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Mead help

Any thoughts on this recipe for a 2 gallon batch of Mead?

2 gallon recipe   

6 lbs clover honey
2 lbs raspberries
1.6 oz fresh ginger
Citric Acid
Yeast nutrient
champagne yeast

I have never done a Mead before, any insight on the ins and outs of brewing this?

 

I'm guessing you're going to have a fairly dry mead. 6 lbs. of honey in two gallons is a whole lot of fermentables. Probably pack quite a punch.

 

I was initially going to use 3 or 4, but someone I talked with recommended 3lbs per gallon as a reference.  Seems like a lot. 

I am okay with packing a punch, but I don't want to kill people with alcohol burn.  Any thoughts on a more appropriate amount of honey?  How about the champagne yeast?  Think that will work out?

 

I wouldn't call myself an expert mead maker. I've made four or five cyser and three meads so I definitely would listen to others advice as well. With my cysers I generally use around 5-6lbs. of honey for a five gallon batch but this is in addition to the juices being used. The meads I've made have all had fruit in them at one stage or another, I just prefer them a little sweeter than dry. I did make a batch of still raspberry mead with close to the same ratio of honey as your batch and whoa! Quit a bit of alcohol warmth and a bit of a funky robotussin flavor (probably more from raspberries in the primary.) This was only made about a year ago and it is getting better so I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I would use your champagne yeast, though, as it is designed for high gravity. Wine yeasts work well in my experience too. Good luck, you'll probably be aging this for a long time to get the full potential of this beverage.

 

I looked through "the book" (C. Papazian 3rd edition) and with the exception of 1 recipe, all that are there call for 13# to 17# per 5 gal.  so I am guessing that 6# per 2 would produce a fairly medium mead.  The thing is, they all call for at least 6-8 months to mature. and most I have tried were aged for over 1 year.  That is quite a commitment!..But hey, If you have the time, have at it.  You won't regreat it.

 

I just made my first mead, so I am certainly not an expert, and it still fermenting away.  I used 20 lbs of honey for a 5 gallon batch.  I used a sauvignon blanc yeast which won't ferment out quite as much as a champagne yeast.  I was basically trying to get a mead that is off dry.  With the champagne yeast, you will probably ferment out pretty well, and as was mentioned, you will probably get a relatively high alcohol content.  I think that my alcohol content is supposed to be in the 17% range, but I should have a bit of residual sweetness left.

If you don't want a dry mead, and you want to keep the alcohol content down, you will need to change your yeast.  Wyeast makes a sweet mead yeast that is supposed to leave a fair amount of residual sugars and keep the alcohol content in the beer range rather than the wine range. 

I have heard that pretty much all meads need to age for a while, so patience will be key.

 

I'd like to do a two gallon experimental batch that someone requested.  Strawberries, cinnamon, vanilla, and cayenne pepper are the flavoring ingredients.  Have any of you worked with a combination similar to this....?  If so, how long did it take to ferment and mature?

 

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