Mead making is a fairly simple process, but it takes patience and good sanitation. All equipment that comes in contact with the mead must be sanitized before use. Honey is heated with water to pasteurize. This is called the must. The must is then cooled. The yeast likes it to be around 90F when it is pitched (added to the must). We have a "must chiller" which was made by wrapping copper pipe, first around a large jug and then around a wine bottle for a double coil, with both ends on top. Plastic tubes are attached to the ends and we have a tube adapter that can be put on the kitchen faucet to send cold water through the coils. The chiller is placed in the kettle when the must is hot, and given some time to stay hot to kill bacteria on the chiller. Then the kettle goes into the sink to be cooled. Have a thermometer handy to check the temperature so it doesn't get too cool. The must goes into a large food grade plastic bucket, or sometimes a glass carboy. The bucket is best when adding other ingredients. Fruit can be put into a mesh bag and placed in the bucket. A fermentation lock goes into hole in the bucket lid, or into the cork that goes on the carboy, to allow the carbon dioxide from the fermentation to get out without anything getting into the mead. We use vodka in the lock to keep out bacteria, as well as dust, fruit flies and other contaminates. You can tell how active fermentation is by counting the seconds between "blorps" that indicate escaping CO2.
As the must ferments sediment (called lees) collects on the bottom of the container. Racking is the process of moving the mead from one container to another container, leaving the lees behind. The mead shouldn't sit in the primary fermenter for too long. If you have fruit in a bag it should come out after a couple of weeks. Fermentation should be slow before the first racking. After the first racking it can sit in a carboy for a month or more. It may need another racking or two before it's ready to bottle. The mead should be clear before bottling.
When the mead is ready to bottle it is racked into a corney keg, which is connected to a carbon dioxide cylinder. The carbon dioxide prevents oxidation and it used to sparkle the mead.
Meads will usually stay in the primary fermenter for a month or more. Fruit in a bag may be removed sooner. Hydrometers should be used to measure specific gravity. The higher the gravity the sweeter the mead. Too high means it isn't ready to bottle. Blorping should be down to a minute or less before the first racking. It may perk up and start blorping a bit more when it's in the carboy. Not only will gravity readings help you determine when your mead is ready to bottle, they can be used to determine potential and final alcohol content. Also you can taste it occasionally while it ferments.
Once the meads are bottled they should be given some time to age in the bottle, a month at least, before consuming. We like to give a mead a few months in the bottle before taking it to parties.
Copyright ris