Welcome to /r/mead!

I started a blood orange mead about two weeks ago. Just checked it yesterday because I thought it stalled but its showing a gravity of 1.000. I'm a little lost on my next steps. I'm wanting to back sweeten it and use bentonite to clear it up faster. Would the steps be to transfer, stabilizer back sweeten then add bentonite? I want to avoid the haziness after the back sweeten part

I’m looking to add some spice to a couple of gallons of mead I recently finished fermenting. Instead of risking overpowering the mead by adding spices directly, I’m planning to make a tincture to add post-fermentation. I’d love any feedback or ideas to make sure I get it just right!

My Plan:

1.	Tincture Ingredients: I’m thinking of using a mix of spices like:
•	2 cinnamon sticks
•	4 whole cloves
•	1/2 nutmeg (crushed)
•	1/2tsp star anise seeds 

2.	Method:
•	Added these spices to a jar with about 1 cup of vodka.
•	Let it infuse for about 3-7 days, shaking it daily and tasting to get the flavor balance right.

3.	Adding to the Mead:
•	Once I’m happy with the flavor, I’ll strain out the spices and add the tincture to the mead in small amounts.

Questions for the Community:

•	Has anyone tried a similar spice mix for a post-fermentation tincture? Any advice on getting the right balance?

•	Do you think the anise seeds might be too intense compared to the pods?

•	Any other spices or variations that you’d recommend for a warmer, winter-style spiced mead?

Heyt all. I think my taste buds broke.... I tried making mead with pomegranate drink and just like rest of the meads it went all the way down to 0.986 (my cheap hydrometer shows water as .996 :D ) which is usual borderline undricable dry (especially from SG: 1.108), but when I tasted it it was surprisingly sweet. Not full on sweet but somewhere between semi dry and semi sweet. Here is the drink that I used. I was under impression that any non fermentable sweetener would still be visible on hydrometer- at least erytritol is. Anyone has experience with this? Does sweetness changes down the line?

Hi guys! Noob mead maker here! Fairly new to all this and excited to start and get results! In general, for a 1 gallon container, how much fruit, water and honey should be used to get good results? Understandably, more fruit can be added after secondary. How much needs to be added in primary? Appreciate any help and tips!

Bottled just in time for the holidays. Orange, cranberry, black cherry and grape with mulling spices, American oak and vanilla.

Need some recommendations on ratios. I know taste is subjective, but when you have no base of understanding, it's just a shot in the dark.

I'm trying to replicate a Hibiscus-lemonade cider I had from 2Townhouse. In case someone has had it. But as a mead.

I've got ~7 gallons with a starting SG of 1.096 using an Oregon wildflower mix. Then plan is to then transfer it to secondary when done fermenting, inhibit, and transfer to secondary for flavoring. Secondary is 6 gallons.

Looking at lemonade recipes, it seems to be a ratio of around 6:1 of lemon juice to water. I'm leaning towards slightly less, maybe 7 or 8 to 1 and including some zest.

But for the Hibiscus, I have no clue how strong the flavor is. I've got a pound of dried Hibiscus.

Any recommendations on how much I should add by weight?

I'm going to let secondary sit for a month before I bottle and keg it if that is helpful. And I'm thinking of around 2.5lbs honey for post sweetening.

Thanks in advance!

I'm new to brewing mead and i don't know if i should bottle it or leave it in the fermentation bottle for a while. The current gravity is 0.992 and the fermentation took 4 weeks It is also foggy. (The airlock does still bubble but this is one bubble in 5 minutes) if someone knows what to do, please let it know :)

Hello, I am having trouble with too much lemon flavor in a 3 gallon batch of Raspberry Lemon mead I made and I am trying to cut that back to be more tolerable. I heard lemon is a strong flavor but I never expected it to stay so strong after prinary. Is this something tannins can or should I look into sweetening.

36oz Red Raspberries Zest of 4 Lemons 10lbs of clover honey 1 packet of Redstar Cuvee

1 pound of honey added in secondary to sweeten

1 Cup of Black Tea to see if it affected the lemon flavor a month or so after backsweetening

Batch was in primary for 27 days and has been in secondary for 62 days.

