Read Complete Questions & Answers
|
Ask a Question
1/20/2013 -- 1 gal. Honey ,5gal. Water and 3 tbsp of super start distillers yeast. Does this recipe sound alright and can I just triple for 15 gal. Without doing anything different. Also, do I have to maintain 90 degrees while fermenting and if so how do you achieve that.
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Meads really need some nutrients in order to ferment. I would add a package of our Mead Blend to ensure a faster, more complete fermentation. See link provided.
Maintaining a "warm" enviroment for mead fermentation is also important, although it can be done anywhere from 70-90 degrees F. There are lots of ways to warm up your fermenation . . .
1/5/2013 -- How much Mead Blend do I need for 1 gallon of mead?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: One package of Mead Blend (3.25 oz) will make 5 gallons, so to make one gallon you only need 0.65 oz. (maybe 1.5 tablespoon?)
12/19/2011 -- I have used your acid blend many time for my meads but am looking to take my skills to the next level. Want to start mixing my own acid blend any help or sugestions you could give me on how much of each would be greatly appreciated.
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Have you tried our Mead Blend? It has a nice (proprietary) blend of acids, nutrients, tannin etc that works wonderfully for mead. Link is shown below.
If you are considering blending your own acids, I would start with a higher proportion of malic acid, like 50%, and then use perhaps 30% tartaric and 20% citric.
2/26/2011 -- Greetings, Been a while since I did any brewing. All my purchases have been from you for obvious reasons. I noticed you now sell only one style cork. A standard and a premium. Which one went away?
Want to try my hand at mead. Would like to use honey local to my area. Can I get a kit without your honey?
Thanx gang. the new site is awesome. . . .
Response From Homebrew Heaven: We now only offer the standard corks. The premium corks just became prohibitably expensive.
Unfortunately we don't offer the kit minus honey. Here is a list of everything else that is included for you to purchase separately.
1- package of Mead blend (sku N07)
1- package of Super Kleer clarifier (sku N38A)
5- campden tablets (sold . . .
1/15/2009 -- When using raw honey (non-pasturized) do we really need to boil it? If we do have to boil, will we lose flavor? Because, when I add honey to my beer, and I add it, when the first fermentation starts . By the way Nectar of the Gods is the Best!
(I got lucky on it!!!, now I know why honeymoon came from Mead.)
Response From Homebrew Heaven: You'll find lots of opinions on this issue. Personally, I believe you would be fine with not boiling. It makes sense to me, however, to pasteurize the honey/water mixture by bringing it to about 180 deg F for perhaps 15 or 20 minutes.
Yes, boiling your honey causes some of the more delicate aromatics to escape. Adding to an active fermentation . . .
11/28/2008 -- I have been making wine and beer for a couple of years now. "Love the process" and the results! My brother has many bee hives and I can get all the honey I want. Do you have a kit that has the necessary ingredients less the honey? Mead is the next quest on my list :-))
Thanks in advance
Alan Monie
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Lucky you! Mead is a wonderful drink. I would be all over your brother's honey!
We don't have a "kit" per se, but you've come across the key ingredient, our Mead Blend. Use that in a 5 gallon batch, and a quality yeast (like Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast) and you basically have it. Stabilize at the end of the process using potassium sorbate and . . .
11/18/2008 -- I was researching mead and i stopped by a local meadery and he said for a five gallon batch that primary would probably take between 2-4 months and the entire process will take a year. is this true? Does leaving sit too long in primary damage it? Thank you i love the QnA pages
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Making mead takes patience, clearly, but putting a time on it like your local fellow is just not possible.
How long will it take? It depends on the fermentation temperature, the amount and quality of the nutrients added to mixture, the amount and quality of the honey itself, the type and quantity of yeast, and probably 100 other factors. . . .
8/1/2008 -- HI, I would like to try to make mead. Do I need to buy a "Beer Kit" and do you sell instructions for this? I have only made whiskey with a still. Beer and mead making is COMPLETELY NEW. Please help with some info and tell what I need to buy. Thank You,,,Paul
Response From Homebrew Heaven: A great way to get started in making mead is with these two products:
Nectar of the Gods Mead Kit
http://store.homebrewheaven.com/Product550
This is the ingredients, instructions etc to make a nice traditional mead.
For the equipment, we recommend our 5 Gallon Complete Wine Making Kit. It has all the hardware...fermenter, test equipment . . .
5/2/2008 -- I've brewed four of your beer kits with great success, thank you. I live in New York City, and with summer approaching I’m sure the temperatures will be well above 75. Is there a something, perhaps wine, that will ferment properly at higher temperatures? I’m predicting between 80 and 85 degrees. I’ve heard Mead might, but the one Mead . . .
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Yes! Red wines and meads, especially, are fermented warm. Cabernets, Merlots, Pinot Noirs etc etc work out nicely. Meads too!
