Taking the path of most resistance... one step at a time...

My mead... Honey Child... I used 12 # Trader Joe's Mesquite Honey and Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast... it has a high alcohol tolerance which will allow the yeasts to feast longer yielding a dryer mead... also added some tannin, energizer and yeast nutrient... I will wait to add the acid blend until we are through primary fermentation....

We drank glasses of mead from a little place on the South Side called Wild Blossom Wines... the mead maker Gregg is the owner of Bev Art Brewer and Winemaking Supplies, where we took our beer making class...

The best way I can describe straight dry/semi dry mead is this... a clean white wine flavor with an after taste of honey and flowers... crisp and green... really lovely... I am hooked...

Original Gravity 1.084.. it too was starting to bubble this morning... YEAH!

My thought at this time is to split the 5 gallons into 5 single gallon carboys when I am ready to rack to the secondary fermenter (and there could be a 3rd and a 4th and a 5th.... depending on when the SG drops to 1.000 or less and the mead clarifies) and add fruits and spices to a few...

Here is what I think I will do:

1 gallon still mead
1 gallon sparking (primed with corn sugar for carbonation)
1 gallon sparkling ginger lemon mead
1 gallon blackberry mead - maybe some cinnamon
1 gallon apple mead - using organic apple juice/cider concentrate... not quite a cyser since I am cheating...

I will have to pasturize the additions to 180 degrees F

Now we wait... wait to rack... wait for the drop in SG... wait for clarification... wait to bottle... wait to age into pure gold... I hope... fingers crossed...

I would like to use a local raw honey next time... have more control over the contents in the boil...