Raw Honey Mead, also my first

[FantasticBastard]

I have 17lbs of raw honey sitting in the pantry that I've been dying to do something with. Now I've got an empty 6 gal carboy so it's time to get my mead on but I haven't seen much about using raw honey.

It seems like most people use nothing but raw honey and water, being careful not to boil the honey. Is there anything in particular that I need to be wary of when using raw honey? Can I just use raw honey in place of another honey in any recipe I want? Do you guys have any favorite raw honey mead recipes?

Any help here would be much appreciated.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

15lbs in a lil more than 4 gallons will put u near if not over 5 gallons with a Og of ~1.105 and and average ABV of 12% if fermented dry and back sweetened to taste with the other 2lbs.
I did a 6 gallon turned out to 10.5% split in to 6 1 gallon secondaries and flavored with apple/cinn, habernero, pomegrante, traditional, blueberry/lemon, and raspberry/lime
7 months in the bottle coming close to opening one and deciding a solid flavor for a 5 gallon batch.

good luck!

edit: i realize now u asked about raw honey, i would assume its fine because honey is a natural antibacterial, nothing can live in a solution with such lil moisture.

 

[FantasticBastard]

I'm not very concerned about contamination with the raw honey, I'm more curious about the flavor profile that it will impart and any special consideration I need to keep in mind because of it.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

I'm not very concerned about contamination with the raw honey, I'm more curious about the flavor profile that it will impart and any special consideration I need to keep in mind because of it.

i used 15lbs of orange blossom and noticed little to no citrus flavors or aroma...im not sure how the traditional (plain) is going to turn out but i would think that its not going to score to high against the other "flavored" batchs.

i had additions as lemon/lime and blueberry/raspberry but fliped it to blueberry/lemon and raspberry/lime...the rasp/lime smelled and tasted amazing but had that "hot" backbone to it still

pick your favorite fruit and add 3-5 pounds to it for a nice subtle flavor.

 

[aceparadis]

Nutrients, Nutrients, Nutrients !!!!

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Nutrients, Nutrients, Nutrients !!!!

yes forgot about that...used almost double what an ale brew calls for...HEAPING TSPS!! honey does not have the nutrients that malt does for healthy yeast growth

 

[fatbloke]

Well it depends on how nice tasting the raw honey is, but it should normally make for a nice traditional with a full range of aromatics and flavours, as long as you don't heat it.

I'd suggest that you used 15lb of it made up to 5 gallons and ferment dry (using something like K1-V1116 or D21), then once it's done, use the other 2lb for back sweetening.

Of course, as it'd be a traditional, it will need some ageing, I'm thinking IRO a year or so.

There's little point in using fruit additions as they'll only cover up aromatics, flavours etc.

You could split it as already suggested and flavour some with fruit or spices (or both), but I'd keep at least one gallon as traditional dry, another gallon back sweetened to, say 1.010 -1.015 area for a medium sweet traditional and then play with the rest......

Don't forget, that if you add any fermentables after the ferment is complete, you will need to stabilise it with sulphites (campden tablets or powdered) and sorbate.