So my first foray into making mead got off to an inauspicious and frustrating start. After pitching the Wyeast 4184 Sweet Mead yeast and following the nutrient schedule suggested by Josh at Bernoulli Brew Works, the gravity never budged off of 1.090 which is what it was from the very beginning.
Well, fear not fellow brew enthusiasts...Lalvin EC-1118 saved the day!! I pitched 1 packet of this beast of a yeast at 4:00 PM on Sunday along with a dose of yeast nutrient and a good stirring. It took about 24 to get going but man once it got going, it took off!! The gravity dropped from 1.090 to 1.070 by Tuesday evening and it has been bubbling away ever since. My plan is to leave the mead in the Ale Pale until mid-May then rack it into my 5 gallon glass carboy. I'll bottle the mead the first of August.
I do think I'll give mead a try again but I know for fact that using a liquid mead yeast will not be part of the process.
Check back soon as I will be posting about the experience I had with my first home brew competition.
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