brēowanthorpe

The Homestead of Beer

Traditional Mead

By thomas #acid blend, #Dry Mead, #Homebrew, #Honey, #Mead, #oak, #oak chips, #Traditional Mead, #Water, #Westfort, #Yeast

Codename : Westfort Oaked Mead

Now I have a baseline traditional mead recipe, that came with the successes of previous batches, it is time to try something new, in this case adding some oak chips to for tannin, and to change the taste profile. In this case it will be French oak chips.

Ingredients

  • 1 Kg Honey
  • 3.3 L of filtered, spring or distilled water (chlorine in home water is truly bad for mead)
  • 10 ml Mangrove Jack M05 mead yeast.
  • Yeast energiser (follow fermentation directions)
  • 1/4 tsp acid blend at secondary

Vital Stats

BJCP Style : Traditional Mead
Anticipated ABV : 11%
Original SG : 1.070
Target SG : 1.000 (this is the goal, to get almost 100% fermentation)
Brewhouse (in)efficiency : 99%

Brew Day

  • Prepare 3.3L strike water at about 80F, this is to simply aid the honey to dissolve more effectively.
  • Add the honey to the pot, allow it to dissolve and incorporate, it took about 10 minutes.
  • Stir regularly.
  • Calibrate the sonic screwdriver.
  • Sanitise everything required for fermentation.
  • Allow it to cool to room temp.
  • Prepare the yeast mixture.
  • Pitch the yeast to the carboy.
  • Transfer the honey water to the carboy, splash it around to aerate the contents.
  • Be sure to scrape out the honey that may stick to the pot.
  • Put the airlock on the carboy.
  • Store in a cool dark place for primary fermentation for approximately 28 days, this as a guideline. 

Fermenting

  • On day 2 of fermentation, add 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient (or energiser).
  • On day 4 of fermentation, add 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient (or energiser).
  • On day 6 of fermentation add 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient (or energiser)
  • Occasionally monitor the mead for meagre fermentation/bubbling late in the fermentation process, along with sediment build up on the bottom of the carboy.
  • On day 28, transfer the mead to a clean/sterile carboy. Add 1/4 tsp acid blend.
  • Add 10g sterilised oak chips to the carboy. Taste your mead after 14 days, if you like the taste, bottle it. If you want more intensity wait longer.

Bottling Day

  • Detailed instructions.
  • Keeping it traditional, no additional sugars will be added for carbonation.
  • Bottle age at least 4 weeks, longer is better!

Brew Notes

  • Recently purchased a wide-mouth fermenter, this will aid in oak and fruit additions for future projects.
  • I learn things as I go, one Kg of honey is about 0.65 L, the water addition of 3.3L brings me to about 4L.
  • I have found, the alcohol conversion of mead usually completes at 2 weeks, while the clarity occurs by about 3 weeks. Guidelines, not rules, like the pirates code.
  • Recent batches I had racked after 3 weeks, and bulk aged about 4 weeks before bottling. Since I am experimenting with oak, I have have opted to rack and oak at 4 weeks, and allow the oak infusion for two weeks.
The mead will be left to ferment in my new wide mouth fermenter for 4 weeks.

 

Brew day : 2-Mar-2024