Considering trying to make a mead

[TrickyDick]

Normally I brew beer. I have never forgot abut the barkshack ginger mead write up in Charlie's book though. I tried to make it in 2005, and stupidly thought adding some fresh crushed grapes to some heated water to pasteurize, would be a good idea to add to it, while I was in the store looking for fresh lemongrass. It turned out awful.

Anyway, a co-worker has bee hives, and the honey tastes really good, from orange blossoms. $10/pint they want, and I estimate that for 5 gal, I'd want 8.5 pounds of honey. I think this'll be close to 6 pints. That seems to be pricey for honey and would be $60 for the honey alone. Does the 6 pints and approximate weight seem an appropriate amount of honey for a BGM? Also wondering on the ginger addition? When is best time to add it? I would think the flavor would fade to zero after a year in a carboy.

TD

 

[ACbrewer]

1/2 gallon of honey is 6lb. - 8+2/3lb would be 3/4 gallons or 6 pints. That price seems about right, but if you look around you might do better in price. The real problem is you have a known good source there, where as honey from the grocery store is often... of suspect quality (ie not real honey). Finding really can be a bit of a problem. Now I've got a farmers market near me, and they will sell 1 gallon (12lb) for 55 to 60, so it is a better deal then (heck 60lb/5gall for about 200). And it is a known quality there. That is local and not imported or cut.

I don't know about the ginger, does Charlee have a suggestion?

btw, while hone is $$$ beglad you odn't need that in maple syrup... that is $$$$ I've looked at using it and DANG.

 

[Bluespark]

8.5lb in 5 gallons would be a fairly low abv mead. Try 15 lb.

Keep in mind you get 25 regular sized wine bottles out of 5 gallons, so it's really not that expensive per bottle

Add the ginger after primary fermentation, you will preserve more flavor.

 

[nitack]

btw, while hone is $$$ beglad you odn't need that in maple syrup... that is $$$$ I've looked at using it and DANG.

Damn right. Because of all the refining that they have to do, maple syrup is very expensive. The most expensive mead I have made so far was an acerglyn. My mother-in-law hates honey but loves maple and been trying to talk me into brewing her some maple wine....

 

[Walking_Target]

Yeah... have an acerglyn right now. The trick is living in Canada and knowing the farmers at the market who run a sugar bush.

Occasionally they'll get a jug that starts to spontaneously ferment and they'll give it to ya free or at a steep discount.

 

[ACbrewer]

Well for those of us elsewhere, acer is $$$$. And people who own hives like to sell their for the market value, which is fair, but.. well $$$

 

[TrickyDick]

Just got my 1gallon plus 1 pint of orange blossom honey. Very light colored, could read newsprint through it I bet. There is some fine debris probably from the honeycomb and bee parts? $80 I hope I don't drop the jar! It's quite heavy, and made of glass. Should I store at room temp or refrigerate? I'm guessing room temp. Planning to make it in about 10-11 days.

Might need some help formulating the recipe, and planning out the specifics of the process. I read the stickies a while back, so I guess I'll have to back over those and get the necessary items ill need for the mead.

Thanks

edit- OK, I got some go-ferm, Fermaid-K, and DAP on order along with some K1 yeast. I really hope the flavor of the honey comes through, because it really amazing to just eat raw on a cracker or some bread. I love the ginger too though, so I am def gonna do it ginger mead style.

TD

 

[hehawbrew]

I store at room temp just for ease of use.


Fun fact: honey never goes bad! I read once that you could take honey from the Pharos graves, warm it back up to liquid form, and eat it!

 

[TrickyDick]

Ok. Thanks!


I ordered GoFerm, FermAidK, and DAP. The recipe in TNCJOHB lists citric acid. is this necessary too?

I bought some K1 yeast. I plan to use only the one gallon of honey (no corn sugar) and no fruit and no lemongrass, just the ginger root. I really like ginger ale, so I doubt I could overdo the ginger flavoring. I am gonna use 6-8 oz ginger. It was suggested to use after primary fermentation for better flavor. Is there any bad reason for adding multiple ginger additions during primary, secondary and tertiary/bottling stages? Is it better to make a "tea" with the ginger for better flavor vs just adding raw peeled root into the mead? What about pulverizing the ginger? Not sure what others have done and found to be best as this is sort of my first effort here.

Thanks!

TD

 

[TrickyDick]

8.5lb in 5 gallons would be a fairly low abv mead. Try 15 lb.

Keep in mind you get 25 regular sized wine bottles out of 5 gallons, so it's really not that expensive per bottle

Add the ginger after primary fermentation, you will preserve more flavor.

I got the worlds biggest piece of gingerroot. Well maybe not but it was a huge chunk of ginger, easily over a pound, but that's unpeeled.

So that said, what's the best thing to do with it? Cube, food processor, grated, matchsticks? I'm guessing that it needs to be peeled of course. Any processing such as steaming it to sanitize, or something, or make a tea and add the tea?

thanks for any guidance

If all my ingredients get here on time, I might attempt this on Sunday.

TD

 

[Bluespark]

I would slice it thinly and dump it in.

 

[TrickyDick]

I would slice it thinly and dump it in.

Thanks


I am assuming that the ginger is going to fade over time. I really like ginger and ginger ale. I'm wondering how much I should use. The CP recipe gives a range which seems rather meager.

Having no baseline to start from, I'd rather go on the higher side if possible, given my like of ginger.

TD