Bray's One Month Mead

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Okay, we're off to the races. An hour and a half after pitching and I'm already seeing my airlock bubble! (I'm using vodka in the airlock because of fruit/house flies, and I can't use the towel method because of cats). I actually haven't seen an indoor fly yet this summer, but I'm sure active fermentation will attract them.
 
For the most up to date and concise info, go here: www.denardbrewing.com

I just want folks to drink good mead. There is so much bad and outdated info. I try to be a good source of up to date info.

You wouldn't believe how folks never try to improve their process. Even this recipe has been changed to reflect new knowledge. Oh well!
 
Holy s**t this ferments fast. Yesterday I checked the SG 24 hours after pitch. SG was 1.080. I figured I'd add nutrients after dinner today. I took SG at 7:50pm and SG was 1.050, so at the 1/2 mark. I missed my first addition by an hour or two. I'm going to have to take a reading as soon as I wake up tomorrow or risk missing the 1/3rd addition.

I have a question. Should I keep de-gassing for the rest of the week, or is oxygen bad after the 1/3rd sugar break? I think I remember reading something about that in the middle of the thread.

I think the ferment should be done in a few days. I'm blown away at this. I have really high hopes for this batch. It smells AMAZING! Maybe I should taste it tomorrow :p
 
Ok, this fermented way faster than I thought it would. When I degassed and checked gravity today it was already down to 1.020, so I was late for both the 1/3rd and 2/3rd sugar breaks. I added nutrients anyways.

Should my batch still turn out right? I tasted it today and it actually tastes pretty good. A little sweet as expected, but no weird flavors, and no hot alcohol taste whatsoever. Just a little yeasty (obviously as the yeast is still in suspension).

Should I keep degassing/stirring after this, should I do it for the recommended full week still? I expect fermentation to be done either tomorrow or the day after.
 
So this has worked out really well. I made my first batch, 2.5# of honey for one gallon, turned out great- bottled after about 5 weeks.

Second batch I used 11# of honey for 3 gallons, a bit much (I forgot to include the starter honey before). OG should have been close to 1.155. Fermented this down for 2 weeks and then did the following-
2lbs of frozen freestone peaches, pinch of nutmeg, 2 (old) cinnamon sticks, Madagascar bourbon vanilla (Peach Pie Mead)
2lbs frozen blackberries, 1 cinnamon stick, Madagascar bourbon vanilla [extract] (Blackberry Pie Mead)
2.25 lbs frozen raspberries (Raspberry Jam Mead)

Let the mead ferment on the fruit for 1 week, then removed it (it was in a strainer bag). Then topped off with "plain" mead and let it ferment for 1 more week before cold crashing and bottling.

OGs have been astoundingly low, not sure how much sugar is inside the fruit - or how to roughly calculate that - but the Peach finished at 1.030 and the Blackberry 1.028.... both are over 17% ABV for sure. This yeast strain is insane.
 
loveofrose said:
For the most up to date and concise info, go here: www.denardbrewing.com

I just want folks to drink good mead. There is so much bad and outdated info. I try to be a good source of up to date info.

You wouldn't believe how folks never try to improve their process. Even this recipe has been changed to reflect new knowledge. Oh well!
Click to expand...

It would be possible and probably beneficial to update the original post with the most current info - you could even leave the original text below it for historical purposes.
 
Ok, my BOMM is at SG 1.02 after 4 days. I think it's done fermenting. I'm going to stop stirring and degassing now and just let the yeast clean up after themselves. I'll wait for it to clear and hopefully bottle in a month!

I'll take a reading next week just to see if I notice any change. The airlock is still slowly bubbling. That could just be residual CO2 coming out of solution. It could also mean ferment is still slowly going. I hope it stays around 1.00 I'd like something with some sweetness.

I'm going to start a 1 gallon batch as soon as a spare stir bar arrives in the mail.

Next batch I'll try to get some Fermaid O for my 5 gallon BOMM metheglyn. I want to experiment with two 1 gallon batches first though and try at a couple variations and see what I like more.
 
CanadianJesus said:
Ok, my BOMM is at SG 1.02 after 4 days. I think it's done fermenting. I'm going to stop stirring and degassing now and just let the yeast clean up after themselves. I'll wait for it to clear and hopefully bottle in a month!

