Questions tagged [mead]
Mead is a fermented beverage that uses honey as the primary source of fermentable sugars.
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My mead has a lower ABV than I hoped
I'm brewing a solera mead experiment at home. It's on a six month rotation, so every six months I make a new batch, let that sit for a month, and them go down the line bottling the oldest and ...
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Mixed Berry Cherry Mead fermentation issue
I'm fairly new to homebrewing, I am making my second batch which is a 1.5 gallon batch. Seeing as how my first batch was very sweet, but not so much alcoholic I decided to make my next batch with more ...
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Did I totally mess up making mead for my first time?
I read several recipes and talked with people at my local brew shop and thought I had a pretty good idea of how to make my first batch of mead but after I've already got it going I'm now over thinking ...
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Distilled honey spirit needs an official name
I am relatively new to the world of personal home brewing. I have always gravitated towards mead and my next venture ought to be distilling some.
I've read through lots of articles and threads on the ...
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gravity rising, no airlock activity
fermenting a bochet, I dropped a bluetooth hydrometer in the must and started with a gravity reading of 1.128. Pitched lalvin EC-1118, and over a day the gravity has gone up to 1.144. I've heard that ...
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Mold or Floating Yeast?
There is floating debris in my mead—Is this a cause for concern?
Some context: I fermented honey water with Red Star Premier Blanc wine yeast, nearly 4 weeks ago. Two weeks ago, I transferred the mead ...
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No airlock movement but I can see bubbling in the mead
After 4 days my mead started to sparkle and I can see Co2 bubbles forming pretty fast but it's the second week now and there is no bubbling in my airlock or even a pressure build up. I know it's ...
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Is there any potential risk in making beer/mead in the same way as it was done in historical recipes?
To preface, I have zero experience with homebrewing. I mainly am interested in these recipes specifically because they seem super simple and don't require any specialty equipment.
I enjoy watching ...
user19792
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My mead has no alcohol, but a lot of sediment
I started making my very first mead. I took 1kg of pure single-flower honey and 2.5L of water (actually, not tap water but a bottled one). According to the suggestions, I did:
Warm 1L up to almost 50 ...
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ABV question in 5 gallon melomel batch
I started a melomel batch two weeks ago. Below are a list of batch details:
5 gallon batch
frozen blueberries (roughly 4-5lbs per gallon)
18.5 lbs of honey (raw, unpasteurized honey from my fathers ...
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Is this Campden safe to use?
Campden was really hard to find in the country I am currently in. Thus a friend arranged it from a lab supplier.
As it shows 10ppm max lead on the label, would it be toxic to use?
Also could you ...
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No more bubbling after a week
I have made mead a few times with perfect results. This time I tried a Cyser in a 1 gal batch. I followed a recipe that, based on the notes, had good results from others. 1 Gal of 100% apple juice, ...
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Sour/musty tasting mead
My son and I tried our hand at mead for the first time... I didn't notice a lot of bubbling I thought that it wasn't fermenting correctly but my son thought differently, he's 17. Lol
But when we went ...
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High final Brix reading, 1.00 SG
I recently received a refractometer and tried it out on a batch of mead that has been in secondary for about 3 months.
I took a reading of some distilled water, both read 1.00. I then dissolved 30g of ...
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Safe distilling of mead?
Does distilling mead produce methanol/how much comes off in the first run? So much conflicting info!
18l (ish) of mead started through a pot still & thumper keg until 1.8l (ish) distillate ...
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Best yeast to make a sweeter mead
I've just about finished my first attempt at mead. I'm now thinking about my second batch.
The yeast I have used is pretty aggressive, Bulldog mead yeast, so was wondering if anyone has some better ...
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Gravity goals for mead in primary?
I'm brewing mead for the first time, having successfully brewed beer a number of times.
Right out the gate I had trouble with a strong unpleasant odor. Frantic research suggested that the yeast was ...
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Stalled mead fermentation
I have a stalled cherry mead fermentation.This is my first attempt at brewing mead so am hoping I can get it going again.
I have used 3lbs honey to 2lbs cherries. My yeast is bulldog mead yeast and ...
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Bentonite AND Sparkolloid [duplicate]
I know from previous questions that you can use both Bentonite followed by Sparkolloid in the same mead. Am I correct in thinking the best process would be add bentonite, give a week, RACK OFF THE ...
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Can you use bentonite before fermentation? Conflicting sources
Can you use bentonite before fermentation, or must it be used after fermentation? This source says you can use it before pitching yeast. https://winemakersacademy.com/bentonite-clarify-wine/
Some kit ...
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I forgot to take my first Gravity reading
I am making my first batch of mead ima first time brewer and I forgot to take my first gravity reading what should I do?
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Caramel Coffee Mead
I'm looking into brewing a mead in the near future. I have exactly 0 experience brewing anything. I'm going to buy a store-bought brewing kit in the next few weeks if everything lines up.
I'm ...
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How to calculate ABV% with step feeding
I would like to make a high ABV mead, and plan to divide the honey into 3 or 4 increments for the yeast. This has to be done so that the yeast are not under stress from osmotic pressure. However, I ...
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How to approximate when half the sugar has been fermented
The EC-1118 datasheet suggests a procedure wherein you pitch the full amount of yeast in 10% of the total volume of your liquid, and let it ferment until approximately half the sugar is used up, and ...
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Cold Crashing Mead. Need help with details
How long should I cold crash a mead for?
Is it possible to get haze in the mead from being cold crashed too long?
The yeast is 71B, and it is one gallon. I had to take the airlock off to put it in ...
