Honey Mead Ale

[brew1000]

As mentioned in my introductory topic I want to make a simple Honey Mead carbonated ale. My first and only Mead Ale was back in 1996 and I was happy with the result. I adapted a modified recipe I found in Keith Linden's Brewing Beer At Home book. (Light Mead Ale)

I used:
1.5 Kg Honey (Generic BiLo brand)
1/2 Teaspoon Citric Acid
2 Packets of Wander beer yeast (total 10 grams)
12 Grams Hop pellets (Was told used for Irish Stouts)
500 Grams white sugar.
1/2 Teaspoon yeast nutrient.
18 Litres water total.

The above is what I recorded but the original recipe called for 1 Teaspoon of Nutrient so not sure if I had actually used 1/2 or 1. It took 3 weeks to ferment, I will use 1 Teaspoon for my next batch. I was happy with the drinking quality.

The next batch I'm going to use:
2 Kg Honey (again a home branded Honey)
3/4 Teaspoon Citric Acid
15 Grams Fuggles Hops pellets
1 Teaspoon Yeast nutrient
Yeast - at this stage 5 Grams of LALVIN EC-1118
1 Kg White sugar
Add water to bring to 23 Litres total

What do others think? Is the Wine yeast ok instead of normal beer yeast? Is 15 Grams of hops enough? I guess I'm looking at around 5% Alcohol on paper?

One more question. I'm using 25 and 30 Litre plastic brew containers with screw in taps. I kept some of my brewing equipment from 1996. One of the items is a plastic insert that fits into the rear of the tap on the inside which has a slot in it that is designed to point upwards to reduce the amount of sediment being dragged in when bottling. I need another one. What is the name of these and where can I source it from?

I look forward to replies as I want to start the Honey Mead Ale soon.

 

[MashBasher]

I’ve made quite a few meads but am by no means an expert. I’ll defer to others here, but here’s a bit of feedback to get you started.

Hops in beer are intended to balance the residual sweetness of the malt with bitterness. Done well, this makes beer superbly drinkable.

Two things are different about mead:

1. Honey is far more fermentable than malt.
2. Some yeasts are able to take up almost all the available fermentables.

This assumes the yeast has sufficient nutrients - once again a difference between beer and mead is that malt (largely) supplies all the nutrients a yeast needs, but honey can not. A teaspoonful of nutrient sounds like heaps In 23 litres.

With the yeast you plan to use (EC-1118 is basically a champagne yeast, so highly alcohol tolerant and a hungry beast) you are probably looking at a very, very dry finish.

You previously used an ale yeast according to your post, which likely had less alcohol tolerance and a less ability to ferment sugars. This probably left a bit more sweetness behind post fermentation.

So personally, I’d back the hops off a bit (I make a similar mead with that yeast without any hops at all and it comes up lovely) until you get a feel for it.

 

[brew1000]

Thanks for your input MashBasher. Makes sense.

The Mead I made back in 96 (that's 1996 and not Number 96) was quite dry and is my preference for wines and beers. When I stopped brewing beer I noticed how much sweeter commercial beers were at the time. I tend to drink Tooeys Extra Dry now.

I don't know about Super dry but I'll stick with the EC-1118 for this lot. So I might back the hops off a bit s you suggest to say 10 grams as it will likely be dryer with the champagne yeast. So many variables so I guess I'll just try it and adjust accordingly.

Still would like an answer concerning the sediment reducer on the tap if any one can help there. I'm assuming these are still used?

 

[MashBasher]

I assume you are boiling everything including hops. Depends on how long you are boiling for, too. If its 45 minutes or more, you will get high bitterness extraction. If its lonly very brief, you will get more aroma/flavour.

Hop interactions are a complex topic and a there’s a bit of a sliding scale going on. So add that into your variables.

Those sediment reducer thingies are largely useless, I find. Try eBay if you must. You will have to buy a whole plastic tap, or try your local home brew shop (LHBS).

