors. As has been pointed out, the trend seems to be going the way of organic. If not Fermaid O then use Fermaid K which, while it has some DAP in it, at least supplies some of the other nutrients that the yeast need.

Sgt Warden · Mar 10, 2018

Ahhhh!

I’m not up on the lingo a bunch yet. Been studying the abbreviation guide. Just so much to digest. Thanks for the explanation.

Hope I didn’t screw my mead up.

We will see.

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darigoni · Mar 10, 2018

I'm sure you will be alright. For years they made mead with no nutrients, then DAP was "it", then things like Fermaid K came along and now it's Fermaid O. It's hard to keep up some times. I have a big bag of DAP I don't know what to do with, but will probably continue to use both K and O. It's amazing how much I've learned in the 2 years I've been making mead.

Have you checked out the Meadology series, by the Canadian Sasquatch, on YouTube? I think it's in episode 7 where he talks about SNA and YAN. Good explanation, even so I know he still uses K and DAP, but may be starting to dip his toe into the organic movement

Devin Petry-Johnson · Mar 10, 2018

Sgt Warden said:
I am just now discovering the podcasts and other stuff that this site has to offer. Good thing I have a long commute!

You can say that again. There is a lot of info in those podcasts and on this site. It is a little overwhelming. And as Squatchy says, “ask five mead makers a question and you’ll get eight different answers.”

The good news is that are only a couple things you can do that will completely ruin your mead, and it sounds like you haven’t done anything wrong (as long as you have been sanitizing everything). Getting the wrong bacteria in there is very bad. If there are minor mistakes along the way, often those can be corrected or they can be minimized by aging the mead longer.

Give this mead some time, perhaps make your next batch a Joe’s Ancient Orange Mead (JAOM) and while those are fermenting and aging you can learn a lot on the forums here and really improve things for next time.

Happy brewing!! Actually, mead isn’t technically brewed. Happy making!! That doesn’t sound right either... Cheers!

Sgt Warden · Mar 11, 2018

Thanks for the encouragement.

I hope I did good with the sanitizer. It is hard to have sanitation discipline. But one tip that I have discovered, make sure you have everything you need for it out at the same time. Sanitize, and the re-sanitize just before use. I did heat the water and honey so it would mix easier. So that helped with sanitation mistakes, I hope.

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