Mead Making Supllies

[Pandabean]

I have been wanting to try and make mead for quite a while and now that I have space to do it I thought I would give it a go. One of my favourites is Moniack but I cannot find any shops around here that sell it. tried all the possible stores in Aberdeen and parts of the Shire.

Would anyone be able to tell me what equipment I would need and where would be the best place to get it?

 

[charleslockerbie]

Iv made mead 1ce, im not a fan but it was very easy.

I got the technique from "caveman chemistry" a very interesting book.

all you need if you want to make it back to basics is
1 sauce pan, 2 ltr drinks bottle, 1 balloon, piece of tubing and something to put your finished mead in.

ingredients
honey, sugar, water and yeast. (i used bread yeast for ease but would be better with a wine or champagne yeast)

 

[Pandabean]

Thanks Charles, dont quite follow the ballon and tubing though.

 

[Toddy]

Nor me willing to be enlightened though

Did Dunc (gregorach) not do some mead making ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Pandabean]

I think you may be right, I remember reading a thread on here about mead making recipies, but not about where to get supplies etc.

Typical, can't find the thread now.

 

[British Red]

I've done stacks of mead and metheglin over the years.

What quantities are you wanting to make Pandabean?

Theres plenty of online suppliers of all you will need, or as charles tried, you can improvise most bits - the tubing etc above is to improvise an airlock which is used to prevent the ingress of a vinegar fly.

Tell me the type of mead you want and the quantities you want to produce and I'll knock together a shopping list and a set of instructions if you want?

If you were closer I'd happily lend you all the gear and so forth - but they would be heavy to post!

Red

 

[Pandabean]

Thanks BR. Don't think the postman would be happy hauling all that gear up this corner of the country.

For the quantities, I would be happy enough with a couple bottles (from one complete brew) for myself until I get experience at making it. Say maybe a couple of 2l bottles.

As for the type, I think just plain mead to start with then I can experiment with flavours later. Something that is sweet but not too sweet.

Hope that made some sense in some way.

 

[British Red]

Uhuh

Right, if I'm talking down to you tell me to reign in

Alcohol is produced by the action of yeast on sugar in a solution (water).

For yeast to live, it needs some food (yeast nutrient) and a slightly acid environment.

Mead is made from honey which is a comple material based upon bees splitting the sugar contained in nectar into fructose and glucose

Honey consists of

Water 17%
Fructose 39%
Glucose 34%
Sucrose 1%
Dextrin 0.5%
Proteins 2%
Wax 1%
Malic, Formic, Citric acids 0.5%
Salts (Calcium, Iron, Phosphates, Magnesium, Iodine) 1%
Resins, Gums, Pigments, Volatile oils, Enzymes, Pollen grains 4%


This means that yeast acts differently than it does on basic sucrose (cane or beet sugar). It will turn it into alcohol, but it takes time.

With me so far?

 

[Pandabean]

Yup I follow.

 

[British Red]

Cool, so to make mead, honey dissolved in water, some yeast, potentially yeast nutrient and a bit of acid. Something to brew it in.

Now theres a wierd nasty little fly (the vinegar fly) that carries aceto bacteria. If that gets in your mead, the bacteria will turn the mead into vinegar, so we use an airlock to avoid it.

The yeast will grow, eat sugar, poo alcohol and die (nice huh) so you get some cloudiness in the mead (bits of yeast and crud) and a layer of sediment at the bottom.

So we need some way of settling out the crud to a thick layer and a way to draw off the clear mead without disturbing the sediment (syphon tube)

All clear?

 

[Pandabean]

Was going to mention this last night but was too tired.

So essentially from what you say the honey is sugar? And I take it that where the bees get their nectar from determines the ratio of the sugars and therefore the overall tatse of the mead/honey?

 

[British Red]

Yep - sugar plus effectively.

So to make mead, first supply your honey

You can make some great mead from even cheap Aldi type honey. Don't be a snob for the first making. But if you can befriend a few beekepers who can give you some interesting honey- heather honey, apple blossom etc., do try them. I would avoid honey from oilseed rape though - smells like cats pee!

