Heads Up On Honey

[Bribie G]

I'm not a braggot afficianado although wouldn't mind doing a mead and putting it down for christmas.

I was in ALDI today and bought a 500g jar of honey for $2.99. Wow, it only seems yesterday that honey was selling for ten bucks a kilo...

At six dollars a kilo that's half the price of a tin of goo for any bragotteers out there.

How many kilos would I need for 24 litres of mead??

 

[chappo1970]

OT: Bribie I get my honey from a dude at the Caboolture markets he sells it in bulk to me for my ginger beer. Your a stones throw away fron there being at Bribie. I only pay $5.00 per kilo and he has an excellent selection. He will charge a little more if you don't have your own container. I mainly use the ironbark in my GB because it's a very strong flavoured honey and comes thru well at the end.

I am interested in a Mead as well but haven done much research into it yet so sorry I can't answer your OP.

 

[Sunshine_Brewer]

http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/The-Jam...l-Show-12-01-08

Are you sure Bribie!

 

[newguy]

I've made 2 meads. In the first I used 7kg of honey and diluted to a final volume of ~21l of mead with an OG of 1.120. For the second I used one ice cream pail full of honey, which, when I account for the empty space at the top, was about 4.3l of honey (which I never bothered to weigh). I diluted this to a final mead volume of 20l, which had an OG of 1.090.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bribie G]

Thanks guys. I suppose you would need a pretty good wine yeast and some yeast nutrient, I'll download that Jamil show and have a listen. Also I had never thought of a honey ginger beer, don't mind the GB ... I'll pick your brains if your'e at BABBs this week, Chappo.

 

[brettprevans]

newguy. no mention of whether they were any good? still got a recipe?

 

[chappo1970]

... mead with an OG of 1.120

Holy unheard of gravity BATMAN! :blink:

I have to get my finger out and do some research on this Mead stuff now.

Newguy how successful where your meads?

 

[newguy]

BribieG: I used run-of-the-mill dried yeast for both (2 sachets). Both turned out great. I like sweeter meads and they both turned out medium-sweet.

citymorgue2: Add honey to pot, add water to 20l, bring to 80C to pasteurise, cool, pitch yeast. Simple!

 

[chappo1970]

...Add honey to pot, add water to 20l, bring to 80C to pasteurise, cool, pitch yeast. Simple!

Even I can do that! CM2 might struggle thou?

 

[brettprevans]

<_< chappo. can you help me out. re pitching yeast. so I chuck it somewhere. like in baseball? when im cooling the wort should I add kittens? h34r:

A mead might be a simple brew for the missus to try while i source some lemonade lemons for an alcoholic lemonade brew

Edit: Theres a winery in the Barossa that makes mead. i believe that they are one of only 2 places in Aust that make mead commercially. Its actually really good stuff now that I remember it.

Edit Edit: Chateau Dorrien is the palce. The Scarlet mead is great

Edit Edit Edit: im thinking
4L honey diluted to 17L
3L water for steeping of grain
300g choc grain
50g black patent.
200g Melanoidin malt
5 cinanmon quills in the boil.
10 cloves in the boil.

 

[Supra-Jim]

The Jamil show on Mead is actually a very good episode.

From memory, their guest recommends using an electric mixer/beater to dissolve the honey in water. He does not use heat!!

Also he recommended regularly adding yeast nutrient, as honey contains virtually nothing for the yeast (other than fermentables). So he had a schedule for adding nutrient either every day or every second day.

:icon_cheers: SJ

 

[chappo1970]

A mead might be a simple brew for the missus to try while i source some lemonade lemons for an alcoholic lemonade brew

OT: Hey wow CM2 get that on another thread ASAP mate I've got interest in that one as well!

 

[brettprevans]

OT - see this. Ive got a recipe in mind but its on the home PC. will PM it once I find it.

 

[chappo1970]

OT - see this. Ive got a recipe in mind but its on the home PC. will PM it once I find it.

Cheers CM2 much appreciated.

Is there a website I go to find out more on mead etc that anyone knows of?

I tried a Mead a few months back, can't tell you what is was, but at the time I was nievely thinking it was a form of beer or ale. I did really like it though I must say.

Bribie not probs mate see ya a BABBS.

 

[brettprevans]

Brewboard

 

[brettprevans]

at the risk of starting something given the backlash on bulk buys recently.

Archibald Honey sell what sounds like a good braggot/mead money in 27kg containers or larger (the sbl honey). bulk buy anyone h34r: ?
I'll contact them and see what their prices are.

 

[Supra-Jim]

bulk buy anyone h34r: ?

Ssshhh!!! You're not supposed to say that word here. Don't you know everytime an AHB member posts 'that' phrase, a wholesaler steps on a kitten!!!

:icon_cheers: SJ

 

[chappo1970]

Damn it you guys are in Melbourne... Qlders we are just too lazy to organise a BB. I would be keen to give it a go regardless. Anyone else interested in having a run at a mead at the same time to compare notes?

 

[chappo1970]

....a wholesaler steps on a kitten!!!

Bwahahahah! :lol:

I think I am now officially off the hit list... been replace by SJ!

 

[brettprevans]

a wholesaler steps on a kitten!!!

bahahahha. gold.

there's also a place in blackburn (5 minutes from my house) called leawood honey. They are getting back to me on a price list.

I'll start a new thread in BB (abreviated to save kittens) when i get the price lists.

Chappo. When i did the search for honey wholsesalers/suppliers there were quoite a few up in QLD. so you shouldnt have any issues. just got to find someone to organise it.