Mead making for the beginner

This article is for people interested in getting started brewing mead. Mead making is just as complex a topic as making wine or beer and these are just some basics. For more information please read The Complete Meadmaker by Ken Schramm or one of the resources listed at the end of the article. We also reference mead kits if you like that approach.

What is Mead?

Mead or Honey wine is basically fermented honey. Mead, like beer, has many subcategories depending on what else you put in the mead. (ex. wikipedia's mead variants) A memomel is a mead with fruit for example. We'll be just covering traditional mead (just honey) and some memomel topics.

Terminology

  • Must - the mixed honey and water mixture (or grape juice if making wine). Analogus to wort in beer making.
  • Pitching - when you put the yeast into the must.
  • Fining - the clearing of the wine by settling or use of an agent

How much does it make?

As much as you want however most recipes are for 6 to 5 gallons witch makes about 5 wine bottles per gallon. You can also do small batches in one, two and three gallon sizes pretty easily. If you think you will be doing smaller batches I would recomend a 3 gallon glass carboy for the most flexibility. These usually come in the ice wine kits or can be used with them.

About honey?

Honey is to mead as the grapes are to wine. The variety and quality of honey affect the flavors of your mead. Below are just a few honey varieties you may find around here.

  • wildflower - usually meaning there is no single source the bees use.
  • clover - the bees primarily get the nectar from clover flowers
  • orange blossom - the bees primarily get the nectar from the blossoms on orange trees

Where to get honey?

You want to use quality honey in your mead making.  Honey from the grocery store will work but you may find the aroma and flavor to be lacking. I also like to support our local beekeepers.

What yeast to use?

Most mead makers use wine yeasts. However there are 50+ wine yeasts. Wyeast and White labs both sell specific mead yeasts for both dry and sweet meads. These are a good start. I have had great success with the wine yeast Lalvin 71B-1122 and have heard that American Ale Beer Yeast like Wyeast 1056 also works well for lower alcohol (less than 12%) meads. I personally would not use champange yeast.

Always rehydrate your yeast.

Despite what the package may say, you always want to rehydrate your beer and wine dry yeast. It will greately increase the cell count that survives pitching. Even better is to use something like Go-Ferm or Nutriferm which is a hydration supplement.

Mead kits

Nothern brewer has some mead kits designed by award winning mead makers.

Midwest supplies also has a good selection mead kits.

The basic process

  • Boil method - starting out you may want to boild your honey for 10 -15 minutes as a pasturization step. Heat water, add the honey while off the burner and bring to boil. However many mead makers are now using a no boil method.
  • No boil method - heat water to about 170 and pour the water into the fermenter with some honey. Whip and add more honey and repeat until done.
  • Pitching yeast
  • Fermentation
  • De-gassing during fermentation
  • Nutrient additions during fermentation
  • Fining (clearing)
  • De-gassing
  • Bottling - you can use beer bottles, wine bottles, swing top beer bottles, or screw top wine bottles.

 

De-gassing

This is usually done before you add nutrients the first couple times. Use a wine whip or something. Careful as the mead will foam up. You also want to de-gas before bottling. I use a vacuum method rather than a wine whip.

Nurient

Honey has very little nutrients for your yeast. You will want to use some kind of yeast nutrient. The standard "Yeast Nutrient" will work or you can also get Fermaid K and DAP.  I add nutrients at 24 hours from start and 48 hours however you should read up on staggered nutrient additions if you are really in to this.

Fermentation

Try to keep the fermentation at a stable temp and not up and down. Starting off cool and letting it ramp up slowely will help.

Fining (clearing)

 You do not have to use fining agents however there are many nice products out there. Let your mead ferment for a three to four weeks to settle. Then rack to another container but keep it topped up to the smallest amount of air. You can do this every couple months to clear the mead or use a fining agent.

Aging

 If you have used good fermentation temp management, staggered nutirent additions and a good yeast you might have drinkable mead in three to four months. However meads will get better with age.

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