So, you’ve learned what a mead is in Part I, and know all of the equipment you need to make mead from Part II. Well, now let’s get in to the fun part of the hobby, actually making mead. ?In this, Part III of the MeadMakr Guide, we’ll talk you through the basic mead recipe, and guide you through the process of making a traditional mead.

Before we get to the actual recipe, you will need to decide what kind of mead you want to make. You will need to understand the sweetness level of your target mead as well as your target alcohol by volume. These two questions will drive your decision making, and help determine how much honey you need and what kind of yeast you are able to use.

Dry, Medium, or Sweet?

It is important to understand and purposely choose the kind of mead you want to make. Generally, books will start you out with a generic semi-sweet mead recipe. But what if you already know you really like a dry mead? Or similarly, you want a sweet mead because your favorite wines are Reisling or Muscato. Rather than forcing you down the path of making something that doesn’t suit your tastes, we feel it is important that you have a say in this, your first mead recipe.

To make a traditional mead, you will generally be told to add about 3 pounds of honey per gallon of mead must. Remember, a must is the unfermented mead (or wine). Similarly, a wort is unfermented beer.

Jot down your desired sweetness (or dryness) level, and we’ll come back to it after we’ve determined your desired alcohol content and chosen a yeast suitable to your fermentation environment.

Alcohol Content

You, the meadmaker, get to choose what alcohol content you want your final beverage to be. This wasn’t the case millennia ago when humans first discovered mead, but the companies that sell yeast suitable for fermentation today have done many studies to determine the general alcohol content each yeast can reach.

Choose your alcohol content, and keep it in mind as you read the next section. Your alcohol content, as well as a few other conditions during the fermentation, will impact which yeast you will finally decide to use when making your first mead.

Meadmaking Yeasts

There are many yeasts available to the modern meadmaker. And each yeast will have its own unique characteristics it imparts to your mead.

Generally, you will need to decide on your yeast taking into account the following yeast properties: alcohol tolerance, fermentation temperature, nutrient requirements, flavor profile, and flocculation tendencies.

Alcohol Tolerance

First and foremost, mead is an alcoholic beverage. And you get to decide how much alcohol you want in your finished mead. Maybe you only want a session mead at 6% alcohol. Or maybe you want to push the limits and you want to ferment all the way to 18% or more alcohol. Either way, your decision on yeast type will dictate what your potential alcohol content may be.

Each yeast type will have a potential alcohol range associated with it. When choosing your yeast, make sure you have selected a yeast that will tolerate your planned alcohol content.

It should be noted, yeast are living organisms. As such, they are apt to over- or undershoot the mark from time to time. So use the stated yeast tolerance as a guide, and measure with your trusty hydrometer or refractometer to determine your alcohol content.

Fermentation Temperature

Every yeast strain has a fermentation temperature range where the fermentation outputs are predictable and pleasing to the drinker. Some yeasts, like Lalvin 71b or Fleishmann’s Active Dry Bread Yeast, have wide temperature ranges and are generally forgiving of the temperature of the environment. Other yeasts, most notably Lalvin D47, have very strict limits within which you want to ensure your fermentation stays (in this case, never ferment with D47 above 70 deg F).

Ensure that your fermentation space meets the requirements of your yeast selection, or you may find that you will have to age your mead a considerable amount of time to mellow the off-flavors that developed during fermentation.

Nutrient Requirements

Yeast also require nutrients for a healthy fermentation. While honey is high in sugar, it is generally low in the minerals your yeast require to reproduce and ferment alcohol. Specifically, yeast require a significant amount of nitrogen in addition to trace minerals to support a healthy fermentation. Luckily for you, the meadmaker, this can be readily sourced as Yeast Nutrient or Yeast Energizer from your local homebrew store. You may also see references to Fermaid K, Fermaid K, Go-Ferm Protect, or the base ingredients of diammonium phosphate (DAP), magnesium sulfate, and many other ingredients. For the base guide, you only need to know about yeast nutrient, yeast energizer, and Go-Ferm Protect. We’ll cover the advanced concepts about yeast nutrients in a future part of the MeadMakr Guide.

Yeast Nutrient

Yeast Nutrient is generally a combination of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and food-grade urea. Dose at 1 tsp per gallon of must.

Yeast Energizer

Yeast Energizer includes DAP, magnesium sulfate, yeast hulls, and vitamin B complex. Dose at 1/2 tsp per gallon of must.

