How does lutra
compare to cbc?
Why do you prefer ultra now?
compare to cbc?
Why do you prefer ultra now?
Bray's One Month Mead
- Thread starter loveofrose
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loveofrose
Well-Known Member
Lutra has a lager like crispness that I really enjoy in mead. It also has a huge temperature range (68-100 F) in which it makes fusel free mead. CBC can often throw some funky phenolics if it gets to hot.
Johnsfolly
Old cars, old bikes, good beer, the blues.
I can't believe I read all 49 pages.
I'm ready to use the Lutra I have in the fridge and maje me some BOMM!
I'm ready to use the Lutra I have in the fridge and maje me some BOMM!
Me and a friend just did a 25 liter split batch, half of it with 2 kilos of blueberries and a little black berries, and the other half clean. 1.120 starting gravity, don't remember what it ended at but around 15,5-16% alcohol. We followed the mead batch builder:
https://www.omnimead.com/mead-batch-builder
How different is this to 1 month mead? It recommends a mix of Ferm K and Ferm O, which worked great for us as we had both at hand. I read from two different posters here that the yeast cannot use these nutritions above 9% alcohol for some reason, and we added our last dose close to 10%. Hard to tell if we have any off-flavours due to this but I think it tastes good!
I followed advice to ask at a market if I could bulk buy "second grade" honey from a bee keeper and he gave us 50 kilos for a very good price. Very happy! It tastes delicious, some of it is a little fermented but it actually improves the taste IMO. It's not orange blossom but we tasted one of the bottles we made without fruit this weekend and it was very nice. 1388 yeast.
I made a starter for the yeast and keep a small part for future use in my fridge, protected by a large chunk of the honey water which was used as the starter. How long can I keep it like this? It's been almost 2 months. Should I make a new starter and feed it to keep it alive or is it ok to lay dormant until we choose to make a new batch? I guess it's best to start with a small starter and increase size a few times when building up the yeast count for next time due to the small amount of yeast as of now.
When we added the fruit we just had it frozen since the summer in vacuum bags, we just thawed it, no campden or pasteurizing. No mold, seems to have worked.
Thanks Bray for your amazing work for the mead community
https://www.omnimead.com/mead-batch-builder
How different is this to 1 month mead? It recommends a mix of Ferm K and Ferm O, which worked great for us as we had both at hand. I read from two different posters here that the yeast cannot use these nutritions above 9% alcohol for some reason, and we added our last dose close to 10%. Hard to tell if we have any off-flavours due to this but I think it tastes good!
I followed advice to ask at a market if I could bulk buy "second grade" honey from a bee keeper and he gave us 50 kilos for a very good price. Very happy! It tastes delicious, some of it is a little fermented but it actually improves the taste IMO. It's not orange blossom but we tasted one of the bottles we made without fruit this weekend and it was very nice. 1388 yeast.
I made a starter for the yeast and keep a small part for future use in my fridge, protected by a large chunk of the honey water which was used as the starter. How long can I keep it like this? It's been almost 2 months. Should I make a new starter and feed it to keep it alive or is it ok to lay dormant until we choose to make a new batch? I guess it's best to start with a small starter and increase size a few times when building up the yeast count for next time due to the small amount of yeast as of now.
When we added the fruit we just had it frozen since the summer in vacuum bags, we just thawed it, no campden or pasteurizing. No mold, seems to have worked.
Thanks Bray for your amazing work for the mead community
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loveofrose
Well-Known Member
You to Brew has officially rebranded to OmniMead! Our site is redesigned for easy navigation. It includes the following mead making resources free of charge:
- Mead Batch Builder with Bray Denard’s latest staggered nutrient protocol
- Beginners Mead Making Course
- Free Mead Recipes including Skyrim-inspired meads!
- BRIX Calculator with Refractometer Correction
- ABV Calculator
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loveofrose
Well-Known Member
It’s faster because I’ve spent a decade getting it perfected!
I read from two different posters here that the yeast cannot use these nutritions above 9% alcohol for some reason, and we added our last dose close to 10%.
Actually, yeast cannot uptake DAP past 9%, not nutrients in general. It the newest protocol, all DAP in Fermaid K is front loaded. Fermaid O is staggered in later. Even if you add Fermaid O too late, it will settle out when the mead clears without off flavors.
Hard to tell if we have any off-flavours due to this but I think it tastes good!
If you cannot taste off flavors, then there isn’t any!
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loveofrose
Well-Known Member
Hello all! Dropping in to give you yet another way to make better mead. For a bit over a year, I’ve been researching various ways to improve honey aroma and flavor. I’m happy to say one worked!
I’ve found that adding phenylalanine boosts honey aroma and flavor in mead. You can read the full article here: https://www.omnimead.com/nexus/phenylalanine
We’ve also added phenylalanine to the the Batch Builder here: https://www.omnimead.com/mead-batch-builder
Cheers!
I’ve found that adding phenylalanine boosts honey aroma and flavor in mead. You can read the full article here: https://www.omnimead.com/nexus/phenylalanine
We’ve also added phenylalanine to the the Batch Builder here: https://www.omnimead.com/mead-batch-builder
Cheers!
