Making Mead: What Yeast Do I Use?

[@ninjason57]

Been looking for a good mead channel that has real content and straight forward information for learning! Keep up the good work man!

[@ManMadeMead]

Thank you so much!

[@davidedgerly]

This is exactly how I learn... step by step in depth... Thank you for all your hard work brother...

[@ManMadeMead]

Thanks for taking the time to watch the video!

[@chrisgray4374]

Do a mead with different red star yeast! I've made great ones with that! Do a video with the red and blue packs compared to the lav-lin yeasts.

[@infoscholar5221]

Thanks for the great vid on yeast. I'm making mead tomorrow, and you have reassured me in my choice of Lalvin EC 1118, which has worked so well for me with fruit wine in the past. Keep it up, man, great channel.

[@ManMadeMead]

I’m happy to help! Let me know how your mead goes!

[@AnarchySniper55]

How has the mead came out what are some tips and tricks you have learned from the experience

[@keyboard_g]

I'm doing 4 different batches as once with the same recipe except for different years. Experiments are the only way to know for sure.

[@km-bo3zx]

Great video! I don't think you can emphasize temperature control enough. D47's a great yeast, but has a small temp range and works better if you stay on the lower end of that range. EC1118 is great yeast because of its broad temp range, ability to ferment just about anything and because it will eat any bad yeasts that might get into your must. A lot of people avoid it because it can ferment so aggressively that it blow off some of the aroma and flavor of the honey. This can be controlled by keeping the temp on the cool side of the range. Thanks!

[@ManMadeMead]

Temperature control is so important like you said. It's funny how often people don't even think about it yet it can literally make or break a mead.

[@buddymc]

Good little vid. Good info. I'm a 30 yr maker of mead. You can't over pitch yeast, if you're making 3 to 5 gals of must, then use minimum of 2 packs in a starter. You'll get faster starts, less lag, less chance of wild yeasts getting a foothold. Plus, if yeast has to divide too many times to get to volume then there's mutations and more things to go wrong. Yeast is cheap compared to the cost of honey.

[@ManMadeMead]

Buddy Mc You’re absolutely right. 2 packets of yeast is a great amount for 3 - 5 gallons. Wild yeast are the worst!

[@chadashton7029]

Any benefit to making a yeast starter like a lot of the beer brewers do?

[@buddymc]

Absolutely. Best to make a starter with Fermaid Go Protect to really get the yeast off to a good start. Do everything you can to keep the yeast from stressing and releasing off compounds, causing bad aroma and harsh tastes. Can make the mead taste like really harsh mouthwash. Same can be done with beer brewing. Look into the TOSNA 2.0 yeast feeding.

[@ManMadeMead]

Chad Ashton Definitely! Anything you can do to give your yeast the best chance possible. It won’t alter flavors or anything, but it will help the yeast in general!

[@jamesspurling]

I've been using D47 for my first three gallons. I'll have to try a few of these other ones. Thanks for making these videos! :D

[@ManMadeMead]

D47 is incredible, thanks for watching! Let me know how those turn out!

[@lancespitzner648]

Question. Which of the four yeasts do you recommend for the sweetest mead possible, and what is the highest gravity your recommend for your fermentation to start with? Thanks!

[@ManMadeMead]

Lance Spitzner The Lalvin K1-V1116 and EC1118 will get you till about 18% so I would recommend either. I would one of the other two since they go to 14%. Get your gravity up to about 1.14-1.15 and you’ll have a pretty good sweet mead!

[@Dave_en]

@@ManMadeMead I think SG of 1.15 is the maximum value you can take in order to start fermentation. Anything higher wont ferment at steady pace and risk stalling in between.

[@jasonherrington2002]

Thank you for the great videos - actually just sent you an email with a few questions. However, as this episode is about yeast - have you tried cultivating and making your own strain of yeast to use in your meads?

[@williamk2023]

Thank you 👍😊.

[@glennsowacke9752]

Do you use the aerator before or after pitching the yeast? Thanks great video and channel.

