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Everyone who brews develops their own methods and they have their own ways of doing things. This document reflects how we at U2M do things. If you are unfamilar with brewing search out some other resources, such as your local brew shop. We highly recommend Charlie Papazian's "New Joy of Homebrew" to learn more about brewing techniques, terminology and related information.
When we started brewing we used to start the yeast ahead of time. These days we are more likely to rehydrate the yeast the same night that we brew. To pre-start yeast you'll need to give it something to eat. We have used honey, but this is not necessarily the best medium. The instructions below use apple juice concentrate. Other fruit juices may work, though you'll probably want to stay away from those that are highly acidic (like grapefruit juice).
Here's our list of things to sanitize before starting the yeast. We soak things in dilute bleach, water solution for at least 20 minutes and all items are rinsed thoroughly before use.
Pasteurize 1/3 of a large can of frozen apple juice concentrate with water. Rehydrate yeast in the measuring cup, leaving spoon in the cup, and let sit covered with the plastic lid for about 10 minutes. Stir. Yeast energizer or yeast starter may be added. If so, stir to dissolve. Pour apple juice and yeast into wine bottle using the funnel. Add more water if necessary. Put bubble lock on and store in a warm place.
Over time we have jotted some notes about various fruits. Measurements and conversions are approximate. As always, your mileage may vary.
Sanitize all brewing equipment. We usually have a carboy that's already sitting around filled with a bleach water solution. If you don't have this, or are using a plastic primary, fill these with bleach water first, so they'll be ready later. All this stuff must be left soaking in bleach water for at least 20 minutes.
Things to sanitize:
Put on some music, pop open a homebrew and relax. (Charlie Papazian sez "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew." Our friend Lou added the part about the music.) When we were using an electic stove we would put a wire "hot plate" on the stove and a boilover disk in the kettle. We don't do this anymore, since Marcia got a gas stove. Add honey and water and start it heating.
If the yeast was not pre-started then as soon as the measuring cup, spoon and lid have soaked long enough, rinse them out, put in some lukewarm water and sprinkle the yeast in there and let it rehydrate. You'll use the spoon to stir it with, and the lid to keep any airborne stuff from falling in.
Keep watching the kettle and don't let it boil. Stir often. When it starts to get hot put in a thermometer. Temperatures around 165 - 180 F will pasturize the mixture without boiling. Rinse the strainer and use it to skim scum as necessary. If you're adding fruit or juice do that after the honey/water has come up to temperature. We use a must chiller. We made ours by wrapping copper tubing around a jug, and then around a wine bottle for a smaller coil. Both ends of the copper tube should be on top with plastic tubing attached to each end. Put the chiller in the kettle so it gets heat sanitized, later we run cold water through the copper tubing to cool the must. The chiller can go in with the fruit, or soon after the must gets hot. Let the stuff stay hot for 15 minutes. Then cool it down, but not too cool. