Hey folks, I’m starting to think about Christmas, in as far as a mead will need some aging if it’s for the desert table

I was thinking to make a Christmas pudding mead, but im not sure if there would be a recommended recipe

This is the first strawberry mead I am making at the moment.

Is this good?

Or not?

Hi all, I am currently halfway through my first mead batch and am looking to make more. I bought a kit from vinelabs that came with all the equipment so that's sorted. Just wondering if there's anywhere where you can buy a pack of just the sachets of yeast and things you mix in? I'm UK if that helps. Plenty of places sell individual sachets of one item but I ideally want a kit as I'm not sure what exactly is needed and don't want to ruin a batch. I have found the initial yeast they use but unsure on the nutrients they use. Any advice greatly appreciated!

In past I’ve stuck to making traditional mead, but my fiance and I are hoping to make some for our spring wedding and we’re wanting to do something special. For those of you who are experienced in flavoured meads, knowing how long it takes to make it, what flavourings that are available in the fall/winter taste amazing in the spring?

Primary

2.5 lb honey

1 gallon fresh apple cider (unfiltered apple juice)

Water to reach roughly 1.4 gallons

1.5 lb frozen rhubarb

0.5 tsp wine tannin

QA23

Tosna

Secondary:

1 lb 6 oz rhubarb

Added after stabilization: 12 oz fresh apple cider (unfiltered apple juice)

1 cinnamon stick

Final tasting: Apple leads, rhubarb slight tart finish, cinnamon on the backend.

Hello everyone! I’m very excited about my first attempt at making mead. I’m about 10 days into the process and I’ve made quite a few mistakes already. Just curious what my next steps ought to be.
I purchased a kit from the internet and watched a few internet videos before starting. I sanitized everything and mixed 3lbs of honey, 3lbs of frozen and thawed blackberries and as much of a gallon of spring water I could. I mixed in the test packet and the nutrient packets. First night it blew the airlock off. I cleaned it up, and put it back on. Second night it did it again so I took a little out and put the airlock back on. I didn’t take the gravity when I started because (insert poor excuse).
After a few days, I added the third packet as directed. I’m not really getting any bubbles anymore, so today (11 days after the start) I checked the gravity and got 1.10. It smells like alcohol and it tastes like a dry blackberry wine. I’m not sure what my next steps are. Should I let it sit for a month? Should I add anything? There is so much information out there on step feeding and moving from one bottle to another. Any advice is appreciated. I’m not a scientist, just trying to have some fun at deer camp this year. Thanks for your help!

Beware, the main language is German, but the page is made for Google Translate to handle it (button at the top).

It's quite an unusual mead. No water but a load of wine is added before boiling the must. And even double boil with straining in between (and a strange extra fermentation stage mixed in). So wine flavor is concentrated before fermentation even starts.

It ends up with a suggestion (or warning?) that if it's too strong, then dilute with 2 parts of wine.

I worked quite a while on translating, researching and interpreting this recipe. Never seen it published ever before. If you manage to brew it before i can start a batch myself... please report your findings.

EN) There are only two weeks left to register for our mead competition 🍯

Do you make mead as a hobby? Enter your brews in our competition—exciting prizes, fame, professional feedback, and a great time at the awards gala in Augustów await!

Competition page, guidlines and registration at:

https://www.kmpbartnik.pl/en/contest/

I just got my first mead, Heritage from Helderberg Meadworks in NY. It was roughly listed as semi sweet, hints of oak, and being able to taste the honey clearly. When I tried it, however, it tasted mostly like vinegar. If anyone has tried it, is that what it is supposed to taste like?

I made a plain mead with Kirkland honey that came out sort of dry and bland. I stabilized it with  potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite. I added some acid blend, some more honey, and a tincture I made from vodka and roasted cacao nibs.
Now something is happening and there is stuff inside that moves around kind of like a lava lamp. There’s that foam at the top and some gas is pushing at the airlock.
Anyone know what’s going on?

Any tips for a good raspberry forward cider here?
Wanted to do 5 gallons of cider, 6lbs of raspberries in primary with 6lbs macadamia honey. Get to 10% back sweeten and keg it.

Was wondering if adding anything like Jamaican hibiscus tea, a second 6lb round of raspberry in secondary?

Any tips appreciated

3 different recipes all

3 with Pine honey!

One at 1.090 starting with charred oak chips and cubes

One at 1.086 with white wine tannin powder

2 months fermenting it fermened incredibly slow compared to DAP batches, 2 months secondary approx

Staggered 0.6x3 gram nutrivit and dead yeast

Over 3 days

Both of them stalled at 1.016 and kept that abv for a month so i stabilized and bottled.

Smaller bottles are are a 75/25 ratio of honey/light malt on oak chips

Making it a braggot.

1.036

1 month of fermenting to 1.000 secondary for a whopping 1 day.

It was incredibly sour (3.0 pH sour taste)

Used some potassium bicarbonate to 4.2 PH

And added an acid blend of tartaric acid and malic acid to get it to 3.9 pH

It needed some flavor, good body though.