[@slash2jimi]

Why does everyone pronounce is LAV-LIN when its spelt LAL-VIN

[@ManMadeMead]

I did this for so long, fixed my mistakes now but unfortunately they’re immortalized!

[@wuyiwolf2660]

For darker Fruits I would suggest BM 4x4 as it can ferment to 16% and is made so it helps hold in the color

[@ManMadeMead]

David Dalton I’ll have to try that at some point!

[@michaelwescott8064]

Im doing joes ancient orange, its a super beginners recipe and calls for regular bread yeast. Look up the recipe and make some.

[@ManMadeMead]

I've hear about that! I should definitely put that on my list and give it a shot!

[@craigs3056]

I'm using the K1-1116, I've only made a 10 to 12 % batch with it. Cant wait to make an 18% apple cinnamon mead

[@ManMadeMead]

It's a great yeast! I highly recommend trying the apple cinnamon mead!

[@craigs3056]

I plan to start a batch this summer to have at Christmas. I imagine its delicious.

[@darthepirate3033]

I’m doing an apple pie right now going to rack out of primary this week end.

[@craigs3056]

@@darthepirate3033 I plan on putting 4 lbs of red apples and 2 cinnamon sticks in the secondary, backsweeten of course and hopefully I end up with Christmas in a jug. As soon as my allspice mead and my strawberry/BlackBerry mead are finished I'll start it

[@Dave_en]

Hey dude, I have watched several videos of yours. You drink like a pro. I'm learning a good deal from you. I have a doubt whether I can use bread yeast for mead if we age it for long time say a year after preparation. Wine making is prohibited in our country unless we have licence. Home brew stores are not easily accessible.

[@ManMadeMead]

Bread yeast works! I would give it a shot!

[@Dave_en]

@@ManMadeMead just now I strained grape pulp from primary (spiced pyment) after 21 days. How long should I wait to clear the liquid in secondary? I have used 15-20% water with the grapes roughly pulsed in mixer grinder. Is it ok? The resultant liquid is little sweet now. Would the mead be almost dry on finish? I'm using bread yeast and around 2Kg of sugar in 8 litre must by step feeding. First 1Kg honey and then twice 500gm step feed.

[@goodcitizen3780]

@@Dave_en should take hydrometer readings to figure dryness. Where are you that it's not very legal to make wine? Just curious. Sorry I can't help with your questions, I don't brew like that.

[@Dave_en]

@@goodcitizen3780 I'm from india. Here posession of more than 20litres of wine is viewed seriously. The wine should be only for self consumption and not for sale. Unless you pay huge licence fee, you can't brew more than 20 litres or five gallon wine. The price you need to pay is same as keeping two watchmen on payrole. This is especially for our local area.

[@darrenburke7318]

Tried Mangrove Jacks C51 and found it leaves a very harsh alcohol flavor v Lavins!

[@MrAcuta73]

Some science to say DAP is not so good for you....but I still use some via yeast energizer. I won't/don't use pure DAP (urea). Save it for DEF in a truck. lol

[@TheUkiko]

Have you ever tried asian ball yeast? I'm thinking about giving it a try.

[@ManMadeMead]

I haven't but it sounds interesting!

[@minusstage3]

Wait, this isn't a dating site?

[@BeardofHoneySoul]

Should I store unopened packs of yeast in the fridge or is it okay to store at room temperature. Love the vids!

[@mrpetsupplies]

Ive been using champagne red star yeast... MAN it makes strong stuff... but i think it might be over kill and will need some serious back end adjusting for flavors and "mouthfeel"

[@ManMadeMead]

CAHMicroFarms Yeah! I understand that completely, it definitely ferments things to be pretty hot

[@dabunnyrabbit2620]

Thats the yeast im using. How long do you have to wait?

[@MrAcuta73]

Mouth feel from tanins...either a cup of STRONG english tea, or a bit of oak spiral for 2-3 weeks.

[@josephpurdy7183]

I use the d47 in my cherry mead and there is a STRONG achole taste but not much honey or cherry

[@ManMadeMead]

joseph purdy It’s probably used all the sugars from your ingredients so you’ll have a dryer mead. If you back sweeten with honey you’ll get more of that flavor and then add some cherries into the mead again to impart more flavor

[@psykopanda11]

What are the ecological natural alternatives in yeast? I have previously purchased ecological mead and i would like to make my own.

