Jao The Ultimate Beginners Mead Recipe

[d3vour3r]

i plan on going to woolies this arvo to pick up the ingredients for this.

going to use a 5L bottle of spring water and a low pressure oztop for my water and fermentation vessel. will give it a bit of fiz but i dont mind as its easier then drilling a hole and fitting a grommet and airlock etc.

 

[jakub76]

I made a few of these in 2010. I just bought a 4L bottle of water and used that as the brewing water and the fermentation vessel with glad wrap and a rubber band on top - worked great!

I did a side-by-side with baker's yeast and US-05. The US-05 settled out better so was easier to rack and eventually pour, it tasted great even after only 3 months.

I saved a single bottle for a year which I just opened this christmas. It was delicious. Completely clear golden colour with no carbonation. Beautiful, rich fruit cake flavour with some alcohol warmth replacing the zesty, fruity yeast character observed earlier. A real winner - I'll be scaling up this recipe and making more for sure!

 

[leiothrix]

no need for demijohns man, just buy a 15L tub of water comes with a pouring device and water
food safe plastic
all good

Not really the best suggestion in the world for two reasons:

1 -- Mead has a fair amount of alcohol in it which is a pretty good solvent and which the containers aren't made for. Some people aren't worried about this, but I would be.

2 -- Plastic is not air tight. For making beer or something that ferments quickly this isn't a problem. For making wine/mead or anything that takes a long time to ferment glass is the best bet as it is oxygen proof.

 

[GeoffN]

Not really the best suggestion in the world for two reasons:

1 -- Mead has a fair amount of alcohol in it which is a pretty good solvent and which the containers aren't made for. Some people aren't worried about this, but I would be.

2 -- Plastic is not air tight. For making beer or something that ferments quickly this isn't a problem. For making wine/mead or anything that takes a long time to ferment glass is the best bet as it is oxygen proof.

Depends on the type of plastic. Typically water containers are LDPE. Not going to dissolve in even 100% alcohol. However LDPE is not gas tight and so you will get a small and I mean small amount of oxygen getting into your brew. So small that you do not have to worry about it in the slightest.

Use the water container you'll be good.

Another common plastic is PTFE which is what most plastic soft drink bottles and Coopers plastic bottles are made of. Same caveats apply. Coopers bottle have a layer of Nylon in them so I have heard.

 

[GeoffN]

I put one down tonight.

Small batch in a 2 liter flagon that cost $3.50. Missus is watching what I spend on alcohol related things. This one is for her as she likes desert wines and to try and get her to be a little less antagonistic.

1.7 litre total
700g mixed blossom honey from Aldi (500)ml
1/2 cinamon stick
1 small clove
3/8th of a thin skinned orange. I was worried about overly bitter reading through all the posts here
11 Sultanas
1/3 teaspoon Lauke bread yeast

Glad wrap and elastic airlock

Put it under the house as that should keep it cooler this time of year. I may dig it a hole and cover it up if we get some hot weather. I'll wrap it up carefully first. Do not have hydrometer so no OG.

Will check back in in about 3 months.

 

[leiothrix]

I probably should have been more clear -- the containers won't dissolve with ethanol but they will leech 'stuff' into the liquid.

If you leave plain water in a plastic container for a week you can taste the plastic, ethanol just does a better job and is not something i'd want to drink.

PE lets a (relative) lot of air through it. It's ok for a couple of weeks but not for months/years. BetterBottles are PET which has a lot less permeability, which is probobaly ok for mead (though still wouldn't trust it with 95% ethanol). I like glass though for long term storage. No gas transfer, no infection risk either and very easy to clean.

(And BTW i think you meant PET instead of PTFE -- the latter is teflon which you can get bottles made out of but is very expensive).

 

[Golani51]

Mine started bubbling away something chronic after several hours (made a starter) with a multitude of minute bubbles and never seemed to stop. I ended up leaving my gallon for 5 months and it got bitter but I like it. The sweetness from the honey all but disappeared. After a crash chill for a week (buggered it up the first time and had to wait for it to clear again), it was bottled as a beautiful clear apple juice colored liquid. I may have left it too long (dont mind the bitterness though) but it does not seem to have huge flavor. I don't know what I was expecting though. Maybe something llike a sherry. Aroma delicious though. Anyone had the same result?? No alcohol burn but as sweetness gone, it must definitely be there.

