First batch of the 2017

[pip]

I love the sound of this recipe thanks for sharing, i find it inspirational. So much so that I've been looking on the net all day to see where i can get some bulk raw honey in my area. I've heard that mead takes a long time in the bottle to balance out, based on this recipe when do you anticipate cracking open that first cork, as in how long between primary and drinking?

 

[BernardSmith]

I love the sound of this recipe thanks for sharing, i find it inspirational. So much so that I've been looking on the net all day to see where i can get some bulk raw honey in my area. I've heard that mead takes a long time in the bottle to balance out, based on this recipe when do you anticipate cracking open that first cork, as in how long between primary and drinking?

I think that there are an enormous number of myths associated with mead that appear to be incredibly unfounded. Lower gravity meads can be ready for drinking almost as soon as beers - the secret (according to commercial meaderies willing to share their processes) is to heavily dose the must with nutrient (Fermaid O , for example); to pitch a very large colony of yeast (the preferred yeasts are often ale yeasts and not wine yeasts) and (seriously) to ferment at higher rather than lower temperatures (low gravity and high temps apparently favor ester production). I was able to bottle a batch within 3 weeks (fermented at 78 F) and opened a bottle at 6 weeks - which was in the opinion of some friends quite delicious - and which may very well yet improve over the next few months. (

 

[Jericurl]

I second @BernardSmith 's post.

Careful planning and management can lead to a batch that is able to drink in mere weeks/months rather than years.

If you google mead maker and batch builder calculators, you can plug in your yeast type/nutrient level needed and find out exactly how much nutrients to add and how much yeast to pitch. I do still try to ferment with cooler temperatures and prefer using the wine yeasts.
This has made an enormous difference in my mead.

Now, I still age for a long time for various reasons, but this particular batch is drinkable right now. Seriously. It's not crystal clear yet and definitely needs to be a little smoother, but it is better than both commercial traditional meads I've tried recently. That's not bad for 2.5 months old.

 

[pip]

I read somewhere today that mead needs to be degassed twice a day for the first week of the secondary fermentation. That sounds strange to me, twice a day? Will you be doing that with this recipe Jericurl?

 

[Jericurl]

I read somewhere today that mead needs to be degassed twice a day for the first week of the secondary fermentation. That sounds strange to me, twice a day? Will you be doing that with this recipe Jericurl?

The yeast needs oxygen throughout those first few very busy days, so yes, I attach a stirrer to my drill and mix a minimum of twice a day, regardless of what I'm making. Once SG falls below 1.02 or so, I lay off stirring so that lees, etc, have time to settle for a few days. Then once I'm below 1.01, I rack to secondary and put it under an airlock.

 

[pip]

Oh yes, i know this. I always stir my primary twice a day but that's not 'degassing', actually its the opposite really. Perhaps what i read was referring to getting oxygen to the yeast and not degassing, as in removing c02 from the secondary twice a day.

 

[Jericurl]

as in removing c02 from the secondary twice a day.

Eh, above is all I've ever done to my mead and it turns out fine.