Go-Ferm Protect

Go-Ferm is used specifically to rehydrate dry yeast. While not necessary, it will help ensure a healthy yeast population from the start of fermentation. Instructions to use Go-Ferm will be provided in the Basic Recipe section.

Dosing Instructions

Generally, you will dose yeast nutrient at 1 tsp per gallon of must and yeast energizer at 1/2 tsp per gallon of must. I will address yeast rehydration later in the Basic Recipe section. I follow a modified version of the staggered nutrient addition (SNA) protocal, dosing one quarter of the total nutrient content each at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours after pitching your yeast.

For most yeasts, this will do the trick, and you don’t need to consider any additional doses. However, it is a good idea to monitor your mead as it ferments for any off flavors or aromas. If these develop, first ensure your mead is within its stated temperature range, and second consider adding a small amount more to the ferment. Nutrient hogging yeasts often require an extra dose.

If you have to add additional nutrient or energizer (beyond the initial dosing recommendations), do not add more than 1/4 of the total dosage. Mix the new nutrient and energizer into the must, and wait a few hours. The aromas should return back to normal, although flavors from the period during which the fermentation environment was not ideal will still impact your final mead.

Sergio Moutela of Melovino Meadery advocates a slightly different approach to nutrient additions using an only organic nutrient called Fermaid O. Check out his site Mead Made Right for more information about the Tailored Organic Staggered Nutrient Additions (TOSNA).

Also, here is a great reference for those wanting an advanced look at Staggered Nutrient Additions beyond an all Fermaid O approach. Worth a read even if you go with TOSNA.

Flavor Profile

Each yeast strain imparts its own flavor profile. Maybe you want something that ferments clean with little additional flavors added (such as K1V-1116), maybe you want the esters added from 71b, maybe you want something funky from a Belgian ale yeast, or even a brettanomyces pellicle for a sour mead. You will want to look into the yeasts available, and consider how they will impact your final flavor.

Autolysis

Another consideration in the yeast flavor profile is how susceptible the yeast is to autolysis. Autolysis is the process of the yeast cell breaking down after fermentation, and depending on the yeast type can result in off flavors. In some cases, such as D47, this results in a pleasing sur lie flavor. Others, like 71b, can ruin a batch completely.

Autolysis is only a problem if you don’t intend to rack your meads on a regular basis. Generally, you have about 3 weeks after sediment forms on the bottom of your fermenter to rack without autolysis. If you are the set it and forget it type, it may be best to search for a yeast with minimal or advantageous autolysis byproducts.

Flocculation

The last general consideration for yeast is its tendency to flocculate. Flocculation refers to the process whereby yeast fall out of suspension when it has finished fermentation. Some yeasts fall out of suspension quickly, others take time or require specific techniques to fine the mead.

Flocculation considerations should not stop you from choosing a yeast, just understand the time to clear may be considerably longer for some yeasts versus others. This can be sped up with forced filtration or the use of fining agents (most notably sparkalloid or bentonite), but both of these methods have the potential to strip flavor from the finished mead, as the yeast is not the only thing removed during the process.

The Mead Yeast Primer

To help you decide on your yeast, check out the Mead Yeast Primer, highlighting some of the yeasts most appropriate for a traditional mead recipe. By no means is this list complete, so feel free to experiment with other yeasts you may read about.

Honey

So you now have defined the mead for your basic recipe, by selecting the sweetness/dryness level, the alcohol content, and chosen a yeast. But we are making mead here, and the final remaining ingredient is, of course, honey.

This section of the basic recipe will not give you an in depth look at honey, but will provide some pointers for what to look for in honey and how it relates to mead. A more detailed post on honey will come later in the MeadMakr Guide.

Varietal Honey

The most common honey you will find on a store shelf is clover honey. Clover is a common flower, and as such many beekeepers can regularly produce clover honey. However, in a mead sense, clover honey is basic, not providing much in the way of floral characteristics above and beyond that essential honey flavor everyone knows and loves.

Varietal honeys, like clover honey, come from a dominant honey source. These are often created by placing beehives in specific locations during the honey bloom of a certain plant, and immediately harvesting the honey from the hive after it has been made (see Liquid Gold about how a Florida beekeeper harvests Tupelo honey).

