Post #781826 by stevekh on Sat, Nov 25, 2017 12:34 PM

On 2017-11-24 20:36, Prikli Pear wrote:

On 2017-11-24 13:54, stevekh wrote:
it hasn't been too bad here - 50's mostly - mead is on the agenda - should get my first batch of honey next spring!

Have you made mead before? It's definitely different than homebrewing ale. If you ferment it at warm, ale-friendly temperatures, fusel alcohols form that make it taste really harsh. I finally solved that problem with a water/ice bath and evaporative cooling. I also have discovered the wonders of Wyeast 1388, which is a high-gravity Belgian beer yeast capable of producing excellent mead if fed properly. Check out the Bray's One Month Mead at Home Brew Forums for more info.

i've made it a few times - i've gotten to where i just water the honey down with a distilled water, then pitch the yeast - don't heat it at all as heat can make the honey lose a lot of it's nuances - i typically age it a year with some light char oak pieces after primary fermentation, then run it through my clarifier - turns out more like a port or a wine - been using a hefeweizen yeast as the byproduct of it (banana notes, bubblegum notes) work awesome with the honey - as far as the harsh flavor, i know a lot of people add campden tablets to stop fermentation, then back sweeten with more honey, but i like the simplicity and flavor and viscosity of the way i've been doing it