I'll take a reading next week just to see if I notice any change. The airlock is still slowly bubbling. That could just be residual CO2 coming out of solution. It could also mean ferment is still slowly going. I hope it stays around 1.00 I'd like something with some sweetness.
Click to expand...

Your yeast isn't done after 4 days. You'd be impressed what these little guys can do. What was your OG? If it was ~1.100, your mead will probably finish around 1.005 or possibly less! Did you already add the 2 nutrient additions?

In another week you'll probably hit your FG. Even if it seems to ferment really fast, do not be tempted to bottle sooner than 4 weeks, it's not worth it. It's amazing how well this clears up over time. Lastly, if you are able to, do a cold crash before you bottle.
 
Sorry, that 1.02 was a typo. I mean it's at 1.002. It was at 1.020 a couple days ago. I missed the 2/3rd sugar break and added nutrients then. Now it's at 1.002 as of yesterday.
 
And I have no means of cold crashing. I don't have a refrigerator big enough to hold my fermenting pail. I'm not going to bottle it cloudy. I plan on racking into a glass carboy after the month is out so I can see how clear it is and let it clear fully if needed. I'll probably bottle it after 5 weeks.
 
Ok, I made a starter to attempt to recover my year old bag of 1388 that expanded when I popped the nutrient sack inside. I plan on making two 1 gallon batches with this for practice for my 5 gallon metheglin I have planned.

here's a link to the thread with my newest input if anybody has any suggestions or comments for it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=632057
 
Ok, my starter definitely works. After 48 hours the SG dropped from 1.040 to 1.10. 30 points in 2 days.

Since nobody has replied to this tread since my last update, I went ahead and added 1/2 cup of honey to it to boost SG and also get the yeast used to a higher sugar must. I'm hoping I strengthened the yeast rather than stressed it. Should I have added any nutrients of any kind?

It's a 2L starter. When I pitch yeast, how many milliliters of starter should I add to each 1 gallon batch. I'm wary of adding half, which would be 1L to a 1 gallon must... Unless I boost the SG of the starter to 1.100 to match the must I'm adding it to.

Maybe should I add a smaller amount of starter, like 250-500ml?

Somebody please answer this, I plan on pitching the yeast on Monday, which is the day after tomorrow?


I double posted this because I am desperate for an answer. Nobody has been replying to my other thread. I'm hoping to catch your attention Bray. I need an answer bad.
 
Add half to each batch of must, but remove 1000ml of water from the total that you were going to use to make the must.
I.E.:
1 gallon of mead = 3875ml
3lbs of honey (4 cups= 946ml)
Starter = 1000ml
3876-946-1000=929ml of water to add
 
So, after I add my 1L starter, should I adjust, as in add more honey to raise my SG to 1.100 as Bray's recipe calls for?

1 liter of my starter will significantly drop the SG of my total must, I'm just wondering if I should account for that.

Adding a 2L starter to a 5 gallon batch won't make a lot of difference, but for the 1 gallon test batches I'm doing, 1L of a low SG starter will drop the SG and I just want to know whether I should add honey to compensate for this.
 
So I made the batches and they're fermenting away! A bit slower than my 5 gallon batch, but that is to be expected because I used old yeast. It will be easier to hit my sugar breaks on time though at least.

They taste fine right now too, no off flavors. I'll see how they taste later into fermentation and at the end of fermentation.
 
What's the optimum fermentation temp for BOMM? My last batch fermented between 70 and probably 72 degrees.
-------------------
Also, I made kind of a "sack mead" and it's not tasting ideal. About 5 weeks old right now, and I drew a sample. It's got the familiar great flavor upfront, but kind of devolves into a spicy "burn". Now it is most likely about 16.2% ABV, and it also never really cleared. Does it just need a bit more time to clear out and mellow? It doesn't seem to have any off-flavors other than the alcoholic and "spicy" burn. I was actually thinking about adding some Cheyenne pepper to it lol. I added some vanilla to a sample but strangely that tasted like vanilla Dannon to me.

ETA: doing some research, looks like I may have some Fusel alcohols in there. Best to age it out.
 
Optimal temp is 68 F with a fermentation chamber. Even if you room is 72 F, the heat from fermentation can raise the temperature by up to 10 degrees. The faster the ferment, the higher the temp will go.

I recommend a swamp cooler at the very least if you are having issues. The good news is that the fusels age out quickly.

Clearing is best done by cold crashing. If that's not an option, rack it off the gross lees and wait.

