Mead with nottingham?

[Indian_villager]

So I wanted to make a mead that was on the sweet side, possibly with fruit, and mid range as far as the ABV is concerned. I got the idea to use nottingham from the Cider section of the forum. Any thoughts? I mostly wanted to know what ABV the nottingham can push to. Also considering S-04. The idea was to kick the sugar content a bit higher so that the potential ABV would register 2% or so higher than the yeast's capabilities.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

I used S-05 which should have kicked the bucket at 12%, it chewed through everything and ended up around 13.5% ABV. No complaints though, it taste fantastic.
So just be prepared to stop fermentation via cold crashing, or chemicals.
Good luck.

 

[Indian_villager]

Thanks for the info.

 

[3 Dog Brew]

I am doing this right now in a 1 gallon batch as an experiment. Using the semi-sweet honey/water ratio of 3lbs/gallon (3 lbs of honey and 3qts of water). I started this on Saturday 8/21 and as of last night, there was still a lot of residual sugar. I'll try and get a SG reading tonight and report back. so far, I like the flavor produced but there is still a way to go.

Mel

 

[Bush_84]

This intrigues me. Maybe this is a way to get sweeter end product without a high ABV.

 

[MedsenFey]

The Nottingham yeast can easily get to above 12%.

 

[abbot555]

But will nottingham give a beer/ale taste ? Or will it still have that Mead taste to it ?

 

[biochemedic]

But will nottingham give a beer/ale taste ? Or will it still have that Mead taste to it ?

I think it will be fine...the flavor profile will be dominated by the fact that you're fermenting honey and not malt. Plus, Nottingham is a relatively neutral yeast.

This reminds me though, I've been thinking about a mead done with a belgian yeast...perhaps a metheglin with coriander and bitter orange?

 

[Indian_villager]

The Nottingham yeast can easily get to above 12%.

That is quite a bit stronger than I thought. But considering how many IPA recipes call for it it's no surprise.

 

[hamiltont]

I used Notty in a Mead a while back & it worked great. It took ~3 months to clear. Here are the statistics:
OG 1.123
FG 1.020
ABV 13.73%
ABW 10.71%
Apparent Attenuation 83.74%

 

[jezter6]

I made apfelwine with a hefe yeast before, and that thing chewed up everything we threw at it for a long time until it pooped out and we finally got it sweet.

If you're looking for sweet + low abv, you need to do small honey to start, stabilize and backsweeten. I did that with my lemonade mead (8-9# of honey in 5g must, then backsweetened with lemonade concentrate.

 

[Indian_villager]

I made apfelwine with a hefe yeast before, and that thing chewed up everything we threw at it for a long time until it pooped out and we finally got it sweet.

If you're looking for sweet + low abv, you need to do small honey to start, stabilize and backsweeten. I did that with my lemonade mead (8-9# of honey in 5g must, then backsweetened with lemonade concentrate.

How are you doing man?

As far as back sweetening is concerned, i'd have to sorbate it and then add something with sugar right? Because I am the fool who wanted something fizzy.

 

[jezter6]

Doing good. Smoking some sweet melon as I type this!

The problem is getting sweet + fizzy without kegging or having potential bottle bombs.

If there's enough yeast available to do the carb, then it's enough to eat any residual sugar...unless you go the route of unfermentable sugars like lactose or splenda. In that case, no sorbate/sulfite needed.

 

[jezter6]

Oh, and remember -- if you just want fizzy, you don't have to go the WHOLE kegging route.

A 5# CO2 container, regulator, and gas lines + 1 keg isn't all that expensive. Then you can bottle from the keg and use it to carb up the next batch. The real expensive part is multiple kegs, kegerator, and additional lines.


Another option is closed fermentation. Ferment in a keg with a spunding (sp?) valve that allows you to close off the excess CO2 during the latter stages of fermentation to ensure your finished product is at the exact carb you want. That only costs a keg ($30 ish - no more than a good glass carboy anymore) and a the valve...

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Another option is closed fermentation. Ferment in a keg with a spunding (sp?) valve that allows you to close off the excess CO2 ..

Is there any sites here that sells this?
I usually do my ciders and meads in a plastic bucket primary, clearing in a carboy, and conditioning in a keg. I would like something that I can set to a pressure, and connect to the gas out post.

 

[jezter6]

I don't know off the top of my head (I don't use one), I've only read about it. However, you may want to look around the DIY and equipment sections to see if anyone mentioned where they got one.

 

[Indian_villager]

Thanks for the idea! I just got a job in Wichita Falls TX so I'm moving a hell of a distance away. So projects are on hold. I need to find some kegs first.

 

[jezter6]

Congrats on the job. Too bad you're leaving the east coast though. FIgured you'd be close enough to come sample some mead and share a hookah. ;P

The keg idea is good because the cost is about the same as a fermenter anyway and allows you to control your fizzy levels during ferment that you can't do with a carboy.

 

[truckjohn]

Nottingham is usually used in Ciders because it is a very clean fermenting Ale yeast.. Known for a very "Neutral" flavor. It doesn't produce many esters on it's own -- so it doesn't impart weird flavors that don't match the must you are fermenting..... like say if you went crazy and used something that promoted tropical fruit aromas or spicy, bold Red wine flavors.... in your Show Mead.... it would be a little weird....

My big question is whether it would handle the low nutrient levels common in Mead -- or if you would have to carefully balance the nutrients out beforehand.... Reason... Some yeasts make really weird flavors when they are nutrient deprived or can stick like crazy.... (I don't know about Nottingham in particular)

Thanks

John

 

[MedsenFey]

I'm not certain what the nutrient requirements are for the Nottingham, but I have previously made the assumption that since it is a beer yeast, it likes to have a nutrient-rich environment. I've had no problems fermenting with it using around 200 ppm YAN.

Medsen