A simple starting recipe to get moving and get started making great mead. Yields approximately one gallon of traditional mead.
Ingredients:
- 2-3# honey, a basic cost-effective variety is fine here
- 1 gallon bottled spring water
- 1 packet Lalvin 71-B wine yeast, this recipe only requires 2 of the 5 grams.
- 1.12g Fermaid K OR 2.24g Fermaid O
- 1/8th tsp Potassium Metabisulfite
- 1/2 tsp Potassium Sorbate
Proof 2g 71-B in a quarter cup of lukewarm (70-80 F) spring water, set to one side and observe for yeast activity.
Start with approximately 2# honey in your gallon jug. Fill the jug most of the way to the top with spring water. Mix honey vigorously and use a hydrometer to dial in specific gravity to 1.065, filling the jug to about half way up the neck. Once yeast is proofed and is displaying activity, add to the honey & water mixture along with yeast nutrient. Seal with a bung and airlock and let sit at ambient indoor temperature.
After 2-3 weeks, expect to see diminished activity in the airlock and the mead begin to clear. Use your hydrometer to read gravity and determine that the yeast has completed its fermentation. Mead can be racked to a secondary container at this point, this lower ABV will likely not require secondary aging, if fermentation has been complete and the mead has been moved off the yeast detritus, Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium Sorbate can now be added to stabilize, wait 24 hours before adding additional honey for backsweetening and bottling.