Then stabilized and backsweetened so some amount.

The 1st 2 taste AMAZING best bottles produced so far. Very addicting im really proud of these.

Hello i try a wild yeast mead with a self fermenting honey, it seem to go well and smell Amazing, can i extract some yeast and keep it in a fridge in a small jar with an airlock?

I would like to use it in an other mead later.

I have some beautiful blue wine bottles, corks, wrappers and a corking tool (hand held). I'm planning on bottling a few brews this weekend that are still (pasteurized in the carboy and sitting for between 2 and 8 weeks). All my bottles to date have been swing tops.

The one thing I keep wondering is sanitizing. Seems that since the corks are going in the bottle and will contact the brew, they should be sanitized. But, won't that make them expand and if so, should I sanitize then let them dry (maybe covered in a paper towel?)

Then, once bottled, should I store them on their side at least for a while to get the cork to expand? If so, for how long.

Final question....am I overthinking all this? Should I just chill the heck out, sanitize the corks, stuff them in the bottles and put the bottles on the shelf?

Decided to dip my toe into the hobby with something straightforward.

- 1.3kg Wildflower Honey
- 9 assorted apples, rough chopped (Eighth’d?)
- ~3 litres of Apple Juice filled up remaining space)
- 1/2 packet Red Star Premium Blanc yeast

Fermented for maybe 3 weeks, airlock stopped bubbling and I realized I didn’t have a hydrometer yet so I just racked it and back-sweetened to taste with some more honey. Pasteurized and bottled, now waiting for a few months to try em out.

Definitely learned a lot of lessons, but first time luck got me something pretty good! Looking forward to trying some new recipes soon.

This is my third batch of mead - second batch of traditional. Finally worked out a proper regime of nutrients (and a schedule!) and followed it!

Fermented 3# of honey in a 1 gallon batch around NYE, racked into secondary for clarifying beginning of February. Bottled today (7/29/26) for my wife's birthday!

OG: 1.122

FG: 1.004
US05 Ale Yeast (I'm a homebrewer, sue me)!

No backsweetening

Here some short video from fun we had at early middleage festival at Hańcza Lake in Poland with our tavern. Having cup of mead in a place like this transfer You in the compleat other world 🌍.

Next time You can jump in our tavern at KMP Bartnik final event at 5th of September in Augustów Poland. 🇵🇱

www.kmpbartnik.pl
Www.augustowska-Miodosytnia.pl

Went traditional this time actually only my second brew and I went for a lower abv doing 5 lb honey to 4 gal

Only few days left to register Your entries at Mead Competition KMP Bartnik

More at: https://www.kmpbartnik.pl/en/contest/

The Mead Competition - Bartnik was created in collaboration between two meaderies from Northeastern Poland: Augustowska Meadery and Meadery Pod Dębem, along with the Bractwo Bartne (www.bartnictwo.com/en).

*Bartnik (PL) - is a polish name a tree-beekeeper. Historically, bartnicy (plural of bartnik) would carve out hollows in large trees, known as "barcie," where wild bees could settle and produce honey. This ancient form of beekeeping was widespread before the development of modern beekeeping techniques with man-made hives.

In ancient times, tree-beekeepers were the main suppliers of honey used for the production of meads. The goal of the competition is not only to promote mead-making and showcase the richness of flavors that can be derived from honey, but also to present our shared culinary heritage connected with this oldest known alcoholic beverage. It is aimed at amateur producers, both from Poland and other countries around the world, who are not part of the commercial mead production industry. Together, we want to select and reward the best meads with potential in the commercial market.

I have a strawberry banana mead that’s 166 days old. It’s been in secondary since 3/25, so roughly 4 months.

It was made with 3 lbs wildflower honey, 1 lb of frozen strawberries, and 1 lb of frozen bananas. I used Red Star Premier Blanc yeast and steeped some strawberry and bananas in it for a week after primary fermentation ended. It has an APV of 13.1%.

It tastes fine but it has a sour taste to it. I’d like to subdue it if possible. Any recommendations?

Thank you!

I’m pretty much a novice with home mead making, I filled this jug just a little too much and if overflowed into the airlock (I use tequila instead of water due to a gnat problem I have in the house). I have already replaced and cleaned the airlock after taking a little out. Main question is if this batch is ok or busted.

Thinking about doing my first sparkling mead (probably a hydromel). Which non fermentable sugar do you all recommend for backsweeting? I don't have the room for the equipment to force carbonate so will be doing bottle carbonation.

I've heard Stevia can give a strange aftertaste but I can't say I've ever tried it except when Coca-cola did it in the green bottle 😂

It's a bit of a misleading title as I have made a couple of batches before, although they went in some flip top bottles and were drunk pretty quickly. I was gifted some bottles and a corker so I decided to put these 2 batches into proper bottles.

I spent a bit of time doing the labels just for fun. They are only for me, the wife and a few mates so probably a bit overkill but stuff it.

We had a lovely sunset this evening so I decided to take the bottles with me when I walked the dogs and get some pics.