The simplest Mead to make, often called a Show Mead, contains nothing more than Honey, water and yeast.
Ingredients
- 18 Cups Honey (13.5 lbs)
- 5 Gallons of Water
- 5 g Lalvin D-47 Yeast
Directions
- Add 4 gallons of 80 degree water to a 5 gallon carboy or food-grade plastic bucket.
- Add the honey while stirring, swirling, or shaking until all honey is dissolved and the liquid is aerated.
- Add the yeast
to 2 cups of warm water to re-hydrate, then add to the fermenter. - Seal carboy with bung and airlock and store in a dark place at a temperature of about 70 degrees.
- After about 2 weeks, when initial fermentation has stopped, add the remaining gallon of water to the carboy to limit the amount of headspace in the carboy to avoid oxidation.
- After 4 weeks, re-rack to another 5 gallon carboy to clarify the mead.
- Store in a dry, dark space at temperature of 59 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bottle after 8 months, then let age in the bottle for another 4 months.
37 Comments
Have two items: #1 I had used the same yeast, and it became a problem, please beware. Explain-> when I went to bottle it, I thought the yeast was dead. When it did not “fill” all the bottles, I poured it back into the carboy, added the measured water to fill all the bottles, approx. 2 cups. That gave enough “room” in the bottles to restart the yeast. I lost half the batch, with the glass pieces embedded into the 5 gal. bucket I had them in.
#2; The only place I have to allow fermentation, is the basement. Temperature stays about 60F. Any ideas on what will happen? Is there a different mead to use at the lower temp?
Did you happen to include a yeast nutrient..During the process of activation?
First of all, Lalvin’s fermentation temperature range for D-47 is 59-68F. ambient temps of 70F will lead to an even higher fermentation temp as well as fusel alcohols, and on top of that 5g of yeast is not enough yeast for 13.5lbs of honey.
My bad, that temperature was a typo – I just adjusted it in the post. As far as the 5g goes – It seemed to work fine for mine. I think 13.5lbs of honey for 5 gallons has a gravity right on the cusp of needing to add more yeast. Adding a little more wouldn’t hurt, and could mitigate any issues that would come from the yeast working harder to reproduce.
I assume you meant 4 gal water and not 5? Is there a specific S.G. we should be looking for? Would this be considered a semi-sweet or sweet?
I converted this to a 6 gallon recipe since I only had access to a fermenting bucket thst could hold 6 gal with head space, so I did 5 gal of eater initially and then after primary I added the last gal of water. It turned out a little watery so I honestly wouldn’t go ahead and add a whole gallon of water again. Other than thst the mead is great I can’t wait for it to age
No yeast nutrient added to this? How does your yeast live? Honey has no real nutrients for yeast to chew on. I’ve heard of some using bee pollen for yeast food in a traditional mead, but I dunno.
I’ve been brewing for about 5 years now. For the basic Mead, I blend up about a pound of strawberries, then lightly simmer in water for a few minutes. Let cool, then add to the carboy before adding yeast. Gives nutrients and adds a bit more mild sweetness and almost no strawberry flavor.
So I made the must 2 weeks ago. I noticed it was more bitter then I wanted it to be. I want to add more honey to make it sweeter. When should I add in more honey?
Whenever. Be sure your yeast is still active, otherwise you’ll end up with a sickly sweet syrupy mead. Add what you will but divide the amount into 3rds and add it slowly to keep the osmotic pressure down in the must.
If I’m adding honey in the second fermentation should I mix it or no?
10 to 15 raisins added to the must should help
I have a question about stirring Meade in the first few days from pitching the yeast(D47)? I saw a few different places that said you need to stir the Meade until fermentation begins but my air lock started bubbling the first day and had a small bit of foam then it went away but is still bubbling fast. should I leave it sit or should i stir? there looks to be honey settling on the bottom of the carboy.. thanks for any help
B McG, During the first phases of fermentation (Aerobic fermentation phase) the mead will always benefit from as much oxygen as it can get. However, if you get enough oxygen into it right off the bat, you should be good to go. In short, I wouldn’t worry about it too much!
