Hey all, I have a one gallon carboy sitting around not doing anything and I decided I want to fix that with a little experiment. I decided I wanted to make a mead out of a honey I’d never seen mentioned before. Has anybody done anything with this stuff before? If so how did it turn out? Its gonna be a pretty big investment because that honey isn’t cheap, but if it works out well with the BOMM recipe then I might make a few more small batches with varying yeasts to age out and see how those work. :mrgreen:
http://rarehawaiianhoney.mybigcommerce. ... awe-honey/Can’t help you, friend. I thought I knew all the varietals, but this is a new one on me. I will say that good honey seldom makes bad mead. Try a gallon BOMM and let me know how it is.
Better brewing through science!
[quote=“inari1991”]Hey all, I have a one gallon carboy sitting around not doing anything and I decided I want to fix that with a little experiment. I decided I wanted to make a mead out of a honey I’d never seen mentioned before. Has anybody done anything with this stuff before? If so how did it turn out? Its gonna be a pretty big investment because that honey isn’t cheap, but if it works out well with the BOMM recipe then I might make a few more small batches with varying yeasts to age out and see how those work. :mrgreen:
http://rarehawaiianhoney.mybigcommerce. ... awe-honey/[/quote]Expensive? No spit!
I was just complaining to my wife that bulk wildflower honey at the grocery store is now over $4 a pound.
[quote=“Rookie L A”][quote=“inari1991”]Hey all, I have a one gallon carboy sitting around not doing anything and I decided I want to fix that with a little experiment. I decided I wanted to make a mead out of a honey I’d never seen mentioned before. Has anybody done anything with this stuff before? If so how did it turn out? Its gonna be a pretty big investment because that honey isn’t cheap, but if it works out well with the BOMM recipe then I might make a few more small batches with varying yeasts to age out and see how those work. :mrgreen:
http://rarehawaiianhoney.mybigcommerce. ... awe-honey/[/quote]Expensive? No spit!
I was just complaining to my wife that bulk wildflower honey at the grocery store is now over $4 a pound.[/quote]
I wonder if the rise in honey prices has to do with colony collapse syndrome. We don’t have it over here, but honey prices move with global commodity rules. Local bulk honey is selling for around $6/lb over here, which is pretty much in line with the standard 1.5x premium we pay on just about everything compared to the US.
OP: yes please let us know how this comes out.
As a bee keeper, i’d say that CCD, mites and other bee diseases have an affect on the cost of honey. With all the new diseases, a lot of my fellow beekeepers have to use a lot of chemicals to stave off disease. In addition to the chemicals, i believe the average colony death has gone from 15% to 40-50%, which means no honey and much more added expenses to restart new hives to replace the lost ones. Luckily for me, i’m in an area where i don’t have the issues and have very healthy bees… so far. FWIW the crap in the major grocery stores is often impossible to prove to be actual honey so buy from your local beekeeper.
For sure, It’ll take a paycheck or two to get the extra dosh to shell out for 3 pounds of that stuff, but its definitely something I want to try. If it turns out well I’ll have to make a few more gallons of it for wedding presents and such.
Call me crazy but the price of this white honey seems absolutely crazy. I haven’t made mead before but doesn’t it require many pounds of honey to a 1 gallon batch???
You would be right. Which is why I’m only doing a 1 gallon batch when I can save up the 100 or so dollars I’ll need to order the honey. Its an experiment, one I hope pays off with excellent mead I can share with friend and family on special occasions.
I think you should really ping some people that have made mead before and really pick their brain. They may end up telling you that it is not worth it because the yeast remove so much of the tastes from the raw honey. Thus negating the impact of the fancy honey. Just a thought…
As an advanced mazer, I couldn’t disagree with this statement more. Every varietal I’ve ever used comes through with its own unique flavor. Whether you like that flavor or not is personal taste.
Better brewing through science!
Well there ya go…
As an advanced mazer, I couldn’t disagree with this statement more. Every varietal I’ve ever used comes through with its own unique flavor. Whether you like that flavor or not is personal taste.
Better brewing through science![/quote]
Unless you boil the honey/water mix like the older books tell you to. Then you lose a lot of the character. Don’t boil!
Which actually validates mppatriots larger point - get some advice on process from some experienced mazers before you start.
I already knew not to boil the honey, I’ve done my research for sure, I’m not about to drop 100 bucks on 4 pounds of rare honey on a blind project. I was just hoping I could find out if it was even a good honey for mead, as some honeys just aren’t made for mead I’ve gathered. But I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet on this one. My roomie is going to go half in with me as were hoping to make it and give one bottle of it to his brother as a wedding present, might be a little late since we can’t order the honey till Friday and the wedding is October 11.
My only real question is, what is the best way to clarify mead quickly? I’ve read that Irish Moss is a good clarification agent, but you put it in during the boil, which we’ve already decided is bad for honey. Are there any other good agents that maybe go in the primary or secondary ferment?
SuperKleer followed by cold crashing is the fastest way to drop mead clear. Some say it strips some of the flavor, but I’ve never noticed a difference in taste.
Better brewing through science!
[quote=“loveofrose”]SuperKleer followed by cold crashing is the fastest way to drop mead clear. Some say it strips some of the flavor, but I’ve never noticed a difference in taste.
Better brewing through science![/quote]
Thanks! I never would have noticed that product, I’ll have to get some for my current batch of mead thats being stubborn to clear and for my future products. It says it doesn’t work to well on pectin haze, so would that mean it won’t do so well for ciders?
[quote=“inari1991”][quote=“loveofrose”]SuperKleer followed by cold crashing is the fastest way to drop mead clear. Some say it strips some of the flavor, but I’ve never noticed a difference in taste.
Better brewing through science![/quote]
Thanks! I never would have noticed that product, I’ll have to get some for my current batch of mead thats being stubborn to clear and for my future products. It says it doesn’t work to well on pectin haze, so would that mean it won’t do so well for ciders?[/quote]
Use pectinase to clear pectin haze. I always add it to cider. If you think it has clarity issues beyond just pectin, you can add the SuperKleer after the pectin is taken care of.
Alright, just got the honey in yesterday afternoon, let me tell you that honey was thick! Even after a gentle warming in the sink it was too thick to go down a funnel so I had to do this weird scooping technique with a spoon over the jug. Very tasty, made me feel energetic a couple hours later I might have to get a jar just for around the house use. I also had to shake the hell out of it to get it to mix into a must, so it kind of worked out as I aerated it and mixed at the same time. It looks almost like a very pale ale with the head on top. I’ll post pictures after I get home from work in a few hours. Only thing I regret is not having a way to get the hydrometer in and out of the small jug so I’ll have to kind of eyeball the staggered feedings, if the yeast eats as fast as it did in the cyser I’m waiting to put into secondary then it’ll be daily for 3 days and then it kind of peters out.
Quick question, I’ve never actually seen the yeast do its thing from the side before since this is the first 1 gal batch I’ve ever done. Is the yeast supposed to kind of hang around the top 1/3 of the container for a while? Will it work its way down as it continues to feed?
I’m making a gallon batch right now, and for a sweet mead, it takes about 5 lbs of honey. If I remember correctly, 3 lbs makes a dry mead, and 4 lbs makes for a medium sweet mead.
