Malta goya as yeast starter for MEAD?

[HoosteezMorgan]

Okay what I'm thinking is put 12.5 lb(sams club 100 percent pure honey 5 of the big bottles that come in pairs for 5 pounds I have another about full also that I plan to use part of to get the starter going good) into a 4 gallon carboy (I kinda figure boiling the water adding the honey cooling it and adding it to the carboy would be the way to go but not certain if I'd be better off just boiling up some of the water with the honey mixing it in with rest of the water) I am thinking about using the malta goya yeast to pitch it I know a lot of people say the simple sugars make it not work as quick but honey of course has the simple sugars that it could work on I have no idea what kind of abv could be possible and I understand this wouldn't be a pure mead I actually got 2 of them I figure it would be far short of a braggot but still add some flavor I may decide to dry hop it as well also my main question is what type of yeast is in Malta goya and how would make a starter with honey and malta goya instead of yeast and wort? Thanks I've only done a few brews so far

 

[treebeerd]

There is no yeast in malta goya, or any other malta beverage as far as I know. When people talk about using malta for starters they are just referring to using it as a starter "wort" and still have to pitch yeast in separately.

 

[treebeerd]

It sounds like using malta won't really get you where you want to go. And I'm no expert on mead, but with a batch as small as 4 gallons I would assume that you could get by without a starter and just using a packet or two of dry yeast meant for mead.

How many gallons of water were you going to add to the 12.5 lb honey? I could get you an estimate OG/ABV if you want.

 

[HoosteezMorgan]

I ended up making a starter with the malta like half a bottle with wlp007 I also boiled some of the spring water up a whole malta goya with a sliced lemon 14 dried cherries and a half teaspoon of fresh ginger I'd had frozen for months and used the boiled mixture to rinse the honey bottles after I added them to the carboy I ended up dumping out the majority of the boiled solution it was mainly to add some flavoring and nutrients and of course to rinse the honey with the boiling or at least near boiling water as to not waste any I pitched it with the malta I'd put the yeast in it smelled exactly and tasted white a bit like a cheap American lager after 20 hours of yeast raising I poured a bit in a medicine cup to smell and stick my tongue in to find out where it was going as far as flavor , I plan to let it ferment out at least 3-4 weeks then I'm uncertain on this part so far since it is of course for the future but I figure rack it and add great value brand frozen dark sweet cherries a 1 lb bag , and a few hours ago I juiced two more lemons(which were getting soft inside not going bad but definitely getting to where they probably have more sugar than super fresh anyways I juiced 1 sliced a few slices with peel and all out of 1 then juiced the rest of it added a single kumquat that I mutilated well as to get its juices going added 3/8 lb of honey(same type I used in the mead in the fermenter which yes I bought a lot of pure unpasteurized honey at Sam's club) and 2 teaspoons of basil put it all in a gallon sized bag where I juiced the lemons of course anyways mixed that up and threw it in the freezer I kind of plan on when I rack it into secondary ill add both the cherries and this concoction I bagged up and froze in the secondary which of course will add additional fermentables and then I figure I'm going to let it age until the summer at least, I do have a major issue I'm not certain on though the bottom of carboy has really dark part underneath the beginning yeast cake not sure if my honey just got colored in the process and isn't in solution or something but all together it's a 4.7 gallon amount currently I kind of hope for it to become quite dry if not extra dry prior to the secondary with the additions I know the additions really aren't all that much but the goal is a very complex hopefully delicious elixir so any ideas thoughts SUGGESTIONS anything of that sort this is my first mead and I'm pretty new to home brewing beyond simple one juice add sugar type wines but yeah any ideas would be much appreciated

 

[treebeerd]

I honestly don't know how those additions would work together, could be delicious. Obviously this batch is already off the ground and going, but I'd suggest that on your next batch you stick to a fairly simple recipe, maybe even a kit, use a yeast meant to be used with mead (as you know different yeasts are better at eating different sugar sources, and your dry english ale yeast will most likely be better at digesting maltose, and mead yeasts more suited to fructose/glucose) , and learn how to make a simple dry mead before trying another one as complex as the one you are currently doing.

Again though, I'm not all that well informed on meads, so your concoction might be perfectly fine...in which case :rockin: