Jeff lays out the basic recipe for a 12% starter mead recipe along with some discussion on what makes this different than the previous 8% recipe and what extra techniques we need to use to get the end results we’re looking for.
Mead House 12% Mead Recipe
Start with approx 1/4 cup warm (80-90 degrees Fahrenheit) water. Add 2g 71B yeast and 2.5g GoFerm and set aside to proof.
Add honey and water to a volume of 1 gallon and a starting gravity of 1.090. Add yeast and GoFerm mixture after the yeast has proofed. Degas the mead by gentle agitation 2x daily for the first week. Fermaid K is added in .4g doses according to the following schedule: 12-24 hours after initial activity has been detected in the airlock, 24 hours after first feeding, 24-48 hours after second feeding, and once gravity has reached 1.060. Fermaid O can be used instead with .8g doses in place of the .4g Fermaid K doses.
Nutrient Requirements Math(Inspired by TOSNA 2.0/ TiOSNA by Sergio Moutella)
Convert starting gravity to brix.
(Starting brix) x 10 x (# gallons) x (nutrient need adjustment) = nutrient need
Several common wine yeasts such as 71B, D47, etc have low nutrient requirements. Nutrient need adjustment here can be placed at ‘0.7’. Some yeasts by my experience such as high temperature kviek yeasts can go as high as ‘4.0’ for need. If unknown, ‘1.0’ or essentially not adjusting for need is a safe starting point, though research from the yeast manufacturer’s white pages for that strain is advised.
Divide nutrient need by 100 for Fermaid K, or 50 for Fermaid O to determine quantity in grams of that nutrient which will be required. This is then divided into 4 feedings according to the above schedule, rounding up to the nearest 10th of a gram for simplicity.
The Mead House Podcast is sponsored by Bacchus & Barleycorn! Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs! Thank you Bacchus & Barleycorn!
Jeff and Chris spend a bit talking about an easy way to get started in making new kinds of meads – utilizing kits. Whether it’s fruit wine, regular wine, cider, or beer, it’s a great way to get started making melomels, pyments, cysers or braggots with a pretty high probability of yielding good returns! The guys spend a while talking different strategies for utilizing kits and share some of their own experiences using them.
The Mead House Podcast is sponsored by Bacchus & Barleycorn! Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs! Thank you Bacchus & Barleycorn!
The guys spend some time reviewing historical ingredients used across a variety of historical cultures all around the globe. Chris issues a friendly challenge to brew a historical mead recipe (see the link below) and the guys sample some obscure herbs and spices for making meads getting ideas for future projects.
Jeff’s Editorial Note – The fruit I was thinking of but couldn’t remember the name of off the top of my head was medlars! However, persimmons and the quince which we mentioned elsewhere in the episode also fall into the category of fruits which are consumed after bletting.
The Mead House Podcast is sponsored by Bacchus & Barleycorn! Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs! Thank you Bacchus & Barleycorn!
Jeff and Chris wander deep in the weeds this week, broadening the possibilities of making good meads and giving themselves even more mead ideas to work on in the process. First a discussion on fortifying meads and all the dimensions that fortification process could take, then a brief discussion on using meads in cocktails!
The Mead House Podcast is sponsored by Bacchus & Barleycorn! Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs! Thank you Bacchus & Barleycorn!
Episode 269 - Meadmaking on a Budget AND Seasonal Meads!
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By listener request! How to get started making mead with a smaller initial investment to find out if this hobby is right for you. Naturally, these guidelines come from the assistance of our sponsorBacchus & Barleycorn. Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs.
Then, Jeff and Chris spend some time throwing around ideas for seasonal mead flavors and give some hints as to what might be coming down the line from each of their to-brew lists!
Jeff and Chris take some time to talk about oaking as a process in the finishing of meads, kinds of oak, toast levels, the various products that are available for getting oak into mead, and it wouldn’t be Jeff and Chris if they didn’t throw around some out there ideas for using oak as well!
The Mead House Podcast is sponsored by Bacchus & Barleycorn! Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs! Thank you Bacchus & Barleycorn!
From nutrients, stabilizers, acids & tannins, the guys talk through the various substances at our disposal to help make mead making easier and give us better results.
The Mead House Podcast is sponsored by Bacchus & Barleycorn! Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs! Thank you Bacchus & Barleycorn!
The guys spend a little time chatting about carbonated meads – ways to do it, cautions needed during the process, why and what to expect.
The Mead House Podcast is sponsored by Bacchus & Barleycorn! Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs! Thank you Bacchus & Barleycorn!
The guys spend an evening breaking down all the different ways to get fruit flavor into your mead, and the pros and cons for each – from fresh, frozen, concentrates and purees, to other odd options like freeze dried and flavorings.
The Mead House Podcast is sponsored by Bacchus & Barleycorn! Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs! Thank you Bacchus & Barleycorn!
The guys returned to Minneapolis/St Paul for the annual Valkyrie’s Horn mead competition this weekend and spend about an hour chatting over the events and things they liked, sharing some of their favorite experiences and some of the goals they have moving forward.
The Mead House Podcast is sponsored by Bacchus & Barleycorn! Use our discount code MHP10 for all your shopping and supply needs! Thank you Bacchus & Barleycorn!