Hi Bray
Hey Bray! This sounds like a great recipe
. I heard you on the got mead podcast recently and really enjoyed all the knowledge you shared. I simply have one question??? How do I get a really full flavored melomel mead!??? I've been at this for about 9 Mos. And about 12 meads. (Still a beginner for sure. But no matter what I do ....(fruit in primary,secondary or both) I just can't seem to get it the way I want. I have used many different fruits, and the last few I added ALOT of fruit to secondary but still not that delicious,full bodied fruit bomb of a flavor I'm striving for. I've tried different honeys and different yeasts but to no avail
Without giving away to many of your trade secrets can you give me any helpful hints?? Thanks
How dry were those meads? How old when tasting?Hi Bray
Hey Bray! This sounds like a great recipe
How do I get a really full flavored melomel mead!??? I've been at this for about 9 Mos. And about 12 meads. (Still a beginner for sure. But no matter what I do ....(fruit in primary,secondary or both) I just can't seem to get it the way I want. I have used many different fruits, and the last few I added ALOT of fruit to secondary but still not that delicious,full bodied fruit bomb of a flavor I'm striving for. I've tried different honeys and different yeasts but to no avail
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loveofrose
Well-Known Member
What kind of fruit mead are you wanting to make? I’m happy to help, but each fruit has different tricks. Tell me the fruit you are attempting and I’ll help.Hi Bray
Hey Bray! This sounds like a great recipe
How do I get a really full flavored melomel mead!??? I've been at this for about 9 Mos. And about 12 meads. (Still a beginner for sure. But no matter what I do ....(fruit in primary,secondary or both) I just can't seem to get it the way I want. I have used many different fruits, and the last few I added ALOT of fruit to secondary but still not that delicious,full bodied fruit bomb of a flavor I'm striving for. I've tried different honeys and different yeasts but to no avail
Well I've been really trying with the triple berry mix ( raspberry,blueberry and blackberry) and I have attempted with pineapple several times but just can't get that pineapple flavor.
And just blueberry by itself as well
They all finished off dry between 12 and 14 %
Tasting all the way through and again at around a month
That's the problem! I'm afraid you'll need some sugar left to get that fruit taste. That plus enough time in the bottle, usually about a year, sometimes half a year suffices.
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loveofrose
Well-Known Member
I agree with the rest of the folks here. If you want a fruit bomb, you need 2 things:
1. 3-5 lbs of fruit per gallon
2. Sweet mead. The fruit just doesn’t pop unless you are at least 1.020 FG.
Try these two meads as examples:
1. Berry: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/berry-bomm/
2. Pineapple: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/boat-drink/
Gotcha. I will the this info and be back to the drawing board ASAP. thank you Bray! Much appreciated!
My only question now is, when I reach that desired sweeter final gravity, do I just stop the fermentation by stabilizing ? Or should use less honey? More honey ? I'm not sure exactly how to reach my desired final gravity ?
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loveofrose
Well-Known Member
Ok, sounds like you need a better foundation in mead making. Go read this to answer a lot of questions you didn’t know you had: https://www.omnimead.com/beginner-mead-making-course-us
Thank you very much. I am definitely still at novice level but am serious about this. I have seen so many different opinions on this. It's hard to know which is the right way. I greatly appreciate you're help
Okay so in order to achieve a sweeter final gravity/mead I should add more honey to the must than the yeast can handle ? So when they are done , this is residual sweetness ? I apologize if these questions are of a beginner nature. There are so many different voices saying so may different things. I understand mead processes are a very objectionable thing. But there is also the right way. Thank you so much
That's a valid and the easiest approach you can take. Three resulting mead will be quite strong.
Thank you very much for the help
Keep in mind, the stronger the mead, the longer it usually takes to age. A high abv mead often takes 2 years+ to be at it's peak. By that time the fruit will have faded probably quite a bit so I am not sure if this is the best approach for a fruity mead.Thank you very much for the help
I have done fruity meads at about 12% abv which were well rounded after 0,5 to 1 year and the fruit was popping. I used pasteurization. It can be dangerous if not done correctly, however, I have never had issues. Only one or two cracked bottles with carbonated beverages but never with still meads. You can look it up in the cider section of this forum.
It is basically letting the mead ferment out, amount of honey adjusted to desired abv, then letting it clear on it's own, aftwards transfer to bottling bucket and back sweetening in the bottling bucket, capping or corking the bottles and then heating them in a waterbath to about 65C for 15-20 minutes. Or raise the temp to 68 and turn the heat off and let it cool on it's own. That way the yeast is killed and the sugar level in the bottles should stay stable.
Sounds good. Thus far I am bulk aging my stuff. And haven't ventured into the carbonation side of things yet. I have my carboy in a small tub with a little water and a wet towel with a fan to keep the temp coo and degassing twice a day. Still refining my process. I was recently gifted just over 2 lbs (34 oz.) Of German cherry blossom honey . From what I have researched it is quite rare and hard to come by. I don't want to waste that on bad process. Thank you for sharing your knowledge much
appreciated
I know that everybody writes about "degassing" during active fermentation, but that is actually not a thing. The CO2 that is forced out of solution is replaced by the active yeast with newly excreted co2 within a really short time frame, so there is no actual benefit from the release of gas during active fermentation. BUT it is beneficial to rouse the yeast and this is also what you are doing when "degassing", so keep on doing that!Sounds good. Thus far I am bulk aging my stuff. And haven't ventured into the carbonation side of things yet. I have my carboy in a small tub with a little water and a wet towel with a fan to keep the temp coo and degassing twice a day. Still refining my process. I was recently gifted just over 2 lbs (34 oz.) Of German cherry blossom honey . From what I have researched it is quite rare and hard to come by. I don't want to waste that on bad process. Thank you for sharing your knowledge much
As for the honey, I have never seen Kirschblütenhonig here, but my guess is that it must be possible to find somewhere in the cherry growing regions. Never seen it though! how does it taste? ... I have actually no idea where cherry growing regions are here in Germany. I know where they grow apples though.
It is very creamy and very light. I am anxious to use it. Was leaning towards a traditional mead