Don't let the fact that your first (and only?) taste of mead was too sweet for your tastes. Mead can be made dry as well. With our Nectar of the Gods Mead Kit you actually sweeten to taste (if you like) AFTER fermentation. . . .
4/29/2008 -- We tried this mead kit and loved it. Now we want to try a cyser. A lot of what I have been reading says to rack/bottle once it clears up. Do you have any guidelines for how long meads/cysers should ferment? Thanks for the help.
Response From Homebrew Heaven: In short, no.
Here is the thing...MANY MANY MANY factors play into how long a fermentation will take. Here are just a few:
Sugar (honey) concentration
Strain of yeast used
Fermentation temperature
Nutrient level present
Type(s) of nutrients
Temperature variations during fermentation
Amount of yeast used
Mineral content of water . . .
2/29/2008 -- Re: Mead Blend, 3 1/4 Oz. product.
Can I get this mead blend in larger quantities? I've found it to be a very good product. If so, in what quantities and at what price? Or is it something that is customizable at a certain 'per pound' or 'per ounce' rate? Thanks!
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Yes, this can be done. We have sold it "per pound" to commercial mead operations in the past.
We try to answer these questions promptly, and we often do it after hours (like now). Actually, I am in Melbourne, Australia at the moment, so I don't know the pricing for that item in bulk. It would be best to contact Kyle or Don at the shop during . . .
1/26/2008 -- I live about an hour (if traffic is good) from the address on your website. Do you have an actual store or is everything here based solely online?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Yes, we have an actual brick-and-mortar store in Everett, WA. People actually walk in and buy stuff!
Our address is:
Homebrew Heaven
9109 Evergreen Way
Everett, WA 98204
Here is a video of our shop:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1a5fKvv8XI
Heck, you can actually call us on the phone, too! It's 425-355-8865. A person will . . .
6/2/2007 -- I just recently started my first batch of mead (my first brewing experience). I did not know that you were supposed to let the mead ferment in an initial fermentor BEFORE putting into a carboy with an airlock. I put the must into a carboy from the beginning and put the plug and airlock on.....how will this affect my final result? And how . . .
Response From Homebrew Heaven: No worries. The final result will be fine. The purpose of a primary fermenter is to allow some of the sediment to fall out to the bottom before racking it to a carboy. A carboy works nicely as a primary fermenter. Later on, you can transfer (rack) your mead into another vessel, and then clean out the carboy and put the mead back in for the . . .
4/11/2007 -- I have recently started using your mead blend for the nutrients and had great results with my first batch. Historically I've used a little gypsum and Irish moss in my meads and was wondering if your blend had any in it.
Response From Homebrew Heaven: No, our mead blend contains neither.
3/13/2006 -- with your mead blend do i add it as the honey/water cools after boiling or after it cools?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Either way is just fine.
9/18/2005 -- does your mead blend contain sulfites. I am making mead for a friend that has no tolerence to sulfites
Response From Homebrew Heaven: No, it does not. It contains yeast nutrients, tannin, malic, tartaric and citric acids and a little epsom salts. No sulfites at all.
10/11/2004 -- I've made a pyment (mead with fruit) using homegrown grapes. The grape concentrate was added to the honey-water mixture towards the end just long enough to pasturize. Mead nutrient was also added at that time. Once the mixture was forced cool (75-80 degrees F), the Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast Package was added. It had been swelling for about . . .
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Mead is nothing like beer, it is often SLOW SLOW SLOW to ferment. It sounds like it is working, just slowly. Get used to it. It may continue like this for months. Repitching won't help, but more nutrients may.
3/17/2004 -- what is mead???
Response From Homebrew Heaven: A drink made from fermented honey. Yum! It has a long, interesting history.
3/10/2004 -- What is the difference between a dry mead yeast and a sweet mead yeast?? Also if you make mead with a basic wine yeast will it turn out ok?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Both mead yeasts are actually liquid cultures. The dry mead yeast finishes out with a less residual sugar, so it is less sweet than the sweet mead yeast.
Yes, many fine meads are made with wine yeasts. The true mead yeasts, however, seem to accentuate the honey flavor more than the wine yeasts do.
2/16/2004 -- It has been about 4 days since I mixed the ingrediants and put the mead into my primary fermentor and I have not seen any evidence of fermentation. It is rather cold where I live (50-60 degrees) and the mead is in my shed. Will this ruin the mead or just take a really long time to ferment before I can transfer it to the carboy?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: There is no harm to the mead, but yes, it will take a very long time to ferment. Mead likes it warmer than that.
We have a supplemental brew heat pad that would work nicely for applications like this. Here is a link:
http://www.nexternal.com/hombre/?Target=products.asp&ProductID=1129
2/4/2004 -- About how long will I have to wait before I can drink my mead?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Mead is one of those drinks that just gets better with age. Figure 6-8 weeks to ferment it. After that, we recommend at least 3 months aging...BUT if you can stand to wait a year it is much better. Try putting a few bottles aside from each batch so that you always have some well aged mead on hand!