[@ManMadeMead]

ᚹᛚᚻᚪᛋᛏᚪᛚᛅᚪᛘ Most everything has natural yeast on it. Wild fermentation is a thing, you just have no idea what’s really growing. I would say try any fruit you want and see if any fermentation picks up without yeast.

[@psykopanda11]

@@ManMadeMead Cool! But is there not some natural mushroom or something you can put in so it is a more certain technique for fermentation? It would be sad to put all that expencive ecological honey in and see it rot :(

[@aleksejsskorodumovs9058]

Thank you

[@kiennguyentrung8396]

Can i use natural yeast that made from grapes fruit replacing lalvin yeast?

[@ManMadeMead]

Yup you could!

[@PaulAtreidesXIII]

I see that huge bottle of valentino back there haha.

[@seafoxskipper1]

Really have enjoyed all your videos and I just made my first Cyser 10 days ago. I used D47 and my starting gravity was 1.124 (3 gallon batch). I kinda over shot the D47 capabilities. I also added 10 honey crisp apples sliced up and some spices. I assume I will have a very sweet cyser? Is there a way to knock that down a bit? And if I want to carb some in bottles lightly is there something I can do since the D47 will be at its limit? Thanks for any suggestions

[@ManMadeMead]

Bob Bruchsaler The D47 works fast but is a great yeast if you can control the fermentation temperature well. I would first give it a taste and see what you think, it might not be as sweet as you think. Do that before you change anything. If it is too sweet you might try starting a 1 gallon batch with the same or similar honey, only use like 1 gallon of water and 1 pound of honey and the D47 yeast. once that has gone through a portion of its fermentation add it to you 3 gallon. This will bring down the sweetness level without watering down your mead heavily and it will keep the ABV from dropping a ton. I hope this has helped!

[@dickthebutcher5804]

I have 30 year old dark honey that is still liquid. Lots. Would love suggestions?

[@ManMadeMead]

dickthebutcher Oh man! Can’t believe I missed this comment, put that stuff into a traditional mead and see what it’s like! I’d love to try it!

[@MarkWard438]

Have you ever made a Capsicumel mead? What yeast would you recommend for it too?

[@ManMadeMead]

Hi Mark, I haven't ever made one! However, after looking it up and doing some research I think you would be safe with the Lavlin K1-V1116 yeast. I think it would pair well and cooperate with the peppers. Now this is just a speculation because I haven't done it before. But the K1-V1116 does well with most meads. Hope this helped!

[@MarkWard438]

Awesome, thanks for the reply! I'm relatively new to this, have a standard mead on the go at the minute, thing I'll go onto one with oak next. I really want to do a capsicumel one though! :)

[@ManMadeMead]

It’s definitely in the plans to do an oak one some day. And now that you’ve mentioned the capsicumel I will definitely be adding it to my list as well!

[@MarkWard438]

Man Made Mead I'll eagerly await your videos on them. I was watching one when you replied. 😀

[@TheOldBlackShuckyDog]

Are there any advantages to using a wild yeast, or will it really make such a difference to flavour?

[@ManMadeMead]

Wild yeast are a bit unpredictable! Every yeast puts off different flavors - so you can’t totally predict what you will get!

[@birdbraINCorporated]

i just used active dry yeast..

[@ManMadeMead]

That can work! It’s just not as controllable or predictable as wine yeast. Wine yeast is intended to keep certain flavors in a brew.

[@Maninthedesert30]

Have you ever made a mead with champagne yeast such a red star. And if so how did it turn out

[@ManMadeMead]

I’ve never used red star, but everyone I’ve talked to that’s used it says it’s great!

[@vin1234321]

Would you consider mango a light or darker fruit? Thinking of trying a mango honeydew Mead

[@ManMadeMead]

I would consider that to be a lighter fruit. Try the K1V1116!

[@metalman7825]

Is the audio choppy or did I have a stroke?

