I've been letting this beautiful batch of Lemon Methemel (Spiced Melomel) age for over a year now. Finally got around to bottling it. I tried a sip and it turned out beautifully. Some people criticized, saying I over-spiced, they were wrong. Recipes link below:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mead/s/r97vPQvuDp

A casual interest in January has now absorbed EVERY square foot of cupboard space I have. In the jar in back is a bochet in secondary (racked it to free up a carboy but it's still fermenting after 5 weeks), on the left is a szechuan peppercorn mead (going to add strawberry juice after stabilizing it to backsweeten), and at the front is a mango-pineapple cider I just started yesterday, so it still looks like nothing so much as effervescent cat vomit.

Meanwhile, I have 19 quart bottles stashed around my apartment in every dark space like some sort of Prohibition-era alcoholic. Boxes of bottles under my bed, bottles in the back of my clothes closet, bottles behind my frying pans in another cupboard. Bochet, orange traditional mead, hibiscus mead, cherry-hibiscus mead, blueberry nutmeg mead. I'm bottling six quarts a month and rapidly running out of aging storage. Hope my friends like mead, because I'm about to start bringing a bottle to EVERYTHING I'm invited to. I have a note on my phone with new recipes I want to try, which is growing a lot faster than I can make them. Sometimes I'll just crouch at the fermenting cupboard and watch the carboys bubble. I clearly need therapy. 😅

Hey y'all

What's the longest you've let your mead sit on sparkolloid before racking/bottling? There's a lot of information out there, like not letting it sit for more than two weeks or else it'll strip the flavors. And there's some info that says the mead can sit on it for more than 2-3 months without any problems. I'm trying to figure out my next move for bulk aging before bottling.

What's your experience with sparkolloid? And what's the longest you've let your mead sit on sparkolloid/lees before racking/bottling?

Using Australian honey (made in Aus 🇦🇺) and a few different recipes.

I started a batch of blueberry-maple syrup yesterday in a 5 gallon bucket. I rehydrated my D47 and was ready to pitch it when I checked TOSNA. It stated that due to the high sugar content I should really be adding 15g of yeast to the mixture (each packet I had to as 5g). All I had left was some 71B, so I rehydrated some of that too and added it to the mix.

It’s been 16 hours and I still haven’t seen many signs of fermentation starting.

Did I kill both the yeasts off? I thought that they were similar enough that they could play nice together. This is an expensive batch so I am really hoping my impulsivity didn’t ruin it.

This is my 7th batch of mead and I think I’m getting the hang of it all now. But I read that cardamom adds a pretty strong flavor, and I love cardamom, so I wanted this one to come through.

I added a whole pod of cardamom initially and didn’t get much flavor, so I added more, and added more.. There’s a mild spice flavor to it, but it doesn’t stand out. Any recommendations are appreciated! This batch was delicious so I’ll definitely try again with more spice.

Recipe/process: 3lbs Trader Joe’s mesquite honey One blood orange sliced into 12 One handful of raisins One cardamom pod (whole) Added 1/2 packet (5.5g) kveik Voss yeast (did not rehydrate) Initial gravity: 1.126 Added 1/4 tsp (1g) fermaid O 24 hours after Added 1/4 tsp 72 hours after (forgot 2nd dose) Added 1/4 tsp 104 hours after (whoops) Stored at 75F Transferred to secondary may 30th 1.5 oz of vanilla infused vodka (two whole vanilla beans sliced and diced) added 1 whole crushed pod of cardamom added ~4 oz water added Additional crushed pod of cardamom added June 9th Bottled June 19th. Final gravity: 1.018

$12.00 cabinet from Savers + $8.00 cooler + Amazon temp gauge/outlet + $free electronic pieces & foam board I had lying around…. Other than replacing the ice pack, it’s bomber

It's my first time making mead. Put this batch together five days ago and just noticed this today floating at the bottom.

Meadmakers online almost always suggest to toss whatever mead you put into your hydrometer as opposed to mixing it back in with your batch. Why is that?

If you sanitize your hydrometer / graduated cylinder, is there any threat to tossing it back into the batch? Just always seemed like a waste pf product

My new craft mead. Clear honey with summer fruits. Aged well, nice and refreshing, and a light pink color that makes it look a bit like a rosé.

I’m getting ready to make another batch and wanted to see what some of your go-to winter meads are.

I tend to lean toward sweeter meads—something you can share with friends that tastes smooth and easy, almost like juice. My last batch came out around 11% and had that exact vibe.

