My local brew shop doesn't have mead yeast, or any of the other yeasts cited as being commonly used in the Newbee guide. Should I use red or whte wine yeast? The ones I'm looking at have a tolerance of 12-14 % (red) and 14% (white). The recipe I will use is for a sweet mead.
Red or white wine yeast for mead?
- Thread starter Shahivann
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Either. Though I'd suggest that if you can, try to obtain Lalvin K1V-1116 which is their Montpellier yeast. It's good for 16% or so.
As for it being for a "sweet mead", well it's as sweet as you want it to be. Whatever the recipe, if it's fermented dry, you can back sweeten it later to your taste. So don't let recipes etc (and HBS sales people) confuse you with that.
If you make it from a gravity reading that will make it to, say, 14% and it ferments dry because the yeast is capable of that, then fine let it go dry and then once it's racked, cleared, etc etc, use sulphite and sorbate to stabilise it and then use honey, honey syrup or whatever to sweeten it back up.....
regards
fatbloke
To keep your mead sweet, I was taught to use a yeast with lower alcohol tolerance depending on your starting gravity. Experience has taught me that yeasty beasties don't care what is written on the packaging! I've had yeasts with a 14% tolerance go to 16% and the same strain cop out at 10% in a different batch. (Lalvin 1122)
Go with what feels right.
Kanpai!
thats pretty much the same problem i had (and it seams several others).
for a beginner i would actually go for anything that says that its robust and needs low amounts of nutrients. specifically anything suitable for restarting fermentation.
now this won't be the nicest tasting or end up sweet. odds are it will ferment it bone dry. however you can stabilize and backsweeten to your liking.
otherwise simply post what yeasts they have in stock and someone can tell you which is best.
for a beginner i would actually go for anything that says that its robust and needs low amounts of nutrients. specifically anything suitable for restarting fermentation.
now this won't be the nicest tasting or end up sweet. odds are it will ferment it bone dry. however you can stabilize and backsweeten to your liking.
otherwise simply post what yeasts they have in stock and someone can tell you which is best.
