My First mead

[Chef-Ryan]

Well my First batch of mead is going. Its a simple straight recipe.. i sanitized the kitchen then washed and sanitized everything with Io San then made my 1 gallon batch, its been about 2ish hours since i Pitched the yeast ( I had heated the water and honey not to a boil or simmer but mix everything happily then cooled it to about 27 degrees C and I'm not concerned since yeast dies at about 60d C) and its bubbling up a storm already. I was unable to get a SG because i broke my hydrometer when In the middle of making my must .

 

[jonmohno]

You can still get an idea close of your SG, how much honey?

 

[Jobe5217]

Well my First batch of mead is going. Its a simple straight recipe.. i sanitized the kitchen then washed and sanitized everything with Io San then made my 1 gallon batch, its been about 2ish hours since i Pitched the yeast ( I had heated the water and honey not to a boil or simmer but mix everything happily then cooled it to about 27 degrees C and I'm not concerned since yeast dies at about 60d C) and its bubbling up a storm already. I was unable to get a SG because i broke my hydrometer when In the middle of making my must .

Good luck! I just brewed my first beer and I am already thinking of branching into mead.

 

[Chef-Ryan]

a little over 3.5lbs for a 1gal batch

 

[Chef-Ryan]

1.126 based off 3.5lbs for 1gal ( if i used the got mead calc properly)

 

[jonmohno]

What yeast.? Sounds good so far.

 

[Chef-Ryan]

some may cry but it was a lalvin EC-1118 but the recipe i have calls for a champagne yeast

 

[Chef-Ryan]

note to self.... don't take a smell of the must before stirring it.. concentrated CO2 and other off gassing from fermentation burns the nose.

 

[sweetcell]

some may cry but it was a lalvin EC-1118 but the recipe i have calls for a champagne yeast

EC-1118 *is* a champagne yeast...

 

[Goofynewfie]

1.126 based off 3.5lbs for 1gal ( if i used the got mead calc properly)

That sounds about right, my last 1g batch was about 3.25lbs of honey and the gravity was 1.118

 

[Chef-Ryan]

EC-1118 *is* a champagne yeast...

I know but Some people have said champagne yeast is bad for mead. I was just saying I was only following the recipe since it my first batch and am not going to try to re-invent the wheel.

 

[Goofynewfie]

I use a champagne yeast for my meads - lavlin k1v- 1116. Its not that all champagne yeast are bad, its just that ec-1118 has a reputation as a fast ferment that does not retain many subtle flavors as a result.

 

[fatbloke]

I use a champagne yeast for my meads - lavlin k1v- 1116. Its not that all champagne yeast are bad, its just that ec-1118 has a reputation as a fast ferment that does not retain many subtle flavors as a result.

K1V isn't champagne yeast. It's Montpellier strain. Just that it happens to be good for meads and doesn't blow all the aromatics and volatile flavours out the airlock. Very good esters when fermented at the lower temps but also has just about the widest temp range so handy for those in warmer locations.

Low nutrient requirements, and the competitive "killer" factor so little problem with contaminant wild yeast......

 

[Goofynewfie]

I was told it was a champagne ( on this forum ) and never questioned it. I thought it was due to the higher alc tolerance. Am I mistaken?

 

[fatbloke]

I was told it was a champagne ( on this forum ) and never questioned it. I thought it was due to the higher alc tolerance. Am I mistaken?

High tolerance no, location yes.

Montpellier is Languedoc. ..vvv south.

Champagne is north.....

 

[Chef-Ryan]

Day 3.. I am at 1.100 .. looks to be progressing well and still pretty active yeast (had to edit apparently had to settle a bit more for better reading)

 

[Chef-Ryan]

"Let the mead ferment for 1 week, stirring daily with a sanitized spoon. Then transfer the mead into a 1-gallon jug for the secondary fermentation" The Idea of just a 1 week primary sounds too short, or am i nuts?

 

[FermentusMaximus]

The best bet is to take gravity readings. I'm fermenting my first batch of mead right now (a cyser) and I've had it in there for a week and a day already. I took a gravity reading yesterday and I'm at just about 9%abv. I'm shooting for around 16 so I'd say about a week and a half to three weeks as a rule of thumb.

 

[FermentusMaximus]

That being said...I've read that many people let their mead sit for months in primary before racking without problems.

 

[Chef-Ryan]

Update .. day 7 (+/- a few hours) I am at a gravity of 1.058.. and based on the estimated gravity the recipe gave me (since my hydrometer broke during my sanitizing... oopps) of 1.145 I am sitting about 11.2% alc ... how low should i go before I rack off to secondary to help with the clearing?

 

[Goofynewfie]

I do mine around 1.040ish. I cant see any harm if you were to do today.

 

[sweetcell]

but is there any harm in waiting longer? does one need to rack before FG is reached?

i've read that a lot of people leave their meads in primary for a month or more. seems to me that racking after only 7 days might lead to attenuation problems... but what do i know.

 

[Goofynewfie]

Sorry....Forget what I said..... I had a brain fart. I do my wines @1.040ish.
You should leave your mead on the yeast cake to maintain as many yeast as possible. If you rack it off the cake you increase the chances of having a stalled fermentation. it is okay to transfer it to a secondary and put it under airlock as long as you transfer as much of the yeast cake as possible with it.

 

[Chef-Ryan]

That's what I thought... I will wait till it is as close to final gravity as possible and then rack it.. I'm in no rush just asking lots of questions since the recipe is kinda vague in the details lol.. Plus it is my first batch

 

[fatbloke]

If SG was indeed then from published data, FG is 1.008 because a 133 point drop equates to about 18% ABV which is the published tolerance. ....some batches can exceed that a little.

I'd just leave it be until it stops bubbling, in the meantime you should get another hydrometer and then it'll need three identical
results ea test taken 2 or 3 days apart so all 3 are across a week to consider it finished.

 

[Chef-Ryan]

I have indeed since replaced the hydrometer I just didn't have it for Initial Reading. Thanks everyone I just wanted to confirm my assumptions that you rack off primary when the actual fermentation is complete then work on aging and clearing.

 

[Chef-Ryan]

Jost posting It now to keep more then one redundant backup of my progress and maybe its helping other first timers who knows... but as of today I am at 1.036 gravity so based on the estimated SG of 1.145 I am at about 13.8% alc and its going good

 

[Chef-Ryan]

Now at 1.028... 14.8% .. it stalled for a day or 2 there then when i checked on it this morning it was moving the airlock again.. i guess it must of given it a nice bit of a stir with the testing. On a Side note .. it tastes good ... yeasty but good . I am excited to see how this one will go.

 

[fatbloke]

Sod just posting to keep it a current thread.......

I always try to look back, as it shows me whether any input I might have made may have helped some.

I don't post for the benefit of my health, I like to hope that my comments might have helped......

Plus its gratifying to read that we're managing to spread the word and wisdom......

 

[Chef-Ryan]

I Honestly Dont care if my thread is current, Only really interested in the feed back I get. I am an over analytical person and If I end up with a major problem, stall or screw up. I like to have the possibility of people having a general idea where my error might be. In part its my OCD about keeping people informed of the progress, and other part is just excitement of it progressing nicely since this is my first batch.