Testing what ratio of sugar to add for my bone dry Apple melomel. I am thinking of adding cinnamon as well, or maybe even some Graham Crackers to get more of a "pie" character.

I have been making mead for a few years now. I have done this same recipe before (apple cider) and expected no issues. However- I am on day 5, and my mead has yet to start visible fermentation.

Recipe:
4 gallons of local apple cider
2 packets of EC-1118 yeast
~9 lbs of wildflower honey
Usual additions of Fermaid O and DAP
Some pectic enzyme for clarity

What is going on? I have been aerating twice a day and have yet to see any bubbles!

Bottled 3 Meads on 10/09 and checked them yesterday and noticed discoloration on the bottom of the corks (side touching the mead). Is this mold? I am very thorough with my sanitation and soaked these puppies for 5-10 mins each before corking.

Hi all. I just returned from a trip to Prague, and my wife fell in love with the sweeter meads served in a lot of the bars. I’m a fairly seasoned beer homebrewer, but have never made mead, and would like to give making a batch similar to what we tried a shot. The first one we tried was a dessert style, and very sweet. She liked that one, but also enjoyed the less sweet varieties that we had. The herbal varieties not as much.

I’ve tried googling, but could only find one recipe in BrewersFriend. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Clarification: Secondary fermentation = 1.000 gravity for 3 days, and is racked into another container, off the lees.

During secondary fermentation you generally use a carboy to reduce surface area and oxygen exposure, but what if after racking you only have enough mead to fill the carboy up to right where the neck starts to narrow, so it's not reducing surface area?

Also is it so bad to rack into a bucket with lots of surface area?

And finally: if primary fermentation takes place in a carboy, how do you replace lost liquid volume from racking to get up to the neck?

Disclaimer: This is my first time making mead, and I realize I might be missing some basics so I apologize in advance :). I was relying on my own enthusiasm, advice from "knowledgeable" folks, and a few things I picked up online.

I started four days ago. I’m using a 30 liter barrel with a clamp-style lid and an airlock. I used about 5.5 kg of homemade honey and around 22 liters of water (I heated the honey to about 40-45°C, then added room-temperature water, after that wait for must to cool down to room temperature in the barrel). Beforehand, I sanitized the barrel and all tools with a Bio-San and added about 9 grams of fermaid e to the must.

I rehydrated a sachet of Mangrove Jack’s Mead (M05) yeast in room-temperature water, added it to the mix, stirred it in, sealed the barrel with the metal clamp, and installed an airlock filled with vodka.

Today marks the fourth day, and the airlock is silent. I’m wondering: is it time to worry? I’ve checked the seal, and as far as I can tell, the barrel is airtight.

I acknowledge I might have made some fundamental mistakes. I’d like to know if the situation is salvageable or if I should just dump the contents down the drain and chalk it up to "experience" :)

Any kind of advice is highly appreciated

I’m looking for a low alcohol mead fo a beginner.

This has been bottled for about 6 months now. First batch I’ve made.

Is this residue sitting on top of the liquid standard?

I'm in Viet Nam so most of the usual stuff is not available. Been using boiled bread yeast and wondering if this would work well.

the description of this product translate to :|

Yeast extract, also called Yeast Concentrate, is the name for products made from yeast that are processed by removing the cells. They are used as food additives, flavorings, or as nutrients for microorganism growth media.

It is extracted from the nucleus of the Saccharomyces Cerevisiae yeast cells. This part of the yeast has the highest nutritional content, containing lots of carbohydrates and amino acids. Therefore, Yeast Extract FM902 is considered a carbon source for microbial culture.

Features:

- Nutrient-rich, meets the growth needs of microorganisms

- Non-GMO

- Affordable price

Ingredients:

- Total Nitrogen > 10.0%

- Amino Nitrogen > 5.0%

- Moisture ≤ 6.0%

- Ash ≤ 15%

- Sodium Chloride ≤ 2%

- pH (2% solution): 5.3 ~ 7.2

Dosage: from 0.5% to 5%, can be adjusted depending on the specific product.

Storage: in a cool place, tightly sealed after use.

Shelf life: 24 months from the manufacturing date.

Packaging:

- 500g bottle

- Bag