I'm on my way to purchase this chems to prevent my mead from fermenting, but i don't know if they are good and they are kind of expensive, so I would like to know if It is a good purchase before buying. Do they create bad flavors or is there a better way to stabilize? I'm open to suggestions.

I received 32 oz of frozen Blood orange purée and I’m debating how best to use it. I’ve read that orange in wine and mead tastes of vomit so wanted to ask for some wisdom before starting.

Interested in seeing how much volume, money can be made if I do the entire operation myself.

Been a long time dream to be a full meadery owner:operator. Not sure if it’s possible, was hoping to see if there are success stories or warnings.

TIA

Long time lurker first time poster in this sub. I swear I've searched but can't find the answer:

I'd like to carbonate a mead for bottling that's already been stabilized (with potassium metabisulfite + potassium sorbate). Can this be done? I'm assuming that a priming sugar won't do anything if the mead has been stabilized?

(I'll plan to bottle these into capped beer bottles. Some in screw-top bottles as giveaways that'll be consumed fairly soon-ish.)

I’m new to mead making and I have a batch of mead that I’ve neglected. I let the airlock dry out and there are gnats in the airlock. I don’t see any in the mead itself. It’s been fermenting for about 6 months, and its gravity is only at 1.025. Should I try to get the fermentation going again or should I throw it out and start over. Thanks!

4.4kg honey in 15 litres. Ec1118 and daily nutrient for the first four days. One month in primary, finished at 0.94. Racked into these gallon jars. One onto 500g cherries, second has a vanilla bean and the third has three cinnamon sticks (12g)

Hi everyone, I have been making my apple cyber for about a month now and I'm already on secondary to get more flavor. Currently the recipe is: 3lbs of rocky mountain honey 32 fl oz of spiced apple cider 1 gala apple 1 fuji apple And 2 sticks of cinnamon

I'm going for a apple pie flavor, any suggestions for what to add, would be greatly appreciated. P.S it has mostly cleared thanks to the bentonite clay

Just curious if anyone knows some good materials on this. Like if there is any documentation/instructions for taking a packet of dry yeast and keeping it alive and active for extended periods to harvest more from it to make wine from. I understand yeast is cheap and lasts a long time in the packet, but it would be one of those things I'd like to know in case society collapses.

I wanted to start another big batch of mead using my 3 gallon fermenter. My recipe is 2 gallons of water, 9lbs of honey, 3 sliced blood oranges, 24oz of smashed cranberries, 2 cups of fresh squeezed orange juice, and 2 cups of organic cranberry juice. I’m using 71B yeast. I first pitched the yeast last Monday and had nothing happen. I used yeast that I had in the fridge for a couple of months in a ziplock bag so I thought there was the potential the yeast went bad. Got a brand new 5g 71B pouch and pitched it again on Thursday. I still have no fermentation activity. I measured the ph and it’s about 3.5. Are the cranberries and oranges preventing the start of fermentation because of the acidity or something else? Can I salvage what I’ve mixed together already? I’m thinking empty out some of the must and add more water? Open to ideas.

Thank you to all who have answered any questions I’ve had! This sub has been super helpful and I really appreciate everyone who gave advice and helped me through the process! I finally bottled up my first two batches and they taste great! Can’t wait to make more!

Started 9/18/24.

11 lbs Honey, 5 gal water, Cuvée yeast 5g, 1TBSP ferm-k, 1/8 tsp k-meta,

OG 1.060. SG .998 9/29/24.

Secondary 10/5/24.

Additional of 4.4 lbs of sweet cherry aseptic puree from AFP.

SG 1.030. FG .998 11/3/24

Tertiary 11/3/24

Back sweeten with 3/4 cup white sugar in 5 gal 2.5 tsp k-sorbate 1/4 tsp k- meta

Bottled 11/9/24

I started my first ever batch on Wednesday and thought it was going well until it started separating. I'm just curious about if I should stir this or just let it work itself out, and if this is at all normal.