Mead: Tips for a Predictable
Fermentation
By: Harold Gulbransen
Mead : Honey Wine : Ambrosia
Nectar of the Gods

BJCP website defines various types of mead http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.html
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• Strengths – Sack, Standard or Hydromel
• Sweetness – dry, semi-sweet, sweet
• Carbonation – still, petillant, sparkling

• 1/3 = Buckwheat Honey Mead w/ fresh ginger [1 oz.]
– 28.6 Brix [1.115 OG] – approx 16 lbs. of Honey
– 3.5 gallons water
– 3 tsp nutrient, 2 tsp energizer 2 tsp DAP
– Red Star Pasteur Red – 20 gms
– Brewed on July 8, 2006 – finished 1.018
• 2/3 = Buckwheat Honey Mead w/ dried Lavender [30 gms]
– 25 Brix [1.100 OG]
– 4 gallons water
– Brewed December 3 2006

• “Must” = Honey + Water [carbon filtered or bottled] + Nutrients + Oxygen + Yeast
• Equipment – similar to extract brewing plus a “mix stir” for agitating must
• Heat or No-Heat [All equipment must be sanitized carefully]

my favorites are:
• Lalvin 71B-1122 (Narbonne)
• Red Star Pasteur Red (Davis 904)
• Red Star Montrachet
• Red Star Cote des Blanc (Davis 750)
• Lalvin Rhone 4600 (Cote du Rhone)
• Lalvin RC212 (Burgundy)

Day 0
• 4 gallons water [chlorine free]
• 15 – 18 lbs of Honey [semi-sweet / sweet mead] approx
1.120 – 1.140 OG [dissolve using “mix-stir” and an electric drill]
• Nutrients – provide a source of free amino nitrogen [FAN], carbon, phosphate & sulfate
– 1 gm DAP [diammonium phosphate] =1/4tsp
– 0.5 gm Fermaid K [Lallemand’s micronutrient blend] = 1/8 tsp
• Oxygenate thoroughly
• 2 pkgs [10 gms] Yeast rehydrated [104 F water + 12.5 gms of Go-Ferm]
– Go-Ferm by Lallemand is an organic nutrient, dosed @1.25 gms of Go-Ferm/gm of yeast
• pH – keep this above 3.8 [preferably 4.0 – 4.2]

Day 1
• Stir mead with “mix-stir”
• Check pH

Day 2, 4 & 6
• Stir mead with “mix-stir”
• Add 0.5 gms DAP & 0.25 gms Fermaid K
• Check pH – if too low, buffer with KOH or CaCO
3
0.5 tsp at a time and check pH again]
[add

Day 3, 5 & 7
• Stir mead with “mix-stir”
• Check pH

Mead Tasting #2
• Miller’s Wildflower Honey
– 28 Brix – no heat technique
– 1 dried Chipotle
– 1 gm Szechuan Green Pepper
– 1.5 gms Chinese Chilis [2 peppers]
– Brewed April 4, 2009
• On May 1, 2009 – 0.999 – racked
• On May 30, 2010 – racked sweetend w/ 14 oz honey & added
1 oz toasted French Oak
• Fined on July 24, 2010 - Sparkaloid

Adding Fruit &/or Spices
• If adding fruit, consider adding a day or two after must is actively fermenting [checking pH as fruit can be acidic]
• Spices can be added anytime [e.g. Day 0, then taste after 6 months and add more if needed – less is more!!]

• When fermentation is complete, rack and after 6- 12 months, perform an acid balance
test.
• Acid Balancing Kits can be purchased at
Homebrew stores and require some “titration skills”
• I prefer to balance my meads to slightly lower than dessert wines [sweeter]

JoAnne told Me I had to talk about my screw-ups!!
• Don’t add acid to the “must”, it can drop the pH too much causing the fermentation to stop
• Don’t add too much honey [> 1.170] as the mead will finish too sweet. 100 gravity points is about max.
• Mild berries often disappoint [e.g. strawberries, blueberries]
• Chipotle Chilis is TOO much – Really!!
• Adding too much nutrient results in a minerally flavor
• If it’s not great in 12 months – WAIT

Changes that made my Meads Better
• Carbonating a sweet mead – carbonic acid balances the sweetness
• Subtle use of spices
• Use Honey w/ character [Citrus, Buckwheat,
Macadamia, Tupelo] Wildflower is boring
• Acid Balancing after 12 months

• Special Thanks to Kris England [St. Paul
Homebrewers] for an excellent Mead presentation at the 2008 AHA conference in Cincinnati 