Varietal honeys can be compared to grape varieties, as each varietal honey brings a different set of flavors to the table. Some commonly used varietal honeys for mead are Orange Blossom, Tupelo, Mesquite, and Buckwheat (listen to us try four varietal honey on the podcast here). Note, buckwheat honey should not be used as the majority honey source for beginners in a traditional mead. Its barnyard qualities are difficult to handle and are better used in small quantities to add complexity.

Raw Is Better than Processed

Honey comes in many diverse states, including raw, filtered, creamed, etc. To make the best mead, you want to find honey that is as raw as possible. Heating honey removes some of its delicate flavors, which you want to keep around in your finished mead.

Similarly, filtering honey removes the flavor that would come from pollen in the honey, essentially leaving you with some acidic sugar water. Who wants to make mead with that? Unfortunately, most filtering is also done at temperature, further diminishing the flavor of the honey.

Thus, when searching for honey, try to find a reliable source of raw honey. Stores are getting better about carrying raw and unfiltered honey, but unfortunately the economics don’t favor these honeys. Raw honey crystallizes more quickly than filtered honey, and the American consumer often views this as a flaw vice understanding what was done to keep the honey liquid on the shelf.

If you want more information about the processing of honey, check out our podcast episode with Amina Harris where she walks us through the definitions for the common honey buzz words.

Sourcing Honey

This is all well and good, but where can you find your honey? If you don’t have access to a local beekeeper, check out the Honey Locator maintained by the National Honey Board. If you still can’t find a local source, Bee Folks and Flying Bee Ranch are two great sources for raw, varietal honeys. I’ve also had success with Dutch Gold Honey (one of the best prices for honey with their 5 gallon buckets), but know that their honeys are actually processed and finely filtered with diatomite. Dutch Gold also supplies Moonlight Meadery, one of the fastest growing meaderies in the US, with honey.

The Basic Recipe

Starting with your ideal sweetness (or dryness) level and ideal alcohol content, you chose a yeast suitable for your needs. You’ve gathered your yeast and honey. Now it’s time to make your first batch!

Note, this recipe assumes your target ABV is your yeast’s alcohol tolerance or that you are finishing your mead dry at a lower ABV. Steps to stop fermentation at a lower ABV and backsweeten are considered advanced techniques by this guide and will not be covered here.

The Equipment

The complete list of meadmaking equipment can be found in Part II of the MeadMakr Guide. For now, know that you need the following things on brewday:

• Fermenter (carboy or bucket)
• Stopper with airlock
• Mixing pot
• Long-handled spoon
• Sanitizer
• Hydrometer or Refractometer (optional, but greatly improve repeatability)
• Tea kettle
• Thermometer

The Ingredients

The consumable items you will be using are as follows. These will depend entirely on your decisions above.

• Honey (use the BatchBuildr to estimate required honey based on batch size, desired sweetness, and expected ABV)
• Yeast
• Yeast Nutrient (1 tsp per gallon must)
• Yeast Energizer (1/2 tsp per gallon must)
• GoFerm (1.25 g for every gram dry yeast; likely 7.5 g is you are only using one packet of yeast)
• Water
• Measuring cup

The Process

The following steps will guide you through everything you need to make your first batch of mead on brew day.

1. Sanitize Everything

Sanitize everything that may come in contact with your hands or your must before doing anything else. This means all equipment, external surfaces of honey jars, kitchen counters, etc. Starting with a clean surface and clean equipment should ensure your yeast are the only microbe active in your must.

2. Dissolve your Honey

Dissolve your honey in a small amount of water in your mixing pot. The volume of this mixture should be less than your expected batch volume at this point. We recommend not heating your must to help dissolve the honey. This will help preserve the delicate flavors and aroma of your honey. Boiling is an option, but understand you may lose some of that precious flavor.

3. Add Water to Batch Volume Minus 1 Cup

Pour the honey-water mixture into your fermenter. Add water up to about 1 cup below your target must volume. The extra space will allow you to add your rehydrated yeast back into the must.

4. Aerate the Must

Aerating your must is required to provide oxygen to your yeast. Early in the fermentation stages, yeast use oxygen to help build cell walls and reproduce. Stir the must in a bucket fermenter or heavily swirl it in a carboy with the top exposed. This will allow oxygen to dissolve into your must, giving the yeast exactly what it needs. It is recommended to do 15 minutes of aeration. Any more and you reach diminishing returns.

