First a preface of what the hell I'm taking about here.
I do a huge variety of hobbies. And for the purposed of this blog, one of those hobbies is brewing mead and pretending to be a right proper mazer. In fact, I don't consider myself to be a mazer or to have actually created any mead yet. Being such a beginner, so impatient, and a constant tinkerer/tweaker of all things I am sure that I've destroyed my first attempts at the art of making mead.
First a preface of what the hell I'm taking about here.
I do a huge variety of hobbies. And for the purposed of this blog, one of those hobbies is brewing mead and pretending to be a right proper mazer. In fact, I don't consider myself to be a mazer or to have actually created any mead yet. Being such a beginner, so impatient, and a constant tinkerer/tweaker of all things I am sure that I've destroyed my first attempts at the art of making mead.
I have fermenting, right now as a matter of fact, two brews. The first is what I would like to call a traditional hydromel. A hydromel is a mead, honey wine, made with less honey than usual therefore making it a weaker less potent drink. I chose to make hydromel because it takes less time to ferment and less time to age and become drinkable. Oh... yeah. A traditional mead is simply honey, water, and yeast. I also allow the addition of yeast nutrients and would still call it a traditional mead. A "show" mead is one that uses nothing but honey, water, and yeast.
So here is my recipe:
700g Clover Honey
Spring water to 4 Liters
5g Lalvin D-47 Yeast
6.25g GoFerm Nutrient
1/4 tsp. Bentonite
Fermaid-K
DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate)
After lag add 0.83g DAP & 1.35g Fermaid-K
At an SG of 1.034 add 0.83g DAP & 1.35g Fermaid-K
Total Added N: 222ppm
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.002
-Heat 250ml of spring water to 110F using a microwave and add 6.25g of Go-Ferm.
-Wait for the mix to cool to 105F and sprinkle the yeast on top and give it a GENTLE stir.
-Wait 15 minutes for the yeast to rehydrate...(Set a timer!) In the meantime...
-Pour about 2L of water into the jug and add 700g of Honey and the Bentonite.
-Cap the jug and shake it like you've having a seizure for 5 minutes. Don't fling/drop/destroy the jug.
-Add spring water until the jug is about 3/4 full.
-Shake again, again, again... Is the yeast ready yet? No? Keep shaking then!
-Add 125ml of the must to yeast, mix, and wait 15 more minutes... KEEP SHAKING THE JUG! =)
-Take the temperature of the yeast and the must in the jug. Is the must cooler by more than 18F?
-Yes? -- Add another 125ml of the must to the yeast and wait 15 minutes... Repeat the temperature test...
-No? -- Pitch yeast and shake it you monkey! SHAKE!
-Use the spring water to fill the jug to within about 3 inches of the top.
-Smile, shove a bung into the hole, airlock, and wait for the end of the lag phase. In the meantime... clean up the kitchen!!! PIG!
-When you start to see some foam and the airlock is bubbling dance around giggling like a school girl because you haven't fucked up and murdered over 5 billion yeast! Measure out 1g Fermaid-K and 1g DAP
-Sanitize a small glass, pour some must into it, add the Fermaid-K and DAP, mix really well and then......
CAUTION
Adding nutrient will cause the CO2 in the mead to be released and a potential foamy mead spuge ERUPTION could occur. Go slow. Be careful. Wear protection. And be sure to follow the Hitchhiker's Guide - always have a towel.
END CAUTION
-Mix in the nutrients, re-jam the bung/airlock module, and relax... RELAX! You may want to perch over the jug and whisper "precious" all night but don't, its not necessary.
-Twice a day swirl the jug to degas, SHAKE the jug to aerate and measure the specific gravity.
-When the SG drops to 1.034 you need to measure out 1g of Fermaid-K and 1g of DAP and mix them in just like before. Remember the caution? Also make sure to measure the pH of the must. If it is less than 3.2 add 1g of Potassium Carbonate (or Potassium Bi-Carbonate if that's all you can get) to some must. Mix it all in very well (SHAKE it like you're doing the truffle shuffle!) and remeasure. Repeat until you get to an optimal pH of 3.4
-Again relax... no, no, no... relax. Go listen to some Frank Zappa and Gorgoroth for a while.
-Swirl the jug daily but no more shaking, no more removing the airlock. Just swirl the girl... every day to keep the yeasty beasties churned up and working for you. Work slaves! Work!
-Once the airlock stops bubbling or close to stops (less then 1 bubble every 2 minutes) stop swirling, stop looking, stop, stop, stop. Wait for a week and then siphon off (rack) the mead into a new jug thereby leaving the thick layer of yeast sediment (lees) behind.
-Again, do NOTHING to it. Just let it be for a while and watch. It will eventually turn crystal clear. If a month passes and you see a bunch of trub on the bottom (lees) rack it again to leave that nasty crap behind. Keep waiting.
-When it does clear add 0.25g Potassium Metabisulfite (K-Meta) and a dose of Potassium Sorbate(K-Sorbate) according to the package directions to a clean jug. Rack the mead into that jug and leave behind the yeast shit.
-Now...taste it. Smell it. And decide if you like it dry as a bone. If not, add some honey. Taste it. Smell it. Keep adding until you LOVE it. Then bottle. I like to use beer bottles. They will work FINE and the 12oz size means I can enjoy in moderation.
NOW IF YOU'RE AN IMPATIENT DOUCHE BAG... (That's me!)
After the first racking boil some Bentonite in some water (according to the package directions) . Wait 24 hours, dump it in and mix well. Within a week (maybe two) everything should drop out and leave you with a nice clear mead. Rack onto the K-Meta and K-Sorbate, back sweeten, bottle, and drink.
I'll talk about the other batch of prison hooch I'm brewing up later...
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