1st mead batch

Noven · #1 06-13-2008, 06:12 AM

I have been reading alot about mead the past few weeks, and have decided to pick up making mead. I got all the required materials yesterday, and will start the batch later on today

A bit of history here first. I have been thinking about making mead for quite some time, but never really took the plunge until a friend of mine did it and when he started to tell me about the process, I was hooked.

My first batch is going to be simple: just honey, water and yeast. I chose the following for my honey and yeast:
Desert Gold Honey (mainly since it s a local company)
Lalvin 71b-1122

I expect that my batch will turn out well, and can't wait till around December to bottle it

Brimminghorn · #2 06-13-2008, 07:12 AM

Welcome to Got Mead Noven !!!

Could your please post your recipe? That would help us out to get you a better idea of what you are trying to achieve. Are you making a sweet, dry,or sparkling mead? Are you going to use yeast nutrients or make it a show mead? Just curious.

Cheers

Jon

Noven · #3 06-13-2008, 08:14 AM

I got:

15 lbs of honey
4 gallons of spring water
1 packet of Lalvin 71b-1122
1 packet of yeast nutrient (the packet says 1/2 tsp per gallon...is that per gallon of water?)
1tsp of lemon juice (the guy at the brewing store said this would be a good idea)

I am going for a medium sweetness mead.

Yo momma · #4 06-13-2008, 03:14 PM

When you post your recipe make sure to add your prep work too. Don't heat your must and make sure you aerate the crap out of it before you pitch your yeast. I think you should be fine with the amount of honey you have. With the proper steps your ABV should be around 12-14 percent at the finish your looking for. Aerate for the first three days twice a day then just gently stir as not to aerate anymore. Keep us in the loop. This sounds great for your first. Good luck!

Noven · #5 06-13-2008, 07:07 PM

ok my batch is in the closet and doing its thing now. Do I open it up and stir it once a day? Also, I took the OG and got 1.115, is that a "good" number?

Yo momma · #6 06-13-2008, 07:25 PM

Yeppers. Now your best weapon is patience. Once better yet twice a day stir it, slowly at first because the rapid gas release will cause a meadsplosion, for a few minutes trying to give your yeast some oxygen. Keep them happy and they will keep you happy.

Oskaar · #7 06-13-2008, 07:28 PM

Welcome to Got Mead?!

1.115 is a pretty good starting gravity if you want to get into the semi-sweet to semi-dry ballpark. Generally I like to start out any 71B batches at about 1.120 and they will end up in the 1.015-1.025 range so figure you'll run a little lower than that with a start at the 1.115 level. Take a look at my yeast tests and pay particular attention to the 71B-1122 comments within the thread as you may find them helpful.

Stir slowly at first and then once the initial release of gas has occurred you may stir the surface and splash it good to get some oxygen into it. Do your dosing diligence as well, but next time use Go-Ferm to rehydrate, and Fermaid-K as your nutrient addition. The generic nutrient you mention is not designed specifically for Lallemand yeasts. If you have questions about why to use Lallemand yeast nutrient, dosing or aeration use the forum search tool explained here.

Cheers,

Oskaar