I'm happy to try and pass along some of the advice I received from many of our great mead-makers here in the club. I had been unsuccessfully making mead on my own for a few years, and when I joined Brewcommune, I met Oskaar (Pete), Lars & Jward right away, and learned so much from them and others. We met on Jward's driveway April 2010 for a club mead day, and Pete walked us through the steps. I found a few bottles recently (and I think BrewmasterBrad may still have some of his somewhere too) and really enjoyed sharing it at this last meeting.
I would recommend buying a nice honey like Orange Blossom, and you can tweek it from there if you are inspired by a spice or fruit addition. I'd also recommend
D47 wine yeast, as it makes a really nice bodied mead.
For those who are new to mead, you will need to take care of the yeast during fermentation. Malt beverages have plenty of natural nutrients to keep the yeast happy, unlike honey. So, the first 10-14 days of fermentation need a basic check of the must, degassing, and sometimes nutrients. I'll work up a schedule, or you can use one you like from a website or past experience.
I found it easiest to buy an extra lid for my fermentation bucket, and drill the hole in the top for a larger stopper (
#8 I think). With a
standard lees stirrer attachment to a portable drill, you can remove the fermentation-lock stopper, drop in the stirrer and get the gasses out. Then slide the stopper back in, and get about your day.
A
refractometer is also helpful to easily test gravity as the yeast works its magic!
Also, Oskaar posts a lot of good info on
www.gotmead.com, so I recommend checking out the site. Here is an overview of a mead recipe like we will try:
https://www.gotmead.com/community/threa ... how.24776/
So, if you are interested in this at all, please sign up and welcome to the world of mead!
--LexusChris
