Our neighbors Tyler and Jamie are moving off to Ohio, because Tyler, a scholar and professor of writing, just got offered a tenure-track job at the University of Toledo. Tyler had previously told us that batch 030 was his favorite of our brews that he'd tasted, so I'm starting a new batch, quite similar to that earlier batch, for them to take with them when they go. We're going to forego the Monty Python references this time and just call this batch Tyler & Jamie's Farewell Mead.

Ingredients in this batch

Sanitized everything, then poured the Trader Joe's honey in. Poured in the Fermax and Fermaid K and K₂CO₃. Poured in water to total about a gallon in the carboy. Agitated for five minutes to oxygenate. Pulled off enough to take a hydrometer reading, taking it down to exactly a gallon (good eye, me!). Pitched half the yeast, which had been rehydrating in distilled water at 101℉, when the temperature of the water was 73℉, then popped in a fermentation lock and filled it to the line with vodka. Set the carboy on a shelf to ferment.

Brew date: 14 April 2017.
Original gravity: 1.121.
Bottling date: 5 June 2017
Final gravity: 0.999.
Estimated ABV: Approx. 16%.

Yield:

  • 9 x 12 oz. bottles
  • a hydrometer tube's worth of mead

Total: About 113⅓ fl. oz., or 88.5% of a gallon.

Observations

  • 2017-04-15T04:33: There's already some sluggish carbon dioxide production in the carboy.
  • 2017-05-13: Finally added the last two nutrient additions, because I'd completely forgotten. I guess this means this batch may need to age a bit more to mellow.
  • 2017-06-05: Bottled, yielding 9 x 12 oz. bottles at approximately 16% ABV. Kept three bottles for ourselves; gave the rest to Jamie and Tyler. It's tasty.