While burn is associated with fusels, I find some burn can be from alcohol when you exceed 14%. My 19% sack BOMM needed oak and age to mellow out the high ABV.
 
My two one gallon batches are chugging along nicely. Just did a nutrient addition tonight at the first sugar break. I missed it by a few hours and added nutrients at 1.061, but I think that's close enough for government work.


And a question about back sweetening. Should I rack to a new carboy after primary fermentation and clearing when I back sweeten, or do I back sweeten in primary?
 
Ok, thanks. I'm not looking to stabilize with sulfates. I have a friend who I want to share this mead with who won't drink wine that contains sulfates on principle due to not wanting to consume 'chemicals'.

Also, I may encounter people in the future who are actually allergic, whether they know it or not.

I'm just going to slowly add honey 2oz at a time until the yeast give up and then add honey until 1.010sg. I want a sweet mead with a lot of honey taste for my methaglin. If people find this too sweet then I'll go for a lower SG for my planned 5 gallon methaglin.
 
Since this recipe ferments so fast, does it blow a lot of flavor out of the airlock? I'm really anticipating bottling it because everything smells and tastes so much better than my very first batch using 1118 yeast.

I'm already thinking of variations on this recipe using the same basic principles of adding stepped nutrient additions and regular degassing, but I want to try it with a wine yeast, or the Wyeast Sweet Mead yeast in the future. See how something like that goes with 6 months to a year of aging.

Thanks Bray! I have learned A LOT by reading this thread and trying it out myself!

I still have much more research to do of course!
 
CanadianJesus said:
Since this recipe ferments so fast, does it blow a lot of flavor out of the airlock? I'm really anticipating bottling it because everything smells and tastes so much better than my very first batch using 1118 yeast.
Click to expand...

No, if anything it's just as flavorful as other methods.
 
So I had some mead my friend made. It was terrible, and this was after a year of aging. And then I asked him about his process, and it was... different. Here's what he told me:

Got big jugs of honey from the commissary (military grocery store). Boiled that with water and cranberries, put it in the fermenter, pitched champagne yeast (dry).
Why champagne yeast?
"I wanted the most alcohol"
Anyway, I gave him a couple bottles of my precious BOMM melomels, I expect it will be an eye-opening experience for him.
 
I can't wait to try the concepts I learned in this recipe with some other white wine yeasts and let them sit for a year or so and see what the difference is.

I can hardly wait to bottle my first 5 gallon BOMM and taste it at 1 month and then at 3 and 6 months.

I also have plans to make an out of this world 5 gallon BOMM methaglin to drink by October and Christmas as a winter drink. I'll see how my two 1 gallon test batches turn out and I'll make 5 gallons of the best one with maybe some tweaks.

What do you guys think of a Pumpkin Spice mead? I'm also doing a second one of just cinnamon, cloves and cardamom (I think this would make a good winter mead, but we'll see).
 
Quick question for those of you who have done this.

My plan moving forward is typically I'll ferment my BOMM For 2 weeks before splitting it up into smaller batches and adding fruit and/or spices. This allows me to have clean and controlled fermentation but still have viable yeast available for secondary. Anyway, here's my cyser plan.

Ferment 2 gallons of BOMM from 1.107 >> 1.005 ~13.5% ABV for 2 weeks
Rack 2 gallons of mead onto:
2 gallons of apple cider
1# of brown sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean
6# of peeled and diced apples
-------------------
Total will be 4 gallons of Cyser

Ferment for 10 days, remove apples, ferment ~5 more days, bottle.
Should end up around 9.2% ABV, and possible to carbonate if I want.

Does this sound like a good plan? I was thinking about reducing the brown sugar to 4oz and doing 1lb of Caramel 30 malt instead, for some residual sweetness.
 
Should I wait the full month before I start step feeding honey to backsweeten or should I do that as soon as gravity reaches ~1.000 and is stable for a few days?
 
So I have always had a hard time mixing my honey into the water, but I wanted to share my observations on this matter. This time I made a 6 gallon batch of mead, and when I pitched the yeast there was maybe 2.5" of honey on the bottom of the carboy. A solid layer of honey. I wasn't overly concerned because I've seen this before. So after a couple days I notice the honey layer starts to shrink. I am on day 4 and now there is only 1" of honey at the bottom. By tomorrow morning, it'll be gone. Point is, the yeast will find the honey if it's in there.
 