12/28/2003 -- Hi, I recently received a "Nectar of the Gods" kit. I'm planning to make the mead in the next day or two. In going over the kit components I noticed that there are two packets of dry yeast (both the same). Do I use both packets even though the label says one packet is sufficient for 5 gallons?
Thanks for your assistance!
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Yes, go ahead and use both packets. Mead is slow to ferment, and this extra addtion helps somewhat.
10/24/2003 -- I just like to say that I enjoy making your mead kits. I have made "gallons" of it and it never last long. My friends drool over it. The best thing that I found out is to disolve the honey in all the water or juice before I put it my fermenter.
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Thanks for the kind words about our kit. We like it too!
10/21/2003 -- I have recently started my first batch of mead using the Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast. After combining the Honey,water and mead blend and allowing the mixture to cool to 75 degrees I pitched the yeast. Unfortunately there seems to be little or no sign of fermentation after 7 days. Is the reaction less obvious than when brewing beer or is my fermentation . . .
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Mead is known to ferment very very slowly, and especially so when using the liquid yeasts. The fermentation is nothing like beer at all. It may be fermenting, but if it's in a bucket, it may be giving off CO2 at about the same rate that the bucket leaks. Hard to say.
The mead blend actually contains a little bit of Epsom salts, but there . . .
10/18/2003 -- If I wanted to make a cyser, and used your Nectar of the gods mead making kit, how much Apple Fruit Wine Base would I need? If I don't need the full 9.5 lbs., could I divide it between batches?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: I would use about half of it. You could use the whole can, but you can expect your cyser to be very strong, and sweet if you do. If you divide the fruit base, be sure to seal up and refrigerate the unused portion.
10/16/2003 -- What equipment do i need besides the mead kit to make mead?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: If you want to make a traditional (still, non-carbonated) mead, we recommend the Wine Making Equipment Kit. If you are looking to make a carbonated mead, the Intermediate Equipment (Beer) Brewing Kit is a better choice.
8/22/2003 -- I am going to make my first attempt at making mead. How important are campden tablets in this process and how do I use them?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Campden tablets (sulfites) have two uses when making meads.
They are often used prior to fermentation to kill (or at least stun!) wild yeasts and bacteria. If you do this, allow 24 hours before adding yeast. This is less important if your honey is pasteurized, of course. If your honey is "wild" I would use them for this purpose. It is . . .
8/5/2003 -- I'm attempting my first batch of mead (or anything for that matter), and am having a great time, but have a few questions. When I'm ready to bottle my mead, is it better to cork it into wine bottles or can I cap it into 12oz. bottles? In either case, how much head space should I leave in the bottle? Do I need to do anything else before or . . .
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Glad to hear you're having fun with it. So do we!
A traditional mead (like our Nectar Kit) is treated like a wine...corked into wine bottles. You CAN however put it into beer bottles if you like, however. If you are making a sparkling (carbonated) mead, I would definately use strong beer bottles and caps. For corks, leave about 2"-2.5" headspace . . .
7/12/2003 -- Sirs,I make a tasty lemony pilsner beer.My equipment is geared to the five gallon batch.My brother,a viking buff saw you'r mead kit over my shoulder and asked if I could brew a batch as mead is very prevelant in Celtic lore.Will my beer equipment suffice to do you'r kit. And
yes I do Know my spare fermenter will be tied up as mead usually . . .
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Yes, it will work just fine. It's very easy to make, it just takes longer than beer.
6/30/2003 -- I am a novice home brewer and recently purchased a Mead Kit. I followed the directions and everything looks to be ok. Within 8 hours, I could hear the CO coming out. My only question is: Right now, all the honey has settled tot he bottom. Is this correct or is there something I chould be doing to get it off the bottom?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: This is correct. Don't worry, the yeast will "seek out" the honey and go to work on it. It takes some time, is all.
6/25/2003 -- I am a novice when it comes to wine making. I am about to get started however, and need some advice before placing my order.
I plan to make "Mead" for my first batch. Other than Item "H24" in your catalog, do I need to order the Mead Blend or Mead Yeast, and if so, which yeast.
I will also be ordering complete kit. I believe the mead . . .
Response From Homebrew Heaven: I would probably go with the 5 gallon wine equipment kit and when you want to make the 6 gallon wine kits, get a 6 gallon carboy at that time.
The H24 Mead kit has everything you need (including the mead blend) to make it.
Sometime it can take a few months, especially in cooler weather, for the mead to ferment out. So when your mead is in . . .
6/11/2003 -- Since I've had a few successful batches of wine made (my friends think so) I was wanting to know does this kit come complete or is there any other additional equipment or ingredients I need to purchase for this..Thank you
Response From Homebrew Heaven: This kit provides all the ingredients, as well as instructions, for making a great mead. It does NOT contain any equipment, or bottles. If you have been making wine, you probably have the necessary equipment.
Read Complete Questions & Answers
|
Ask a Question
