# Orange Blossom Honey Mead



## dfwwino (Aug 17, 2006)

I'm starting an orange blossom honey mead. I like my wines and mead on the dry side. Will making the mead dry minimize the orange blossom aroma?


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## pkcook (Aug 18, 2006)

DFW,


Where do you get your honey?


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## masta (Aug 18, 2006)

I have made some fairly dry with OB honey and it still had a good aroma and some of comes from how much aroma the honey has to start with. I thinkwhat hurts the aroma the most is heating the honey as many recipes instruct you to do.


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## dfwwino (Aug 18, 2006)

pkcook: I purchased the honey from a supplier on EBay -- Abigail's Honey Farm in California. I bought 12.5 lbs for $21.95 plus $8.50 shipping. She has orange blossom, raspberry blossom and alfalfa available for purchase.


Masta: Would you start the mead with no heating at all or at least heating to 160 F to pasteurize?


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## masta (Aug 18, 2006)

When making mead I choose not to heat the honey at all since it has naturally antibiotic qualities and don't want to lose any of the aromas. If making a melomel with fresh/frozen fruit then you want to add sulfite as you would with wine.
I do add some sulfite and sorbate when sweeting before bottling just for added insurance.


Check this article I wrote for a past newsletter on making mead:


http://www.finevinewines.com/Introduction-to-making-mead.htm


I have also bought honey from Abigail's Honey Farm since it is an excellent value and top quality product.


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## dfwwino (Aug 21, 2006)

Thank you Masta. I did not have time yesterday to start the mead, so hopefully this evening we will have a successful launch. I'll place the 12.5 lb container in a sinkof hot water to make it more fluid, pour it into the fermenter, add the ingrediants and yeast and see what happens.


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## dfwwino (Aug 22, 2006)

By the way, how do you access the introduction to making mead page from the FineVineWines home page?


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## masta (Aug 22, 2006)

Click on Resources on left hand column below the FVW logo on the home page then on 4th line down click on Featured Articles Database to find the mead making article along with many other helpful articles.


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## dfwwino (Aug 22, 2006)

Thanks for your help Masta. Based on your input, this evening I prepared the mead as follows:


12.5 lbs of Orange Blossom Honey from Abigail Farms






Soaked container in sink of warm water for ten minutes


Poured honey into fermenter and filled one gallon honey container with very warm water, shook, and poured into fermenter


Stirred honey and one gallon water until mixed


Added one gallon of purified water at a time and stirred until mixed until reached five gallons of must.


Added 1 tsp of yeast nutrient and ½ tsp of yeast energizer.


Whipped must with degasser drill


Starting Gravity: 1.091


Aerated must with aquarian pump with sanitized aerating stone for 20 minutes


Rehydrated and pitched two packets of Lavlin D-47


I will add 1 tsp yeast nutrient and ½ tsp yeast energizer once per day for the next three days and stir with degasser drill.


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## dfwwino (Aug 23, 2006)

This evening, Wednesday, I added a tsp of yeast nutrient and 1/2 tsp of yeast energizer. You should have seen the fizzing, as the yeast loved it. I had an immediate increase in activity. It has only been 21 hours since pitching the yeast, but I have never seen a more robust mead fermentation. I think using the drill degasser and the aeration stone makes a huge difference.


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## Wade E (Aug 23, 2006)

Just out of curiuosity, why two packets of yeast?


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## dfwwino (Aug 23, 2006)

Because an extra packet of yeast is cheap and it cannot hurt, but only help. In most of the winemaking literature I have read, the authors recommend two packets for five gallons. I used to use one packet and usually was ok with one packet, but I did have slow fermentations. A few years ago, I began using two and have not had any problems with producing a vigorous fermentation. 75 cents is a small price for insurance.


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## dfwwino (Aug 23, 2006)

Of course, I forgot to mention the real yeast energizer I use: A prayer and sprinkling of holy water over the lid of the fermenter to obtain a blessing for a vigorous fermentation.


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