 

[nuggetron]

prehaps a stupid question
but what and or how do i get the mead out of the container into bottles once completed?
i went with the cheap 15L bottle of water option if that makes a difference
was thinking once its cleared put the cap back on lay it down on the side wait for it to re clear then use the tap to fill the bottles?

 

[fcmcg]

prehaps a stupid question
but what and or how do i get the mead out of the container into bottles once completed?
i went with the cheap 15L bottle of water option if that makes a difference
was thinking once its cleared put the cap back on lay it down on the side wait for it to re clear then use the tap to fill the bottles?

I siphoned mine out with mysanitised silicon hose into a 5 litre jug...then bottled....
F

 

[tanukibrewer]

Thanks for the recipe!Was bored a couple of Sundays ago and as my fermenter is lagering an AG Kolsch ale I thought I would like to have a crack at something a little different.Had a 15L plastic fermenter that I bought for a Sake project so I upscaled the recipe to about 12L.Still bubbling 8days later,smells good,poured 20ml off and tastes good.Will put in the pantry for a couple of months.
Looking forward to drinking it.
Thanks again

 

[!@~@!]

bottled ours yesterday after it had been in the demi for 3 months. tastes divine. it will make lovely christmas presents in posh bottles.

 

[MaestroMatt]

After reading this entire thread last week, I decided to have a crack at this recipe. I have never had a mead in my life so I have absolutely no idea whether I am going to like it or not, but the ability to taste test after 4-5 months is a much more appealing option than waiting 2+ years.

My variables from the recipe were the following:

Honey: 1.6kg Beechworth Honey from Supermarket. Not sure about the honey but it tastes really nice so I suppose that is important.

Orange: A nice, juicy valencia orange

Yeast: 1 Sachet of Tandaco bread yeast. There was plenty of yeast in 1 sachet to ensure good start to the fermentation.


I had a decent krausen and lots of airlock activity within 2 hours. Now comes the hard part with any kind of brewing - the wait.

MM

 

[GeoffN]

Bottled mine a week ago. Nice!. Wife says I can do another one. She's the only one who tasted it and I'll not feed it to the kids.

Took about 3 months to go clear. If I was doing this to quench my thirst I'd stay with beer. But I had plenty other stuff to drink so no rush.

I'll do it again.

 

[nuggetron]

ok guys so my mead is still fermenting
it went down on boxing day
4 months and 2 weeks or so
it is in the beer fridge but thats only on it the middle of the day for about 3 hours
any ideas?

 

[barls]

what gravity is it at?

 

[nuggetron]

what gravity is it at?

no idea
i will measure that tonight

 

[kaspa07]

Hi all thought I might share my Raspberry Mead recepie

4kg organic wildflower honey
1kg frozen rasberies
CY17 yeast
Yeast nutrient
Teaspoon of tartaric and Malic acid
15lt water

All this fermented well for a 2 weeks plenty of sediment on the bottom of the fermenter

Racked it off into another fermenter using a stocking over the transfer tube to filter out any rassbery bits
Over the space of a month I racked it several times

I was really aiming for something sweet but this turned out to be super dry and I think I added a bit too much acid

My wife got me an oak barrel for my birthday in March so its been sitting in the barrel since then ageing.

When I transfered the mead into the oak barell I backsweetened with about 250g of honey

Its turned out a nice drop though slighty a bit acidic, the raspberry flavour is very suttle and the colour is fantastic

Its my seccond ever mead so im happy with it

 

[barls]

:icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2:

 

[nuggetron]

what gravity is it at?

0.41
i never took an initial measurement
should i treat it as a beer and measure the next two days and see for any changes?

 

[barls]

was it petes recipe you put down or some other one.
if so i would think that 1041 is about half way.