[@fishforlife1824]

I was thinking about using the 71b because of the temperature where I live, so I did a little bit of research and found a chart that explains the different lalvin yeast types, but it is vague as to how much nutrient that the 71b requires. It only says that it requires a low amount. How much do you recommend for a 1 gallon batch?

[@ManMadeMead]

I would say that going with 1 tsp of DAP or 1/2 tsp of Fermaid O or Fermaid K would be fine!

[@dimond1806]

So, what would be a good yeast for a short mead. One that take 1 to 3 months to be able to drink? I will not be adding anything to the must other than honey and some raisins for nutrients for the yeast. I only will be doing 1 gallon batches. Any help will be great.

[@ManMadeMead]

Dimond Wallace The d47 is a fast fermenter so I would go with that! It’s from the company Lalvin

[@poisonpotato1]

What do you think of the Lalvin QA23 Yeast for a semi-sweet mead? From what I read it has a low nutrient requirement and tolerance of 16% compared to others I read that have 14% or 18%

[@ManMadeMead]

Thatguy Man I think it would work very well! Just make sure and get your proportions correct and you might want to back sweeten after all fermentation is done. Since it has such a high alcohol tolerance it will more than likely eat through all the honey and leave a dry mead. That is unless you start with a larger amount of honey initially, so to get that sweet mead either start with something like 4 pounds of honey per gallon or just keep the standard 2-3 pounds and then backsweeten later. But the QA23 is a great yeast and it ferments pretty fast when all the conditions are right!

[@cerrymessimore1236]

Is there a yeast that would be good for a traditional mead and a melomel? I have a 6 gallon primary that I would like to divide into 2 parts traditional and 4 different melomels in the secondary. Any suggestions are awesome.

[@ManMadeMead]

Cerry Messimore I like the K1-V1116 yeast the best. It works well as a general yeast for all purposes. I would go with that, if you don’t have that or like it I would also suggest just using the EC-1118 yeast.

[@lukeshoot]

the only yeast available for me is the yeast for making bread... could I make mead out of it? is it require different steps?

[@ManMadeMead]

You could do it! It's the same thing, I would definitely look to amazon or something to try and get some yeast specifically for mead/wine making. The Lalvin K1-V1116 always works well for me.

[@aarongleason7558]

I'm going to be making my first batch. I'm wanting to make maple syrup Mead. Would both the D47 and the EC118 work? Or is there specific one that would work better?

[@ManMadeMead]

I love the D47 so I would definitely try that first. I haven't done a Maple syrup based mead so let me know how it goes!

[@Nazguloid]

Great videos, I learned a lot through them. One question though I have a question. When you say "gallon", do you mean US gallon (3.78 liters) or imperial gallon (4.55 liters)? Knowing that would be a great refference to the people that use a logical and actually useful measurement system :D

[@ManMadeMead]

Nazguloid Oh gosh! Yes I mean US Gallon, I should have included that in the video but I totally forgot!

[@Nazguloid]

@@ManMadeMead Since I had a question twice, here's the second one... What would be better: Adding Mint leaves and fresh chopped ginger to the must (either primary or secondary) or making a tea out of the same thing and adding it (room temp. of course) to the initial must? Both ginger and mint have some anti-bacterial properties, hence should be pretty safe. Not sure if the 'anti' part goes for yeast as well.

[@ManMadeMead]

Nazguloid since those are more flavoring adding tastes I would do them in the secondary. I feel like it’s easier to control adding extra flavors when you do them in the secondary. However, I think it’s worth a shot to run a test of sorts and see what you think! I’d be curious to hear what your results are.

[@Dave_en]

@@ManMadeMead agree with you. I had added just one cardamom pod in 750ml mead in secondary and the flavour was unbearable. You are right, flavour addition should be done in the secondary especially for fruit mead.

[@ahviper5871]

some people boil yeast in water and use it as yeast nutrient, is that ok?

[@ManMadeMead]

Yeast nutrient is essentially just dead yeast, so technically that would work. But I would just buy some yeast nutrient!

[@MrWales]

In my first batch I used a whole pack of mangrove jacks mead yeast to 1 gallon. Do u think that's way too much and will I need to back sweeten? The yeast was a 10gms pack.

[@ManMadeMead]

I think that'll be okay! You'll need to backsweeten if you feel like your mead isn't sweet enough. That's really up to you because some people like a dryer mead.

[@mjlee177]

Has anyone used White Labs WLP001 or WLP090? Would like my mead to taste less like wine.

[@ManMadeMead]

I haven’t used either of those!

[@rhartline1024]

Making my first mead, honey cranberry. I used bread yeast. At 30 days it's way too sweet. Yeast seems to have stopped so I racked. Can I pitch yeast again using a better abv yeast? Or should I just wait for it to age?

[@ManMadeMead]

I would definitely pitch a new yeast. Try the Lalvin D-47. It should do a great job of finishing out your mead. Aging won't bring down the sweetness unfortunately!

[@rhartline1024]

Man Made Mead thanks! I'll give it a try.

[@thrix3975]

I'm doing a mead with honey and apples. I'll add the apples in the secondary and I'm using d47. Will there be any impact/problem with the yeast or is it ok to do it in the secondary?

[@ManMadeMead]

Thrix The yeast and everything should be completely fine! Apples in the secondary works well. D47 is a fast fermenter, so you’re doing the right thing by putting them into the secondary to avoid blowing off any flavors.

[@thrix3975]

@@ManMadeMead thanks!

[@troysilverman7982]

Can I use active dry yeast as substitute for these specific yeasts?

[@PeacefulPeteable]

You can use any yeast. Even the wild ones. But you'll have more control with these. And you'll be able to get a higher ABV.

[@ManMadeMead]

Yes you can! In fact it’s encouraged because like Anthony said, you can control them easier.

[@Dave_en]

@@PeacefulPeteable I think wild yeast or bread yeast are unpredictable after achieving 8% ABV. Though I have managed to get 12+% ABV using bread yeast but still it depends on luck. That said Lalvin EC-1118 has natural Alcohol tolerance of 18% ABV. So even if something goes wrong, still we can achieve 14-15% ABV which is more than enough for long term storage.

[@missyknoll3714]

I read somewhere that if D47 goes above 68 degrees it turns to fusel alcohol, is this true?

[@ManMadeMead]

Only if the yeast are stressed. Going slightly over their temperature range won’t cause them to freak out too much!

[@missyknoll3714]

@@ManMadeMead cool, thanks!

[@dragonraider1108]

Howdy! I've attempted to make my first mead today. I used Lalvin 71b-1122, but it doesn't seem to have started at all. I dont know if this is normal and just takes a long time to start or if it shipped to me dead already. It just settles at the bottom of the carboy and doesn't show any activity. What should I do? I have tried to start it the proper way, but to no avail.

[@ManMadeMead]

Hmm... did you try rehydrating it or are you just sprinkling it in? It could be that they died in transit!

[@dragonraider1108]

@@ManMadeMead Yes, I tried everything i could to start them up. Uppon closer examination I found that they had died during the shipment. I tested the other packs of yeast, all to the same result. This Texas heat is what most likely killed them. It was around 104° when I got them.

[@ManMadeMead]

@@dragonraider1108 Oh man! That definitely sounds like they just kicked the bucket on you. Do you have a local brewshop around you?

[@dragonraider1108]

@@ManMadeMead Im not sure. There is a winery near me though. Maybe they can help me find one.

[@missyknoll3714]

thanks for your expertise, do you know if anyone has made a good mead with D47 and their temps went above 68? It's what I just bought, and now I'm worried my house is too warm. My honey was very expensive and now I think I should order a different yeast, like the ec-1118...….

[@ManMadeMead]

I think you’ll be fine with it fermenting above 68. There are quite a few people I’ve found that use it and ferment above 68 with good results!

[@685941abc]

I only use d-47 and 71b lol

[@ManMadeMead]

I love them!

[@miguelespinaluribe7109]

can you repeat this video with the new knowlege you have, please

[@gregorybach3557]

Hard to take someone seriously about wine chemistry when they can not spell.

[@ManMadeMead]

Preach!