As you have two fermenters, an alternative approach could be to ferment until intense activity slows in one (call this primary) and then transfer (avoiding splashing about too much) into the other one (call this secondary). This will leave most of the grunge behind, and should allow you to have a sparkly clear finished volume sitting on a much reduced amount of yeast. All good things.

 

[brew1000]

This is what I recorded for my 1996 batch which more or less follows Keith Linden's instructions in his book:

Crush hop pellets and place in 500mL water, bring to boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Boil 500mL water and add honey, simmer for 15 minutes, skim off froth formed on top.

Add to the wort the strained hops liquid and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Add 500mL cold water, sugar, and citric acid to wort and stir well. Place in fermenter and add remaining water, stir well then pitch yeast and stir well.

I looked on eBay for the sediment reducer but did not locate any mainly because I don't know what name they go by but if my memory serves me correctly the taps came with them when purchased from a Brew shop. My tap and fermenters I picked up from Bunnings but they are not aimed at a brewing audience so don't have it fitted.

When I made the Mead years ago I used a Barnacle Bill fermenter bucket with lid. They used to sell the buckets cheap once all the mayonnaise was used up. I fitted the lid with an air-lock and it seemed to work well. The buckets don't hold as much as a normal fermenter so I made it up to 18 liters in total.

 

[brew1000]

In my old brew gear I saved is a clear PVC tube. I'm pretty sure I had used that to siphon the Mead from the Barnacle fermenter into a regular fermenter fitted with a tap once it became free which would have reduced the sediment pickup. The bottled mead was quite clear and like a bubbly white with nice fine bubbles. It did not last long once I descovered waiting a bit longer in the bottle improved it.

 

[MHB]

Looking at the 23L recipe I get somewhere in the 5.7-6% ABV with EC-1118 perhaps a bit higher.
I to would look at some other yeast, Ale yeast makes esters that have quite a lot of flavour, wine yeasts don’t, well not so much.
Personally I find mead made with Champaign yeast thin and gutless. These days you can get dry mead yeast and several liquid ones, I like strong sweat mead and get there by using a dry mead yeast and feeding it honey until it drowns around 16-17% ABV.
When you say Yeast Nutrient, I hope you are referring to a complex nutrient mix, not just DAP. The latter won’t do you all that much good. Proper yeast nutrients bring protein, sterols, nitrogen, trace elements, vitamins... which yeast needs in a mead. Honey and sugar are pretty much purely a carbohydrate source and leave a lot to be desired.
Mark

 

[brew1000]

@MHB: When you say drowning it at 16-17% ABV I assume you are making a still mead or carbonation using some other method like injecting CO2?

My Mead will be carbonated and I will be using natural carbonation in the bottle method. I don't plan on purchasing any expensive brewing equipment

I think based on what you and MashBasher have stated I will just purchase some normal brewing yeast as that is what I had used originally and keep the hops to the 15 grams.

So I'm looking at "Brigalow Home Brew Brewing Yeast 5g". Should I use one or two packets for the 23 Litres?

As for the Nutrient I was going to try to make my own by boiling up Baker's yeast which I have plenty of and possibly some dried sultanas (I think that has been mentioned on this site). In the end I purchased some DAP. Maybe I should use a combination of all three? My original MEAD the brew shop sold me some Nutrient but I have no idea what it actually contained.

I'm not really into all the Adjuncts that recipes list. I try and stay with the KISS method.

 

[elmoMakesBeer]

Is this the sediment reducer you’re looking for?
https://www.grainandgrape.com.au/pr...rmenter-accessories-drum-tap-sediment-reducerThey also sell it with the tap

 

[brew1000]

Thanks elmoMakesBeer. That is the one I'm looking for. Good price but how much is the postage though. Now that I have some idea of what it's called I searched on eBay for "sediment reducer". There is a listing there for $5 free post in Vic. The postage cost is the killer here (no such thing as free postage). Still I don't think I can improve on that price.