Dan_K said:
So I have always had a hard time mixing my honey into the water, but I wanted to share my observations on this matter. This time I made a 6 gallon batch of mead, and when I pitched the yeast there was maybe 2.5" of honey on the bottom of the carboy. A solid layer of honey. I wasn't overly concerned because I've seen this before. So after a couple days I notice the honey layer starts to shrink. I am on day 4 and now there is only 1" of honey at the bottom. By tomorrow morning, it'll be gone. Point is, the yeast will find the honey if it's in there.
Click to expand...
Time to coin a name for that!
Automated Passive Honey Dissolution/Addition ? ;)

It's probably less the yeast, and moreso the kinetics (movement) of the solution leading to the honey dissolving. Of course, the yeast and CO2 are what cause the movement.
 
That is why I do all my primary fermentation in a bucket. Much easier to stir in the honey and degass that way.
 
I was trying to do the primary in a bucket for my first BOMM today, but the 2 gal bucket and lid I bought at the LHBS don't fit together. So I'm doing it in a gallon carboy.

I'm going to split the 1 gallon between a straight dry mead, and rack the other half onto 3lb of blueberries from the yard. We got over 30lbs of blueberries off of six bushes this year, and there are still blueberries out there on them. Our freezers are full.
 
So I racked my first 5 gallon batch into a glass carboy 2 days ago to see how clear it got. It was still fairly cloudy after 30 days, but the color of the mead was evident. I didn't want to bottle it like that so I hit it with Sparkalloid and now 2 days later it is nearly clear enough to read through with about an inch and a half of sediment at the bottom. The lower quarter of the carboy is still a little cloudy.

I noticed a bit of a bite to it when I tasted it. Is this normal after the first month? I think it may be because I missed my sugar breaks slightly, but I couldn't help that because it fermented so fast. Next time I'm doing the new Fermaid-O protocol and fermenting in the basement where it is a steady 16 Celsius.

I'm thinking of bottling it tomorrow or Thursday and running it though a filter. Will the filter help clear it even more? It needs filtering anyways because there's a few pieces of wax floating at the top.

Also, my two 1 gallon experimental batches are going along nicely. I just added my second round of back sweetening honey, 8 oz total in each jug. I'm going to check the SG tomorrow and see if they've eaten though that yet. I hope I kill off the yeast soon, I don't want too high of an ABV, but the spices will probably cover the alcohol taste nicely anyways.
 
Ok, I bottled my 5 gallon traditional batch.

It has a DAP off taste. I wish I read the part about not adding DAP at or under 1.030 before I went ahead and did just that... :(

Will this taste age out at all, or is going to have that off taste forever?

I plan on re-doing another 5 or 6 gallon traditional using the Fermaid-O protocol in a few weeks or a month or so.. I really want a spectacular mead to make this year and have around for some time.
 
If unstablized, it will age out to some degree. Depends how bad it is. I have batches that finally lost it after 4 years.
 
I just made my first 5 gallon bomm. 9 days ago it was SG 1.100 . Last night it is 1.005 and still bubbling. I added water to airlock 7 days after starting...added ferm k and dap at around 1.070 and 1.035.
I'll be going to the beach tomorrow for a week. Will it be ok to leave it in primary for 1 more week or should I rack? I'd like to rack it with 3-4 lbs of frozen blackberries but am afraid of the berries oxidizing if I rack before I leave. I plan on backsweetening with more orange blossom honey since I know it'll be dry. I made the starter with 1388

Ill be doing 5 gal bomm cyser after I get back next weekend
 
skunkape01 said:
...
I'll be going to the beach tomorrow for a week. Will it be ok to leave it in primary for 1 more week or should I rack? I'd like to rack it with 3-4 lbs of frozen blackberries but am afraid of the berries oxidizing if I rack before I leave. I plan on backsweetening with more orange blossom honey since I know it'll be dry. I made the starter with 1388

Ill be doing 5 gal bomm cyser after I get back next weekend
Click to expand...
Leave it in the primary. It will be fine
 
Interesting Dilemma I've got, I used 15.8 gallons of honey to make 6 gallons of mead. That's 2.63 lbs/gallon. It fermented completely dry, and I don't really like dry mead. (later on I backsweetened it) I think from now on I'll use a minimum of 3.2 # / gallon. I want a minimum of 1.010 FG on my base meads, so that means an OG around 1.130 I believe. It's just less hassle to add the honey upfront.
 

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