First Mead Tomorrow

[Bill9000]

I have my first beer homebrew in bottle conditioning for a week and I pledged I wouldn't start anything else until I tasted that, but....

My daughter is making an unexpected visit this weekend and she doesn't have anything planned tomorrow afternoon, so we have a dad/daughter date to make mead with the goal of enjoying it Christmas Eve! I scrambled to get to the local produce market before closing to get some fresh honey and probably will add some combination of fresh fruit - orange, apple, blueberry, and blackberry. With the modern day convenience of overnight delivery, a selection of wine yeast will be at my door tomorrow morning. I plan on making (2) one gallon batches and have seen recipes for heating and not heating, so I may just try one of each. I haven't done quite as much research as I did for my first home brewing adventure, so any general advice is appreciated. A couple specific questions - is minimizing the cool down time as critical for mead as it is with beer? I 've also seen a different methods to pitching yeast - one just adds it to the cooled mead and the other creates a starter in some juice at around 105 F and then adds it. Does one method work better than the other?

 

[CKuhns]

If you want to drink it by Christmas your best bet is to do a Session Mead

Target an OG of near 1.065 to 1.100.
Add nutrients - Follow TOSNA 2.0 or 3.0 and stir 2xs a day to 1/3 sugar break.

No need to heat and in-fact if you do you will lose some of the honey lighter aromatics if >100 Deg F
I personally always do a starter utilizing some of the same honey and gravity as your intended must.

Consider the following quick mead recipes
- Mead Recipes

 

[Bill9000]

If you want to drink it by Christmas your best bet is to do a Session Mead

Target an OG of near 1.065 to 1.100.
Add nutrients - Follow TOSNA 2.0 or 3.0 and stir 2xs a day to 1/3 sugar break.

No need to heat and in-fact if you do you will lose some of the honey lighter aromatics if >100 Deg F
I personally always do a starter utilizing some of the same honey and gravity as your intended must.

Consider the following quick mead recipes
- Mead Recipes

Thanks! When testing SG for 1/3 sugar break, should I discard that must? I've seen videos where people pour the must from the hydrometer cylinder back in the fermenter or even drop the hydrometer in the fermenter and then fish it out with their fingers. Seems like a risk of contamination.

 

[Ryue]

It may not be the best way, but I've had really good luck -
I usually heat my water to about 140°f, add my fruits/spices and let it "steep" for about 1-1½ hours.
Let cool to about 95°f (if its a small batch, you can set the cooking pot in cold water in the sink and stir until temp is reached, it won't take long.)
Add your honey (easier if you've warmed up the honey) strain into carboy and pitch yeast.

I started this batch of Blueberry and Plum last night following that system. Smells delicious, can't wait for it to be done! SG 1.052 with 40oz honey to 1 gallon of water.

Good luck brother, cheers!

 

[Ryue]

Thanks! When testing SG for 1/3 sugar break, should I discard that must? I've seen videos where people pour the must from the hydrometer cylinder back in the fermenter or even drop the hydrometer in the fermenter and then fish it out with their fingers. Seems like a risk of contamination.

I have always returned the must used in the testing cylinder and have never had an issue, but it is recommended to discard it