Purchased the eBay one for $4 using an eBay voucher.

 

[MHB]

Just did a Google for brew shops in Adelaide, the first one I opened (Beerbelly) has Sediment Reducers, Yeast Nutrient and dry mead yeast, as well as plenty of other yeasts. You could get all three delivered for one price.
I'm not sure what you mean by not using "all the Adjuncts... listed" about the only thing left is the Citric acid and that is a worthwhile addition.

I think you will make a much nicer mead ale with the recipe as given. Perhaps you could use another kg or so of honey instead of the white sugar. Personally I would try a kg of DME if I were using an ale yeast, all honey if a mead.
Dry malt extract would supply a lot of the nutrients ale yeast needs.
Mead yeast is breed to survive in a honey based must so would be better in an all honey or honey/sugar must.

It’s a pretty good rule of thumb that you get out what you put in, if you concentrate on making the cheapest brew you can, odds on you won’t get the best brew you can.
Invest a bit of time and money in learning what works and buy quality ingredients and you will probably get a better brew.
Mark

 

[brew1000]

I'm not sure what you mean by not using "all the Adjuncts... listed" about the only thing left is the Citric acid and that is a worthwhile addition

I was generalising. (Note the "s" on the end of word "recipe"). I'm not removing anything from the recipe that I posted and the Citric acid is definitely staying. It's mainly just balancing of the ingredients based on the yeast I decide to use.

When I say Adjuncts I mean things like Dextrose instead of white sugar, Brew enhancers, Finings and other such things. I've tried the first two years ago and did not notice any improvement in brewing beer.

So I will change the recipe to use the Brigalow brewing yeast. I might boil up some bread yeast to kill it to add to the DAP for the nutrient. I guess some dried malt as suggested could also be used for that purpose but it's another ingredient I have to purchase and the rest will go off before I get to use it. What about some Oats ground up in my coffee grinder?

The sediment reducer has been ordered and coming so I will use it even if it does very little I can't see it causing any problems.

 

[brew1000]

Before jumping right in doing this Honey Mead ale I decided to do a Brigalow Ginger beer and a couple of Coopers Draught kits first to get used to the bottle cleaning rigmarole so I have some beer ready for Summer. I'm in no rush for the Mead to finish so left it until today to brew.

I also spent quite a bit of time organizing things in my Laundry so that some ply board can sit on the washing machine and another piece on the wash tub to provide work areas. I used an old Microwave mobile stand for the 2 brewing containers.

Here is what I went with today for the Honey Mead ale:

Ingredients:
- 2 Kg 100% pure honey (Drakes “value” brand)
- ¾ Teaspoon McKenzie’s Citric Acid (½ + ¼ Teaspoon)
- 15 grams Fuggles Hops pellets.
- 1 Teaspoon of DAP.
- 10 grams Brigalow Brewing yeast (2 x 5g packets).
- 1 Kg Coles HB white sugar.
- 25 grams of Coles dried Sultanas (boiled).
- 10 grams Lowan Baker’s yeast. (boiled)

For Nutrients I boiled/simmered 10g of Lowan bakers yeast to kill it and 25g dried sultanas for 10 minutes in some water. I used a potato masher to break up the the boiled sultanas and strained with a normal kitchen strainer. The pulp was discarded. I also used 1 teaspoon of DAP which I added to the wort later.

The Hops pellets were boiled in some water and strained with the kitchen food strainer. The liquid was added to the second simmering process for the Honey.

I basically followed the instructions as mentioned in Keith Linden’s Brewing beer at home book.

Litres: 23
Yeast pitching temp: 25C
OG: 1044

@MashBasher: I could not use the sediment reducer because of the design of the container although I could probably make it fit but I decided to skip using it. I agree that they are "largely useless", Theory is good though but the tap outlet height is way above the sediment anyway. I had no issues bottling my GB and Cooper's kits.

