HoneyMead
From Simreal
Contents |
Honey Mead
by Matt and Susan Pinsonneault
A glorious plain honey mead. Makes 5 gallons.
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 20-25 lbs | orange blossom honey |
| 1 1/2 cups | orange juice |
| 5 tsp | acid blend |
| 5 tsp | yeast nutrient |
| 5 tsp | pectic enzyme |
| 1 pkg | Red Star Pasteur Champagne dry yeast |
| 1 1/4 tsp | grape tannin |
| 5 | campden tablets (optional) |
1. Boil the honey in 1 1/2 gallons of water for 20 minutes, skimming off foam.
2. Cool and pour it into the fermenter. Add acid blend, pectic enzyme, and top off water to 5 gal. (Optional: Crush and add campden tablets. Cover and let sit for 24 hours.)
3. Make yeast starter culture with dry yeast, yeast nutrient, and room temperature orange juice. Shake vigorously and wait 1-3 hours, or until bubbly. Pitch yeast and add tannin.
4. Leave in primary until most vigorous fermentation is over (~7 days), then rack to secondary.
Notes
- 23-Jun-2007: Used 24 lbs. honey. Borrowed Phil & Yvonne's immersion chiller; it worked great! Pitched yeast at 84 deg. S.G. 1.136 @ 84.
- 4-Jul-2007: Racked to secondary. Very carbonated; reading was hard to get. S.G. 1.134 @ 80. Weird; it's definitely carbonated. Why isn't the specific gravity going down?
- 25-Jul-2007: Steady fermentation continues. Very little sediment has formed.
- 3-Sept-2007: Racked off of sediment and back into carboy. Golden color, still slightly cloudy. 16% alcohol. This is almost ready to drink now, and oh my god it's awesome.
- 15-May-2007: Bottling time! S.G. 1.124 @ 80F. Pale golden color and nice flavor. Still a bit young, but it's going to be really, really nice in a year or two.
