Still of the Night Mead
A light, still straight mead, similar to a sweet white wine. Perfect as an aperitif or with dessert.
Still of the Night Mead
(3 gallons/11.4 L)
OG = 1.058 FG = 1.006 ABV = 6.6%
Ingredients
5 lbs. (2.3 kg) honey (clover or wildflower)
1/2 tsp. acid blend
1/2 tsp. gypsum
1/2 tsp. Fermax or other yeast nutrient Yeast of your choice or Lalvin D-47
Step by Step
Bring water to a boil, add water treatments (usually gypsum and acid blend). Remove from heat and stir in the honey and yeast nutrients. Let sit for 15 minutes covered, the chill to 75 °F (23 °C) and move to fermenter. Pitch yeast. Seal and put the mead in a relatively cool 65 to 70 °F (18-21 °C) corner. Ferment 10 to 14 days in primary, then rack to a glass secondary. Age in secondary for at least six weeks (check the airlocks regularly to avoid evaporation and contamination problems). Bottle (when gravity has fallen below 1.020), either as is or priming with one-eighth cup of corn sugar per gallon for sparkling mead. Since you will be aging for considerably longer than most beers, oxygen-absorbing caps or wine corks are strongly recommend. Leave the bottled mead undisturbed in a cool, dark place for three months before you even think about trying one. The first one will probably disappoint you. Leave it another three months and try it again. Like bottle-conditioned beer, bottled sparkling mead will cast a considerable amount of sediment, so decant carefully when serving.
