Author Topic: Mead  (Read 1311 times)

8greenbeans

Mead
« on: September 12, 2018, 02:41:19 PM »
So we accidentally started some mead last year. A friend who makes it regularly told us what to do to complete the process without anything ruining. Worked great - even though I accidentally doubled the yeast. Needless to say, the mead is um, very strong. It's good but I can barely get more than a shot glass down before I can't drink anymore... and I have to sip that - forget taking a swig. Oh, and it tastes quite sweet in spite of the very obvious high alcohol content.

We also did a second bottle that was half honey, half homemade blackberry wine (which was also an accident). It's not quite as high in alcohol content but it's still pretty high). It's not near as sweet either.

Is there anything we can do to counter this issue? I wanna not just drink this batch but future batches!

USMC Veteran, LEO Mama
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John Galt 1

Re: Mead
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2018, 05:28:57 PM »
3 ways to limit the alcohol level.

pick a yeast that doesn't survive in high alcohol concentrations,       Some yeasts can survive at 20+% alcohol and others die off if the alcohol gets over 8%.      go to www.northernbrewer.com and check out their yeast selection.

Limit the sugar by using less honey.      Having a hydrometer is very useful to determine the sugar level in the mixture.     available at northern brewer and other places.

The last way is not the normal way but it does work.      Gey some Campden tablets and add them when you want to stop the yeast from making any more alcahol.      It kills the yeast and helps keep the mead from fermenting after you bottle it.      The 1st batch of short mead I made the yeast pressurized the bottle making champane.
Talk is cheap, Actions count.

YellowRose

Re: Mead
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2018, 03:30:57 AM »
The easiest way to make the mead less strong is to give the yeast less sugar to eat.  Just use less honey and more water.  Using a less aggressive yeast designed for sweet wines will also help.  You can get specific mead yeast.  It will die after the alchohol content reaches a certain level.   Campden will kill the yeast, but it dissipates after 24 hours.  If any other wild yeast gets introduced, it can start fermenting again.  I use potassium sorbate to stop fermentation.  Rack your mead off the lees first to remove as much yeast as possible that way.

 

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