4. Rehydrate your yeast

We will go over two options for rehydrating dry yeasts. Liquid yeasts are not as common in making mead, so they will not be covered here. Smack Packs are a good option for liquid yeasts. Further reading can be found by searching for yeast starters.

Instructions for using Go-Ferm

Multiply the weight of your Go-Ferm dosing by 20 to get the total amount of water you will need to rehydrate your yeast. If using a single 5 g packet of yeast and 7.5 g of Go-Ferm, you will need 150 mL of water, or a little more than a half cup.

Heat the water to at least 120 degrees F. Add your Go-Ferm. When this mixture is between 104 and 109 deg F (approximately 40 deg C), add the dry yeast. Swirl the yeast in the mixture, then let it sit for 15-20 minutes to rehydrate. Do not stir in the yeast at this point. Now you are ready for tempering the yeast.

Instructions for dry yeast only

If rehydrating your dry yeast without Go-Ferm, you will need 5 times the weight of your yeast in mL (5 g yeast = 25 mL water). Heat your water to 104-109 deg F (40 deg C) and add the dry yeast. Give it a quick swirl and then let sit for 15-20 minutes. On to tempering the yeast.

Tempering Yeast

When you are done rehydrating your yeast, it is important to bring the yeast to the temperature of your must gradually. Pouring warm yeast directly into a cold (or room temperature) must will shock the yeast to detrimental effect.

To temper your yeast, add 1/4 cup of your must to your yeast slurry every five minutes. When the temperature of the yeast slurry is within a few degrees of your must, pour the yeast slurry into your must.

5. Top Off Remaining Batch Volume

Add any remaining water to your must to meet desired batch volume. Note, you will need some headspace for the foam created during the fermentation process.

For carboys it is recommended to only fill to the shoulder. Leave at least two inches of clearance on the edge of your bucket fermenters.

6. Record Specific Gravity and Temperature

In order to understand exactly how much sugar made it into your must (all honeys are not created equal), it is recommended that you take a specific gravity (or Brix if using a refractometer) reading. You will need to correct for temperature, so also jot down the must’s temperature at this time.

The specific gravity, also referred to as original gravity in this context, can be used to approximate your potential alcohol by volume. If you used the BatchBuildr or some other calculator to estimate your required honey, note that your expected values may be wrong (and likely are). Use your measured values to estimate and track your fermentation progress.

7. Apply Airlock

You have now successfully started your first batch of mead. It is time to apply your airlock and let it sit for 24 hours until after the lag phase of the fermentation is over.

8. Aeration and Dosing

Following the guidelines above, add your yeast nutrients and energizer at the stated hour marks after pitching your yeast. It is important to degas your mead prior to adding the nutrients to avoid mead eruption accidents (MEAs). It is also helpful to siphon 1/2 cup of your must from the fermenter for dissolving the nutrients before adding them back to the mead.

Between the 24 hour mark and your last nutrient addition, degas and aerate your mead at least twice daily. Your last nutrient addition should occur at the 1/3 sugar break; that is, when one third of the total sugars you provided have been converted to alcohol, you no longer want to add nutrients or aerate your must (if your SG started at 1.120, the 1/3 break will be when your SG drops to 1.080 [dropped one third of 0.120]). At this point you would just degas (similar to aeration, but leave your fermenter capped).

9. Racking

When your must has finished fermenting, noted by no changes in specific gravity over multiple days in a row, rack your mead from your primary fermenter into a carboy for extended aging. Be careful to avoid the sediment layer at the bottom of your fermenter. The cleaner the mead the better after racking!

If sediment appears after racking, it is advised to rack within 3 weeks of noticing the sediment layer unless you are attempting sur lie aging. This will ensure you avoid autolysis.

10. Bottling and Enjoying

After 2-3 months in secondary, your mead may start to turn into something tasty. If it isn’t ready by this point, be patient. Meads get better with age, and it is common to age mead for 1-2 years before drinking.

When you are happy with your mead, go ahead and bottle it. Give it a week or so before drinking after you bottle for the mead to settle back down. Then pour yourself a healthy glass and enjoy. You’ve earned it!

Thanks for Reading

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. There was a lot to this post, but we wanted to get you started off right in your meadmaking journey. If you don’t want to read this entire post, check out our audio version in Episode 4 of the MeadMakr Podcast. We also discuss some of the more advanced meadmaking techniques on the show, so subscribe to our feeds for the latest information about making mead. Cheers!