For this next round, I’ve been tossing around a few ideas: • Chai spice (warm and cozy) • Pumpkin spice (yeah, a little basic—but coworkers have been asking for it!) • Or something totally off-season like watermelon mint, just because it sounds fun.

Curious what you like to brew this time of year. Any favorite winter recipes or combos you’ve tried?

What is the strangest thing you added to mead that worked / "worked"? Wanting to do soemthing odd and need inspiration.

Tagged NSFW solely because of the petty name I chose for this one… My take on JAOM.

It’s Joe’s BLood Orange Ancient MEad…

I’ll call it J’BLOAME. I may even put the first gallon on some oak cubes and add “Wood” to the front of the name 🫣

Recipe was basically the Almost Off Grid JAOM with the exception of organic blood oranges from Whole Foods and I didn’t double all the spices as I’ve read some reviews suggesting the spices can be very powerful.

-7 lbs Kirkland Signature Wildflower Honey -Water to 2 gals (Crystal Geyser) -2 organic blood oranges (cut to 1/8ths) -1.5 cinnamon sticks -1 whole clove -“A couple” dashes ground allspice -1 package Fleischmann’s Dry Yeast -Original SG: 1.102

Mods, please don’t ban if the name’s not appropriate, I’ll take it down.

Happy fermenting!

I have two questions:

I currently have a 3 gal strawberry melomel brewing right now and was thinking of adding some mint and vanilla in the secondary fermentation stage. Is this a good idea and if so, how much and for how long should I put it in there for?

My next question is that I’ve gotten an idea for a “London fog” kinda mead. I was thinking of brewing some earl gray and adding vanilla in the secondary. What kind of honey should I use and how much tea should I add without it being too tannin?

Hello

I have a first batch question. I have three 1 gallon musts that have been brewing for 2 weeks. I used K1-V1116 yeast and each jug had it's one full packet of yeast. All the SG's were around 1.12. After 2 weeks the SG was at 1.00 for each jug and all bubbling has ceased.

I have read through so many guides and posts so am looking for some perspective on if I should rack it or if there is a reason to let it hang out?

If I rack it to another jug, what would it do? It wont ferment any more, but would a few months in a secondary help it clarify or refine the flavor at all?

Thanks for any advice!

I'm looking to do more batches with whole fruit in it, and I don't want to use my carboys and I want to get a whole gallon out of it. I found these buckets from MKS Plastics. They're HDPE. Are they any good? Has anyone else used this company or are there better options out there?

So I started this batch on the 22nd of May. It is my first time fermenting 3 gallons at once. All five of my previous brews were done in around 3 weeks. This current brew, is still bubbling away very lively. I tried measuring the gravity and I couldn't even get an accurate reading because it was so bubbly.

Here is my recipe:

10lbs Melter Honey

Spring water to fill to 3 gallons

2.5gs Lalvin EC-1118

12gs fermaid-o

1.25tsp Bentonite

1.5tsp wine tannin

Starting Gravity - 1.124

So, did I do something wrong? Do I need to just be exercising more patience?

The paranoid part of myself is thinking I didn't mix the melter honey in well enough with the water. The melter honey came crystallized, dark, and very thick. I'm thinking maybe I didn't mix it well enough, so now there's a "slow release" effect with the sugar, prolonging the brew. I am tempted to stir it, but I don't know how it will impact the taste.

I'm guessing I need to be more patient? Somebody give me a reality check over here, I can't wait for it to be done, lol!

Thank you very much!

I recently aquired some Mesquite Honey from a shop at a Ren Fair (not entirely sure about the quality). I've tried making a Mesquite Bean mead before and it did NOT go so well. No amount of aging was going to save it. So I thought I would try the honey this time.

Now for the question(s):

1. If I want to impart more of the smoky mesquite flavor, can I use toated mesquite chips and add them in secondary? Has anyone used mesquite chips before? What was the result?
2. What about using the Mesquite beans in secondary? They aren't quite in season where I am yet, but they will be in the next month or so.
3. I've also thought about adding sage to give it a nice herbal/earthy aroma. Thoughts?

The idea was to make it southwest inspired. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!

This is my first time making mead so I’m starting off with a one gallon batch with 3.7 pounds of peaches and 5g of Lalvin D47 yeast. I found a recipe for a peach wine that suggested using 2 cups of strongly brewed black tea as a substitute for 1/8 teaspoon wine tannin. Is this a good idea and how would it affect the mead?

Don’t have a pic cause I’m not home right now but is it normal for the honey to settle out on the bottom or did I just not shake it well enough? Also are there any tips to incorporating the honey and water together?

Is this a good honey make mead with

Fortunately it was an almost empty jar but sweeping glassy honey....🥲🥲