Homebrew mead recipe and report (part 2/2)

Click here for part 1: https://steemit.com/drinking/@thecoach/homebrew-mead-recipe-and-report-part-1-2

Fermentation progress

Sway your barrel daily. Be careful with your back, the barrel is heavy! After the regular bubbling stops you can make your first tests.

Test of alcohol
Fill a small sip of your must in a glass. Then take a pipette and fill some drops of your mead into the vinometer. Let the drops run through the vinometer (you can blow into the top to speed it up) and turn it over. Wait until the fluid stops moving and note the value where the fluid stops. That is your actual alcohol value. Repeat this test three times because vinometers are not 100% precise.

Test of taste
Take a sip from your must. If its still sweet there is a lot of sugar/honey left to be fermented. If the mead tastes dry then you need to add sugar/honey, wait 1 week and repeat the tests.
At this point it's normal that the mead tastes awful! But with this method you can keep the wine at your prefered sweetness level. When in doubt, wait one week longer before adding more sugar/honey or use less to approach the perfect taste carefully.

Add sugar/honey
If the mead got more alcohol and fermented most of the sweetness you add some sugar or honey. If my mead has under 13% of alcohol I add 500 g of sugar to the must (and mix it well of course). If the wine has above 13% of alcohol I add around 500-700 g of honey. My yeast normally produces 14,5-15 % alcohol, so I'm beeing very careful with the later additions of honey. The wine could get too sweet! It's a good idea to reduce the amount of honey above 13,8-14% by half. You have to check how much alcohol your yeast will produce. Maybe you have to reduce the amount of honey earlier.
To make your life easier warm up the honey at low settings (360°C, 30 - 60 Sek) in the microwave to pour it out easier. Don't mix it with water, just add the pure honey.

You could use honey instead of sugar for the first additions but in my opinion this won't effect the taste.

Repeat
Wait one or two weeks, repeat both tests and add sugar or honey if your wine lost most of his sweetness. Continue swaying the barrel daily!

If there is no bubbling anymore, no change of the alcohol level, the yeast sank to the ground of your vessel, the sweetness kept stable and you're near the "alcohol tolerance" value of your yeast then, my friends, your mead is almost finished! I recommend to wait one or two weeks longer and observe (=test!) until you are sure that nothing changes anymore.

First cutting

You need to remove the sediment (especially the yeast) from the wine. To do so place your barrel in a dark and cold place like your basement. Put it on a chair, a beverage crate or a similar high object. That will make the decantation easier. Wait one week to let all the particles sink to the ground.
Please note: Don't wait too long bevor cutting the mead, the yeast could ruin it if stays there for a longer period of time.

To siphon the more or less "clear" wine put your wine siphon in the barrel but don't let it touch the sediment on the ground. Maybe place it in the upper half at first and then bring the siphon closer to the ground bit by bit while pumping out the mead in your second canister. Yes you must sacrifice 1-3 liter of mead from the lower part of your barrel. Better leave a bit more behind then have too much of the sediment in your first cutting.
If your barrel has a tap you can try to use this instead of pumpig everything out with a siphon.

Clear your wine

There are four methods to clear your wine:

1. Wait a long time and make several cuttings
2. Buy professional wine filters (around 100€)
3. Use some chemicals (cheap and fast)
4. Don't clear at all and drink it right away (but in my experience the wine will taste a bit better when cleared)

Because it's the most easiest, fastest and cheapest method I go with number 3. To clear it we're going to use "silica sol". Additives like this could hurt the final taste. If you do it only one time and don't use to much it won't hurt the taste at all.

At first add 20ml of antigel and sway the barrel. Then fill around 200ml of mead into a beaker or glass. Fill 15ml of silica sol into your beaker and mix well. Next pour it back into the barrel and mix that as well.

After one day the mead should be much clearer as the suspended matter sank down. Make your second cutting and leave the sediment on the ground. Fill the mead back in your original or another (clean) barrel.

If the mead is not clear enough you could use gelantin for a second clearing attempt but I've never needed to do this.

Bottling

You could use normal wine bottles with cork or screw-cap. I use only screw-cap bottles because it's easier and very convenient. If style is important to you, use bottles with cork. But then you need to prepare corks and buy a corker.
I collect empty wine bottles from friends and colleagues so I don't have to buy empty bottles. Of course I clean them thoroughly.

You could store your mead in barrels or canisters but if I like to fill it in bottles. You need to prepare your bottles (or any other vessel) right. Clean it well and then desinfect it with the same desinfection solution we used for cleaning the barrel and tools. Just produce 1 liter of this solutions and pour a bit in every bottle. Shake them well and let them dry in a clean place like your dishwasher or a basket.
When the bottles are ready use the wine siphon or the tab on your barrel to fill them. Then prefably store them in a cold dark place. If you don't have a lot of experience in winemaking, check the bottles regulary. It's possible that they start fermenting again and your bottles break. But if you worked decent everything should be fine.

Drinking

Enjoy your mead, you've earned it!

I hope you found this article interesting or helpflul. Please leave any questions and comments, I will answer them asap.