# Bottled Two Batches of Mead Today



## Bee Arthur

One batch is a basic honey mead. The other is a "Lemon Spice & Maple" mead...the spice is cloves. Both were 1-gallon at the start, but I lost some volume during rackings.

Both turned out pretty good so far, but I prefer the lemon spice variant. I'm hoping they hold up well and I'm looking forward to trying them in a year or two.

In the pictures you can see my cheap home-printed labels and the caps that I dipped in beeswax.


----------



## Ravenseye

I'm not seeing any pics.Maybe it's me?


----------



## Bee Arthur

Hmmm...I can see them. What about now?


----------



## Ravenseye

Yeah that's good...and those bottles are GREAT!!!


----------



## Ravenseye

I don't think the labels look cheap at all....I like them! Can't wait to start bottling some of mine. I have about 14 gallons of various types sitting in one of my cellars waiting for bottling time!


----------



## Bee Arthur

Thank you, I'm glad they look alright.

Wow, 14 gallons...not sure where I'd put all of that. In my belly, I guess.


----------



## Arnie

Well done, B.A.! And the labels are nice looking.


----------



## Tenbears

:thumbsup: Looks great Nice and clear, With a bright color. Enjoy. :applause:


----------



## FlowerPlanter

Nice

Is it a BOMM?


----------



## BadBeeKeeper

Ravenseye said:


> I don't think the labels look cheap at all....I like them!


Yes, very nice labels; attractive, clean and simple with everything you need to know.


----------



## Bee Arthur

Thanks, all. Hopefully it ages well.



FlowerPlanter said:


> Nice
> 
> Is it a BOMM?


I don't really even know what BOMM is. I've seen the acronym used in relation to mead-making, but that's about all I know about it.

I kept track of the steps I went through...below are my steps for the "Lemon Spice Maple Mead."



Ingredients for 0.8 gallons of wine:
- Spring water (non-chlorinated), 1 gallon
- Honey, 3 ½ lbs
- Maple syrup, 4 oz
- Whole cloves, 3
- Lemons, 2 sliced
- Ginger root, grated for 30 seconds
- Yeast nutrient, ¼ teaspoon
- D47 wine yeast, one 5-g packet
- Earl Grey tea, 1 mug steeped in spring water and cooled to room temp (adds flavor depth and helps keep the wine from being too sweet by adding tannins for astringency.

Steps:
START PRIMARY FERMENTATION: DATE __________________________________ // SG _________________
- Microwave 2 oz of spring water for 15 seconds to make it slightly warm.
- Pour yeast packet into warmed spring water, stir, and set aside while you assemble the other ingredients.
- Prepare the tea.
- Warm the honey container(s) in a water-filled pan to help it pour more easily.
- Use the cleaner and sanitizer to prepare any equipment that will come into contact with the mead.
- Add the ingredients, in the order of the list above, into a 2-gallon primary fermenter.
- Mix well. This mixture is called the “must.”
- Test the specific gravity (SG) using a hydrometer. It should indicate about 14% alcohol potential. If not, add honey.
- Seal the primary fermenter and install the airlock.
- Use vodka to fill the airlock. This provides an added defense against germs entering the mead.
- Primary Fermentation: Allow the must to sit for 2 weeks in a dark, cool location while it ferments. During the first week, gently swirl the vessel every couple days to keep ingredients in contact with each other. Proceed to first racking after 2 weeks.

1st RACKING: DATE __________________________________ // SG _________________
- Clean and sanitize your racking siphon and tubing.
- Microwave 2oz of water for 1 minute. Add ½ teaspoon of bentonite to the hot water and stir until dissolved. Let the bentonite mixture cool to room temperature, and then pour it into the empty carboy you’re about to use.
- Rack the liquid into the cleaned and sanitized 1-gallon carboy with the bentonite slurry already poured in.
- Test the specific gravity in a hydrometer. A 1.0 reading indicates all the sugars have been converted.
- Install the airlock as you did above.
- Secondary Fermentation: Allow the mead to sit for 1 month in a dark, cool location while it ferments some more.

BOTTLING: DATE __________________________________ // SG _________________
- If, at this point, there are still solids settled in the bottom of the mead, rack one more time to segregate the clarified mead before bottling.
- When there’s no more noticeable fermentation taking place, prepare for bottling.
- Clean and sanitize bottles, and then run them through the dishwasher without detergent. Also do this with the funnel and any other equipment that’ll come into contact with the mead.
- Test the specific gravity in a hydrometer. A 1.0 reading indicates all the sugars have been converted.
- Bottle and cap the mead.
- Label the bottles. Try to include the date you began the primary fermentation and the bottling date.
- Break open one of the bottles to try it out.
- Store the remaining bottles in a cool, dark place until at least a year has passed since the start date to let the flavors blend and moderate.


----------



## Bee Arthur

For the record, I did use bentonite to clear the basic mead, but the lemon spice mead cleared on its own so I didn't use it.

Also, next time I'd probably only use a single lemon instead of two. Just because the lemon flavor dominates a bit more than I expected.

And I'm proud to say that I used spring water from a spring I tapped on my property. So for the basic mead the only ingredients I had to buy were the yeast and yeast nutrient. The water, honey, and maple syrup I made here on my land (well, technically the bees made the honey).


----------



## Tenbears

BOMM is the acronym for Bray's One Month Mead. In today's hurry up society of everyone wins and instant gratification. No one can wait for anything! So there is a trend among many new mead maker to make instant mead. The difference between decent mead and a great mead is in the aging. I have drank many so called one month meads and none are worth a darn. IMHO

I like your record keeping it shows motivation and dedication to creating a quality product. 

I would however like to point out that a SG of 1.000 may not indicate All the sugar has been converter. Because alcohol is thinner than water mead often finishes at 0.995.


----------



## Bee Arthur

Tenbears said:


> I would however like to point out that a SG of 1.000 may not indicate All the sugar has been converter. Because alcohol is thinner than water mead often finishes at 0.995.


I didn't know that, thank you. I'll update my instructions.


----------



## Bee Arthur

Bottled another small batch today. This time it's rosemary mead, which I think is my favorite so far. The ABV ended up being about 15% based on my SG readings.


----------



## CWHeadley

I have a batch I made in the first week of September that has been in a clarifying bucket for about two months now. I should find the time to bottle it.

I have a picture of a glass that it took when I racked it over to the current bucket. This was taken in January 2017. I poured a glass two weeks ago and it was absolutely clear.









Mead making is one of the reasons I wanted to get into beekeeping.


----------



## Bee Arthur

That looks great. Seeing it in the wine glass makes me wonder if I'm weird for pouring my mead "on the rocks" in a whiskey glass. I'm not much of a drinker (anymore), but I like to sip it like my old favorite--scotch.


----------



## Ravenseye

My wife sips wine and mead on the rocks. Always has!


----------