 

[brew1000]

This brew fermented for 18 days with temperature around 18-23C over that time. So pretty close to 3 weeks. The FG was measured to be around -1 or -2. I will sample a bottle every now and again.

 

[brew1000]

I'm having problems with carbonation. I used 3gm of castor sugar in 345 mL crown twist top bottles. Below is part of my log for this batch...

2021/12/07 (13 days) Chilled a cleared bottle. Lid tight to open but very little carbonation and taste is not as I hoped. May just need more time for both these issues to improve. Possibly missed priming. Give this another week or two to improve. It is possible the bottle was not primed. If still have problems later may need to carefully empty all into a ferment-er to “rack” and add another lot of priming sugar when bottling. This bottle was not very pleasant to drink so tipped the remainder out. (see next entry)

2021/12/07 (13 days) Chilled another bottle but picked one that has a lot of sediment (last fills). Lid tight and good gas release on opening. This one was well carbonated when poured. Flavour same as above so as stated before leave for taste to improve. This seems to follow my brew from 1996 where it also needed more time to condition in the bottle for the taste.

2021/12/15 (21 days) Chilled a cleared bottle. Another basically flat bottle with only some residual carbonation. Another 2 bottles placed in freezer to chill. Opened one and that was flat too so I put the other back in the box. Don’t know what to do really, might just need more time to carbonate and the one with sediment had more yeast for carbonation to occur quickly.

I'm not so concerned about the taste at this stage as I know it needs time to settle down but the lack of carbonation concerns me. The Mead fully fermented out after two and a half weeks. The only thing I think might explain what is happening is that the bottle that had been filled with lots of sediment had plenty of active yeast in it so was able to carbonate after a couple of weeks. With the others there is very little sediment. Could it be these are going to take much longer for the yeast to build up and multiply to create the required carbonation?

 

[yankinoz]

That's more than enough sugar. What temp were the bottles carbonating at?

Optimal temps to wake up most yeasts are well over 20, regardless of the optimum during primary fermentation. Warm and wait. Keep the bottles in a warm place, sleep with them under the blankets, whatever.

 

[brew1000]

The carbonation temps will have been 20-28C during the day especially the last 2 week, Overnight temps can get down to around 16C. All my other brews are conditioning in the same room and not having any issues with carbonation.

I'm wondering if I should give the bottles a shake to get the yeast up and active again. The primary fermentation finished completely and FG was < 1000 and no bubbling in airlock was an initial indication it had completed. I'm thinking the bottle that had lots of sediment and I mean lots about 10mm was well and truly carbonated and that had plenty of active yeast. The mead in the bottles is very clear. I have another 3 bootles that have a lot of sediment as they were the last ones bottled. I will chill one of those off and see if it is carbonated.

 

[yankinoz]

The carbonation temps will have been 20-28C during the day especially the last 2 week, Overnight temps can get down to around 16C. All my other brews are conditioning in the same room and not having any issues with carbonation.

I'm wondering if I should give the bottles a shake to get the yeast up and active again. The primary fermentation finished completely and FG was < 1000 and no bubbling in airlock was an initial indication it had completed. I'm thinking the bottle that had lots of sediment and I mean lots about 10mm was well and truly carbonated and that had plenty of active yeast. The mead in the bottles is very clear. I have another 3 bootles that have a lot of sediment as they were the last ones bottled. I will chill one of those off and see if it is carbonated.

Nighttime temps may have dropped yeast. Hard to tell. Sure, try shaking. What do you have to lose? Repriming with yeast would be laborious. If you add more s,ugar, you might get gushers or bombs.

Smoothing day and temps is good practice. If you can't use an old fridge, crowd the bottles together, put them in big boxes, throw blankets over them at night, whatever is appropriate in your situation.

 

[brew1000]

I gave them all a "5 pin" earlier today just to speed the process up (temp = 25.9 and now 26.9 C). Time will tell. Unfortunately it sort off resets the clock so need to wait another 3 weeks. I will check progress before then though.

These are all beer bottles and live in their original boxes.