Curt & Kathy's Sweet Varietal Mead Instructions

Batch size – 5 gallons

Included Ingredients:

• 15 pounds of honey
• 4 sachets of Curt & Kathy's Nutrient Blend
• 1 vial of Go-Ferm rehydration nutrient(12g), packed in a sterile 30 ml vial.
• 2 packets of yeast: Lalvin 71B-1122 “Narbonne” * Corn sugar for priming

You supply:

• 3.75 gallons of clean chlorine-free water (bottled spring water works well)
• Fermenters
• Funnel

Procedure

1. Carefully sanitize all equipment that will come in contact with the mead must.
2. Fill a sink or cooler with hot tap water and soak honey containers to make the honey easier to pour.
3. Fill fermenter with 3 gallons of room temperature water.
4. Add the contents of one sachet of Curt & Kathy's Nutrient Blend to the water and stir before honey is added.
5. Boil 0.75 gallons of remaining water.
6. While water is coming to a boil add honey to the fermenter containing 3 gallons of water.
7. Take the boiled water and carefully pour a small amount into each empty honey container.
8. Replace covers and shake to dissolve remaining honey. Be careful, pressure will build in containers.
9. Pour the warm water and dissolved honey into the fermenter.
10. Stir until all honey is dissolved and well mixed. This may take 5 to 15 minutes, possibly longer.
11. Place 1/2 cup of warm water (105-110 degrees F) into a sanitized measuring cup. Add the Go-Ferm vial and stir to mix well. Add both packs of yeast and stir slightly.
12. After 15 minutes (yeast should begin to foam), stir well to mix the yeast into a slurry. Pour the yeast slurry into the fermenter.
13. Insert sanitized airlock and locate carboy in an area that is 65 to 70 degF.
14. Fermentation should start within 24 hours.

Primary Fermentation

Add nutrient vials following the schedule below. Remember to carefully sanitize all equipment used to stir the mead for each nutrient addition. Stir the mead very slowly at first as excessive foaming will occur. Stir more vigorously as the foaming subsides.

• Add one sachet of Curt & Kathy's Nutrient Blend 24 hours after yeast pitch and stir
• Add one sachet of Curt & Kathy's Nutrient Blend 48 hours after yeast pitch and stir
• Add one sachet of Curt & Kathy's Nutrient Blend 72 hours after yeast pitch and stir

Secondary Fermentation

When fermentation stops and the specific gravity as measured by a hydrometer is stable, carefully siphon the mead into a santized secondary fermenter. Leave as much sediment as possible in the primary fermenter. Let the mead clarify in the secondary fermenter for three months. You may wish to add a fining agent such as isinglass to facilitate clearing, and/or potassium sorbate to prevent further fermentation.

Bottling

If the mead is to be bottled, we recommend that it be a still mead (no carbonation). Sanitize siphoning and bottling equipment and bottles. Carefully siphon the mead to a bottling bucket and fill the bottles.

If you wish to make a sparkling mead (carbonated), we recommend racking the mead into a sanitized soda keg and force-carbonating with CO2 gas.