Basic Sweet Mead

1 gallon

Ingredients:

• 3.5 lbs. honey (any kind)
• 5 tsp of acid blend
• 0.25 tbsp gypsum
• 0.15 tsp Irish moss powder
• 1 Campden tablet or 0.15 tsp sulfite powder
• 1-2 tsp of nutrient
• Sweet mead yeast (Wyeast 3184 or
• White Labs WLP720)

Step-by-step:

Dissolve honey in enough warm water to bring volume to just over one gallon. Add rest of ingredients except sulfite and yeast. Remove 1 cup of must and heat it to 80° F, pitch yeast into arm must. Add sulfite to 1 gallon of must and cover. After 12-24 hours add the fermenting mead starter to 1 gallon of must.

Ferment mead to dryness, add 0.5 tsp potassium sorbate to prevent re-fermentation in the bottle, and then sweeten with sugar or honey. Rack to secondary. Keep secondary container full (top up with water if necessary) and rack every 4-6 weeks until clear. Bottle at several months of age.