I will be continually updating this post for the near future from start until bottling.
This recipe is actually based on a mistake that was turned into a triumph by my friend and fellow mead-maker, John.
As of the moment, I'm calling this Baby Hellhound: Wayfarer Mead. Why? Because all my drinks will be under the label Baby Hellhound (after my dog), and Wayfarer...um...because that was what was first in my head.
It starts with making a dry mead and then straining through a sweetening tea at the end. Totally unorthodox, but it worked out fantastically for him. Let's see if I can duplicate it!
I'm writing down exactly what I did. Feel free to deviate from anything I added or did. Also, let me know how it turns out!
Baby Hellhound: Wayfarer, Attempt #1
5 gallon batch
Ingredients
5 gallons of room temp spring water
11.5 lbs Ambrosia Honey, Colorado Western Slope (via amazon.com)
1 teaspoons yeast nutrient
2 teaspoons yeast energizer
campden tablets
1 package Red Star Pasteur Champagne Dry Yeast
5 1 oz packets Herbal Alchemy's Vampire's Kiss tea (1 per gallon)
List of Tools
Fermenting bucket (or carboy)
Carboy (for racking)
Paint mixer drill extension (that has been dedicated to only making mead/wine/beer)
Electric drill (make SURE your battery is powered!)
No-rinse sanitizer
Airlock
Mortar & pestle
Teaspoon
Tablespoon
Spatula
Coffee filters (not needed for months)
Bowl (or beaker) for yeast rehydration
Cleaning washcloth
Hydrometer
Day 1 (Friday, April 13, 2012)
Part 1 - Sanitize Everything.
Okay, back up. Start by CLEANING your fermenting area. Yes, that means the dishes from lunch and whatever that crusty stuff is. And those long dead flowers your spouse gave you. Give yourself plenty of room to work.
Follow the instructions on your particular sanitizer about how to use it. Follow those instructions on everything you'll be using today. Or boil items to kill off all the germs. List for me as follows:
Fermenting bucket (or carboy)
Paint mixer drill extension
Airlock
Mortar & pestle
Teaspoon
Tablespoon
Spatula
Bowl (or beaker) for yeast rehydration
Cleaning washcloth
Hydrometer
Part 2 - Dumping Everything in the Bucket
I went with the no boil method. If you choose to boil or otherwise heat your must (unfermented honey mixture), go for it. There are plenty of forums out there on how to do that.
At this time and only if you want to, crush some campden tablets (1 per gallon) in your mortar & pestle (or under a spoon) and stir into the must to kill all wild yeasts and bacteria. You'll have to wait 24 hours to pitch your yeast then, so that the sulphites don't attack your yeast too.
I'm taking my chances with Mother Nature. No boil & no campden tablets for me.
Rehydrate your yeast according to instructions. Place your honey in some warm water to make pouring smoother (but don't mix the honey IN the water).
Take a break while your yeast rehydrates.
Pour in 2 gallons of water. Add all the honey. This will take time and patience to get almost every last drop. Add yeast nutrients & energizer. Fill with water up to the 5 gallon mark on your bucket. If you're bucket or carboy doesn't have nifty markers, I used a little under 4 and 1/2 gallons of water to make a total 5 gallon batch.
Attach your sanitized drill bit to the drill and go mad scientist on it. Maniacal laughter encouraged. Mix the honey until it's dissolved into the water. This takes awhile. I mixed for a good 5 minutes and then some. The must also needs lots of oxygen in it in order for the yeast to work its magic.
If your yeast is ready and your must is uniform at room temperature, pitch the yeast!
Lock down your fermenting bucket's lid -- or put the bung in your carboy -- and slide on the airlock. Crush a campden tablet and add that into water and fill up to your airlock's fill line. We don't want bacterial growth in our airlocks!
Updates to follow.
This recipe is actually based on a mistake that was turned into a triumph by my friend and fellow mead-maker, John.
As of the moment, I'm calling this Baby Hellhound: Wayfarer Mead. Why? Because all my drinks will be under the label Baby Hellhound (after my dog), and Wayfarer...um...because that was what was first in my head.
It starts with making a dry mead and then straining through a sweetening tea at the end. Totally unorthodox, but it worked out fantastically for him. Let's see if I can duplicate it!
I'm writing down exactly what I did. Feel free to deviate from anything I added or did. Also, let me know how it turns out!
Baby Hellhound: Wayfarer, Attempt #1
5 gallon batch
Ingredients
5 gallons of room temp spring water
11.5 lbs Ambrosia Honey, Colorado Western Slope (via amazon.com)
1 teaspoons yeast nutrient
2 teaspoons yeast energizer
campden tablets
1 package Red Star Pasteur Champagne Dry Yeast
5 1 oz packets Herbal Alchemy's Vampire's Kiss tea (1 per gallon)
List of Tools
Fermenting bucket (or carboy)
Carboy (for racking)
Paint mixer drill extension (that has been dedicated to only making mead/wine/beer)
Electric drill (make SURE your battery is powered!)
No-rinse sanitizer
Airlock
Mortar & pestle
Teaspoon
Tablespoon
Spatula
Coffee filters (not needed for months)
Bowl (or beaker) for yeast rehydration
Cleaning washcloth
Hydrometer
Day 1 (Friday, April 13, 2012)
Part 1 - Sanitize Everything.
Okay, back up. Start by CLEANING your fermenting area. Yes, that means the dishes from lunch and whatever that crusty stuff is. And those long dead flowers your spouse gave you. Give yourself plenty of room to work.
Follow the instructions on your particular sanitizer about how to use it. Follow those instructions on everything you'll be using today. Or boil items to kill off all the germs. List for me as follows:
Fermenting bucket (or carboy)
Paint mixer drill extension
Airlock
Mortar & pestle
Teaspoon
Tablespoon
Spatula
Bowl (or beaker) for yeast rehydration
Cleaning washcloth
Hydrometer
Part 2 - Dumping Everything in the Bucket
I went with the no boil method. If you choose to boil or otherwise heat your must (unfermented honey mixture), go for it. There are plenty of forums out there on how to do that.
At this time and only if you want to, crush some campden tablets (1 per gallon) in your mortar & pestle (or under a spoon) and stir into the must to kill all wild yeasts and bacteria. You'll have to wait 24 hours to pitch your yeast then, so that the sulphites don't attack your yeast too.
I'm taking my chances with Mother Nature. No boil & no campden tablets for me.
Rehydrate your yeast according to instructions. Place your honey in some warm water to make pouring smoother (but don't mix the honey IN the water).
Take a break while your yeast rehydrates.
Pour in 2 gallons of water. Add all the honey. This will take time and patience to get almost every last drop. Add yeast nutrients & energizer. Fill with water up to the 5 gallon mark on your bucket. If you're bucket or carboy doesn't have nifty markers, I used a little under 4 and 1/2 gallons of water to make a total 5 gallon batch.
Attach your sanitized drill bit to the drill and go mad scientist on it. Maniacal laughter encouraged. Mix the honey until it's dissolved into the water. This takes awhile. I mixed for a good 5 minutes and then some. The must also needs lots of oxygen in it in order for the yeast to work its magic.
If your yeast is ready and your must is uniform at room temperature, pitch the yeast!
Lock down your fermenting bucket's lid -- or put the bung in your carboy -- and slide on the airlock. Crush a campden tablet and add that into water and fill up to your airlock's fill line. We don't want bacterial growth in our airlocks!
Pitching temp 79 degrees
OG 1.0803
Store in darkness and wait.
Store in darkness and wait.
Day 3 (Sunday, April 15, 2012)
Sweet smelling carbon dioxide bubbles!Updates to follow.
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