What type of water for mead

Our yeast is a strain I cultivated locally while making Elderberry wine. I simply cultivated the wild yeast off the berry skins. The only way to make a stable sweet mead is by adding preservatives like sulfites or sorbates. These cut off fermentation and leave residual sweetness behind. The average mead recipe calls for 3 to 3. This makes strong mead in the range of 14 percent alcohol.

Aging is the most important step for dry meads. I recommend at least two years of aging, but I prefer four or five years, if possible. All that time in a bottle helps take the green edge off. Five-gallon L batches have long been the standard for homebrewers, but there are some real advantages to brewing smaller all-grain batches. Anyone who has brewed more than a few batches of beer will often fall into certain routines, but not all of them are practical. Log In Support Cart 0.

Search for: Index. Getting Started: Making delicious mead at home is not difficult if you understand the fundamentals of homebrewing. Our Procedure: For two gallons of mead, add 7 quarts of non-chlorinated water to a 3-gallon minimum kettle. Potential Problems: The most common problems I see with homebrewed meads are low acid and too high of an alcohol content. About Boiling: There are two methods of handling honey. Our Method: Our honey is raw and never heated. Time in a Bottle: Aging is the most important step for dry meads.

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We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Now, I've already seen the hordes of internet brewers out there warning that distilled water doesn't have enough minerals for yeast to grow and feed correctly. However, in the recipe I'm using, I've used quite a few raisins and some cinnamon. Do you think that, in addition to the honey, will provide enough of a food source for the yeast to grow?

If not, are there any other household ingredients I could add to help the process along? The nearest brewing supply store is almost an hour away from me and I'd rather not have to drive all the way there if I don't absolutely have to. Joined Jan 18, Messages 6, Reaction score Does your recipe call for yeast energizer or yeast nutrient? If so, it will likely be OK.

If not, It is not a good idea to use distilled water. OH, and welcome to the forum. This particular recipe didn't call for either. From what I understand, the raisins were included in place of the nutrient. Arne Senior Member. If you have some, throw some of the nutrient in. It won't hurt and mite help the ferment along. Then you could take them all to the AHA conference and serve them to a room full of willing palates and see what they think.

That's always fun. From my experience, the biggest impact seems to come from the combination of honeys of given floral varieties and different yeasts. I think that is where the mother lode of quality mead making knowledge is to be found. Thanks, Ken! I'd read your similar Zymurgy article and have taken all those items to heart. A question had arisen during our Mead Judge Exam class and subsequent mead-related activities about how much effort to put towards creating water profiles.

Media New media New comments Search media. Articles Authors. What's new New posts New media New media comments Latest activity. Members Current visitors. Wiki Beer Wine Cider Mead. Brewing Software. Log in Register. Search titles only. Search Advanced search…. New posts. Search forums. Log in. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Which national brand of spring water has the best mineral profile for making mead?

Thread starter NeverDie Start date Apr 1, Help Support Homebrew Talk:. NeverDie Well-Known Member. I had been using Ozark spring water, since Bray has been using it, but then another forum member provided a link to a technical analysis of the water composition, and it was strikingly deficient in a number of desirable minerals, such as calcium.

Are they're any national brands that stand out as having a good mineral profile for making mead? Never paid any attention to the water.

Poland Spring is my choice, it's all I've ever used. I rely on my nutrients for whatever minerals the yeast needs. NeverDie said:. I guess I'm missing the point. You can always use distilled or RO water and build absolutely any profile you desire with electrostatic balance. Once you know what mineral levels you want, building a water profile is neither expensive nor difficult. I build a different water profile for every beer, based on the beer style and pH requirements for the particular grain -- in accordance with best practice.

You may be right, but it doesn't seem to be a common practice. I'm not sure that I've seen even one, let alone two or more recipes which do it that way. Common practice doesn't equate to best practice. It's interesting that winemakers mazers in particular are lagging so far behind what's generally considered best practice in the brewing world.

Water minerals definitely play a large role in flavor both directly and by affecting yeast health to reduce off-flavors from fermentation.