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Fruit flies in airlock led to contamination
I have some mead and cider going, and left for a month. When I returned there was a layer of white mold that ive heard referred to as air mold. I think it is because fruit flies got in the airlock and ...
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Bottling Advice
I am bottling my first wine soon. However, I am not sure if I should invest in a winged corker, or a floor corker. What are the pros and cons of each, and which should I invest in?
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Will this work?
If I make 1.25 gallons of mead with Lalvin 71B, and put half in one gallon carboy for secondary and half in another gallon carboy. To fill the carboy I will use fruit juice or fresh fruit, possibly ...
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Will this spoil?
Mead in secondary, looks to be going well. However, the lighting isn't totally dark. Also, there is a single dog hair in the carboy, but not touching the mead. There seems to be very little oxygen, ...
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Removing carbonation in mead
I'm making my first batch of mead, and just racked it over for the first time about 2 weeks ago. It's clearing just fine, but it's pretty carbonated.
I'm not sure what to do about the carbonation. ...
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Very fine wax in Mead
Was given a 1/2 bucket of crystalized honey and so made Mead.
Used Champagne yeast, Original Gravity 1.092, Final Gravity 0.996.
My sort of problem is : there seems to be a 'sediment'. AT THE TOP!
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How will I calculate ABV if I had to add honey in the middle of a stuck fermentation?
I created a lemon/ginger/carrot mead and started with SG 1.120. I used a mead calculator (https://gotmead.com/blog/the-mead-calculator/) to factor in the sugars in the carrot. However, the ...
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Balloon-airlock filling up fast
So I’m making some very simple mead (it’s my first time) and I use a balloon on top of my “container” to make sure it doesn’t blow up. But the balloon has already been blown up quite significantly in ...
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How can I make maple bacon mead?
I never made a beverage with meat in it so I'm a little scared. I think I can bake the bacon to make it crispy, then crumble it into the mead. Will it be safe to sit for a month of fermenting? Is that ...
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How does one apply nutrient to a mead brew
My wife discovered that the mead we are brewing smells a bit off, and a book we have on the topic suggest we may not have applied enough micronutrient. Any suggestions on getting more in? We have ...
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Batch Management - How do you manage your batches for container volume?
So what do you feel is the best way to manage batch sizes?
Personally make oversize batches and try to fit it in the largest carboy I have. For subsequent rackings, I will size the carboy down a size ...
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How do you feel about Swing Top wine bottles?
The question says it all. I am sure they are great for wines that will be consumed young, but what about for wines you are going to store for longer periods of time? Months, years?
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Why didn't my ABV reach the yeast's limits?
I fermented some 5 gallon mead from SG 1.146 to FG 1.058, but two calculators ([1], [2]) said the ABV was 11.7% - 11.9%. The yeast I used (Lalvin K1-V116 [3]) is rated up to 18% ("Alcohol tolerance up ...
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Baloon air lock not inflating after second day
I'm making mead for the first time. I used bakers yeast and a baloon as an air lock . The tutorial said that the yeast will be off gasing for 3 weeks but my mead only off gased the first day. Now it's ...
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Inconsistent specific gravity readings
I'm getting inconsistent specific gravity readings.
6-25: 1.116 @ 74.3F (after pitching yeast)
6-26: 1.120 @ 71.2F, pH 4.25
7-1: 1.111 @ 70.2F, pH 4.0
7-3: 1.122 @ 70.9F, pH 3.75
I have a spigot ...
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Can you use bentonite and Sparkaloid at the same time?
Can you use bentonite and Sparkaloid to clarify at the same time?
Can they be used in the primary fermentation bucket or must they be used after racking?
How long does each require to work?
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Does chlorine kill yeast?
Does chlorine in tap water kill yeast? Does chloramine kill yeast? Specifically Lalvin 71B wine yeast? Is it OK to use filtered tap water (Culligan filter) to re-hydrate yeast?
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Why is oxygen bad for mead?
I see comments on YouTube about how oxygen is bad for mead. However, according to Wikipedia, oxygen is good for yeast to develop resistance to alcohol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
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Can I use oxygen tablets or liquid oxygen to oxygenate my water for yeast fermentation in mead?
I see 'bait buddies' and 'liquid oxygen' supplements. Can I use these to oxygenate the water to give the yeast nutrients when starting mead fermentation? None of them really say the actual ...
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I need help with my mead. Did i go wrong?
So i just started making my homemade mead for first time and i had been fermenting it for 3 weeks. But it has stopped bubbling and i was worried it stopped carbonating and it smells like strong wine ...
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Doubling a mead recipe
If I double a mead recipe, do I need to double the yeast I put in to have the same fermentation time?
I'm doubling a small batch from a half gallon to a gallon, would I need to add a second packet?
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Hibiscus mead changed color after adding yeast nutrient
I'm making an hibiscus-tea mead. The tea/honey mixture had a really nice red color. But after I added the yeast nutrient, the color turned black. The nutrient I'm using is LD Carlson Yeast Nutrient (...
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Stuck Mead Fermentation?
Obligatory: This is my first batch of Mead and I'm still learning the ropes. If I've made any critical mistakes, please point them out but do know: odds are, I had no idea of that particular issue.
I'...
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Why is my mead overflowing with foam?
The mead is made with steeped hibiscus leaves and hops which was added to honey and a crushed nutmeg when it cooled down some. When it was the right temperature, I added the yeast and aerated it. I ...
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Adding pectic enzyme to mead
I do not have any pectic enzyme and want to start a mead batch today. Can it be added later as there is no supply distributor in my town