How to Make a 6.5% Traditional Session Mead (Hydromel) at Home!

[@davidmcdonald4771]

Thank you. Always good to learn facts that i've misremembered. Appreciate the refresher.

[@ManMadeMead]

Thanks for watching!

[@shauntuck4731]

Hey, thanks for the great content here, I'm learning more about bottle carbonation and just trying to understand it better. You added the priming sugar to the whole 5 litres, but would it be possible to put the sugar or use carbonation drop in the bottle like you would beer? And do you have a rough idea the amount of sugar you would add? E.g 3g sugar to 500ml bottle ect? Thanks

[@ManMadeMead]

You definitely could! I’m not sure about how much.. I would use this calculator: www.morebeer.com/content/priming_sugar_calculator

[@lunarwhirlwind]

I have joined the mead stampede! I'm so excited about it! I'm new to making mead and this is only my third brew. I was wondering if you'll be doing any mead stampede tasting videos during the competition?

[@ManMadeMead]

We will do some tasting video stuff but we won’t do one for every mead!

[@TheSerojin]

Can you bottle carb a hydromel the same way as a sweet hard cider if we don't want to use unfermentable sugers? By pasturizing the bottles in hot water once they have reached a desired level of carbonation? Or is this more difficult with a hydromel?

[@twilli2397]

you can do this with any brew

[@ManMadeMead]

For sure! You can stabilize and then back sweeten with any sweetener you want. You will just need to force carbonate if you want it to be carbonated!

[@simplecrusader7799]

@@ManMadeMead Hey, what do you mean by "force carbonating" ?

[@GLDn1]

@@simplecrusader7799 , use like a soda stream or better.

[@blackbogbrewing3186]

@@simplecrusader7799 use something to artificially introduce co2. Most people use kegs for this purpose, but for such a small 7/8 gallon batch you would have to get creative, like someone else mentioned a soda maker could work, but would really depend on the effectiveness of the product you choose. It's best to leave bottles that are carbonated in the fridge a few days before opening because the colder the liquid the more easier the co2 dissolves throughout, giving you a nice prolonged carbonation rather than a spurt of co2 upon opening and a quickly flat beverage.

[@blackbogbrewing3186]

Enjoyed this recipe, especially since I already had all of these ingredients. Just made 1 gallon batches of Sourwood honey, and Black Locust honey I picked up in Asheville, NC. Only changes I made were doubling the Erythritol and Maltodextrin as I found the body and sweetness weren't where I would like with the original recipe.

[@cody5772]

You mentioned that you would of added my non-fermentable sugar. How much would you recommend? 5tbs/gallon?

[@ManMadeMead]

That's really up to you! It's based on how much sweetness you like. If you want a sweeter mead you will want more!

[@carlosquijanovillanueva1982]

Nice video! I have a question, last year, on december, i made a mead, it was on primary for a month, next i moved it to a secondary carboy, but, it looks weird, like if a ghost is swimming inside, my question is, it is normal? This is my second mead the first one had the same look, it tasted good, so i dont know what happened, everything was properly sanitized, cheers!

[@ManMadeMead]

That's interesting! I would say that as long as it's not green or any odd color, you should be fine! Maybe try moving it into a new container to see if that moves it off the "ghost"! haha

[@carlosquijanovillanueva1982]

@@ManMadeMead It's like a translucid thing. In the first mead, when i moved it to secondary, it disappeared, but after a month, returned. UnU

[@canadamead5265]

Good video!

[@ManMadeMead]

Thank you so much!

[@jdesmond4101]

Have any estimates for amount of lemon juice, zest and black tea for your one gallon recipe?

[@ManMadeMead]

I would say 1 tsp of lemon juice, the zest from 1 lemon and 2 cups of black tea!

[@jdesmond4101]

@@ManMadeMead Thanks!

[@PhyleXTension82]

When you said "I'm going to add three things to this... Four things.." I immediately thought No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!!! Lol, couldn't resist sorry. Well done as always, makes me want to branch out and try some other styles! On a side note, should the acid be added before fermentation? I remember reading that somewhere - there's a potential reaction that could occur with CO2 if I remember correctly

[@ManMadeMead]

You can add it during the fermentation but I normally do it after so I have the most control!

[@craig8059]

I see a lot of info going back and forth between what percent is the ceiling to be considered a hydromel. Many believe it to be 8%, some 9%, and of course like you have mentioned in this video...7%.

[@ManMadeMead]

It's definitely a hot topic debate!

[@l1n5n8]

Where can I buy the stir stick drill attachment

[@ManMadeMead]

www.amazon.com/Degassing-Stainless-Attachment-Winemaking-Kombucha/dp/B08915YFVT/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=homebrew+drill+attachment&qid=1623269893&sr=8-4

[@l1n5n8]

@@ManMadeMead thank you man!

[@alphaproductions7472]

Why did you convert the mead into another container and then add the extra ingredients, and is this a must because I only have one

[@ManMadeMead]

Because I wanted to get the mead off the dead yeast and then help it clear!

[@ManMadeMead]

You can always rack out of the single vessel into a bowl or pot and then clean the old vessel and move it back in!

[@MrSweetbabyray]

I have no problem with adding things to add body and flavor I like acid blend tanninmyself but I will say that in the beginning of the video you said you were just going to add water sugar in yeast and then all the sudden you added several other chemicals so really it's not the brew that you originally said it would be not that that's a bad thing or that it can't be good it's just not actually what you said it was going to be

[@theastronomer5800]

I agree, especially for people starting out, no need to add anything more (but, it's good to see options and look into them). There is absolutely no need for yeast nutrient though.

[@ManMadeMead]

You're right - I added some things and I shouldn't have said only honey, water & yeast in the beginning. The issue with keeping it as honey, water and yeast in this case is that your mead will be thin. I would rather tell people about the things they should add to fix the mouthfeel and acidity problems than to have them make my recipe and be frustrated that I didn't tell them the steps to make it better!

[@MrSweetbabyray]

@@ManMadeMead hey I get it I love watching your channel you have a lot of great information as a Payday I intend to be a subscriber I was only trying to give a little bit of constructive criticism I've watched all of these hydromel videos and I really enjoyed them

[@royalecrafts6252]

why you keep mixing pounds and grams dude?