My mead has been in a good fermentation for three weeks and I’m still getting a bubble in the airlock every 5-7 seconds. Should I still add water right now to get rid of headspace or should I hold off until the fermentation slows down?
if bubbling is still going then the yeast is producing C02- they are going to consume any oxygen that will make the mix bitter (oxygen converts alcohol into nasty tasting stuff that moonshiners don’t like).
When the mixture begins to age after the bubbling stops, you want to rack (transfer) it into a glass carboy for aging if you are making wine. Mead makers may have a different approach, but this is how I make wine.
For mead making with carbonation, it is different – you want active yeast to convert the tail end of sugar for carbonation.
I prefer to ferment to dryness, rack, and let those yeast completely settle. Age in a carboy and then back sweeten with whatever you prefer.
This gives you total control over sweetness. If you want carbonation you could do that with CO2 but that costs more. – less likely to make bottle bombs.
I have Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. Will that work as well?
That will work, It will make a much drier mead due to the alcohol tolerance of the EC-1118 – But I doubt it will turn out badly. just give it some more time to age
My mead started with a reading of 1.090 and is currently sitting close to 1.010. Do you recommned trying to arrest the fermentation or do you always ferment it dry?
hello, my name is Hoss Thronson. Im about to add 20 lb.s of honey, 5 1/2 gallons water and a packet of Moncheret yeast. Im then going to mix it well and shake it fully till it has a good mix to it. then Im going to bung it with an airlock. Im going to leave it be in a dark area at about a month or two before I rack it. Question is should I add yeast nutrient and a acid blend to my mixture in the beginning? will that work for me? I plan to let it ferment till complete dryness and then stabilize it and sweeten it. will that work? am I forgetting anything? can I use acid blend along with some fresh squeezed lemon juice? or just one or the other? Thank you for you time. Respectfully, Big Hoss Thronson.
Its probably too late of a response, but Montrachet yeast is known for being pretty nutrient dependent. I would definitely be adding nutrient at the start and probably another round about 1/3 through fermentation.
Add yeast nutrient FIRST into your ferment tank before you drop your yeast culture as honey has next to no yeast nutrients (although I have found using bee pollen crystals adds stuff the yeast love and adds a unique beehive bouquet to the finish)
ADD acid blend after fermentation and a brief settle-down. Only add the acid blend after tasting and considering and only a little bit at a time.
Thank you my friend
Did you try cold crashing your mead for two days? Great way to stop fermentation and kill off yeast….
Cold crashing doesn’t kill yeast, but it does slow ferment down like you said. All cold crashing does is remove heavier ionically charged particles that are temperature dependent from suspension.
Could you please explain how to cold crash my Meade? Ei: How long should it sit outside?
Put it in your refrigerator for 24-48 hrs.
How long after pitching the yeast should you see the airlock bubble?
How do you fit 4 gallons of water and one gallon & 2 cups of honey (18 cups honey) into a 5 gallon fermenter?
Thanks
6.5 Gal. carboy…
Can this be bottled into 12oz bottles with crimped caps?
Hi, i read from official website that the D47 yeast desirable fermentation temperature is between 15-30°C (59-86°F). i live in asia and the temperature here is @ 80oF ~ 86oF year round, do you think D47 will be a suitable yeast candidate?
making a cyser mead (apple cider) and the visible bubbling fermentation stopped after 4 days…
Do i let it go or aerate it or rack it? there is about a 1/2 inch of lees in the bottom of the carboy.
Can I down scale to 1 gal by simply dividing everything by 5 or is there some level of complication preventing that simple logic
Hi all, is this US or UK gal? I preassume that it is US gal (3.78l).
My mead is still burping through the air lock every 12 seconds after 7 weeks
I am going to transfer to another carboy
Is this going to work?
My last batch burped for two and a half months. I left it another couple of weeks before bottling and it was the best mead I ever made.