So, now, you need to buy some gear. You will want

A glass demijohn. Don't by plastic ones, they a pig to clean
A bung with a hole in for an airlock (twisty plastic tube)
An Airlock (twisty plastic tube) - this is part filled with water. escaping gas from fermentation can escape, but vingar flies can't get in.
Some yeast - there loads of types, but general purpose is fine (or champagne yeast if buying by the sachet)
Some yeast nutrient (various materials the yeast needs to live on. Present in grapes but not in honey)
If you want to get fancy some acid blend - powdered tartaric, malic and citric acid (I'll post you some if you like)
Some finings - this settles out the suspended dead yeast.
A siphon tube (to suck out the mead without disturbing the sediment).
Some way of bottling the mead (why not save some screw cap wine bottles?).

If you want to do this on the cheap, buy a demijohn,bung and airlock and we'll cobble the rest together.

If you have a Wlkinsons near you, you should be able to get most bits there - or I can advise on some online suppliers if you like?

Red

 

[troopermaz]

I would be interested in some online suppliers if you dont mind please

 

[Pandabean]

Online suppliers would be handy as there isnt a Wilkinsons up this way as far as I know, certinaley not a place I have heard of.
Theres a large market/car boot sale near to me where I have seen people selling local honey, might take a closer look next time I am there.

 

[Nagual]

Looks like your nearest Wilko's is Clydebank... I think, as their website say it opened on the 2nd of December 2010, I can only guess they typo'd that and it should have been 2009. Nothing on the list for new openings further north. Shame, as I really like them,just bought a couple of demijohns and a load of other gear. You could try Tesco Extra, the one in Greenock has Beer & Wine making supplies - not a lot mind you but if you have one close to you it might be worth having a nosey.

Good luck in your wine making experiences..

PS, send happy thoughts to my 2 bramble wines and 1 pea pod jars, just started them yesterday.. bubble bubble bevvie and trouble..

 

[charleslockerbie]

Thanks Charles, dont quite follow the ballon and tubing though.

the balloon is for a pressure relief valve, and the tubing is to decant it without disturbing the dreggs.

 

[Pandabean]

Thanks Nag, but a trip to Clydebank may be a bit out of the way . I had a look in the large Tesco Extra in Aberdeen but I don't recall seeing any wine making supplies.

 

[British Red]

Okay - online suppliers. There used to be only a couple - there are dozens now.

Most won't ship glass demijohns. But this one will. Buy a glass demihon and a bored bung from this page

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/index.php/containers/demi-johns.html?gclid=CIzQr8ah86MCFQ1t4wodx2N54g

They sell all the other stuff too

 

[British Red]

This will do nicely for yeast - its got the nutrient built in

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/index...ast/vitners-choice-wyeast-nutrient-blend.html

This airlock has the bung with it

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/index.php/bubbler-airlock-with-1gall-rubber-bung.html

This is a good basic siphon

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/index.php/young-s-simple-syphon.html

Don't worry about acid blend - some orange juice works

Buy some finings to help clearing

http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/index.php/harris-vin-clear-dry-finings.html

That should be enough to get you going

 

[njal]

Its ashame you don't have a wilkinsons near as they do all the kit, but you can order online from them as well, everything apart from the demijhon's.
http://www.wilkinsonplus.com (look in kitchen & laundry, then go down to home brewing.)

I have found their wine yeast super compound to be very good and its the only one i use these days.
The other important thing to remember is to sterilise the demijohn and equipment before use.

I like to keep it simple, personnaly i only use honey, water, and yeast, i have never use acid blends or findings and never had a problem.

Most of the sediment build up happens in the first month so i syphon the mead in to a second demijohn at this point. then leave in the second demijohn for another 2-3months till the airlock settles downdown and levels off, then just bottle. it will be drinkable at this point but will improve over time. I would say another 2-3 months in the bottle to give a good rounded taste.

As to the honey everyone is different, each with there own taste so it depends on your tastes as to which will be best for you. But for a first time i would suggest Gales, you can get it from most places and i know a lot of people that swear by it. Fora full demijohn's worth i suggest 4-6 jars(340grams) depending on how sweet you like your mead, i use 6 but i have a sweet tooth

Hope this helps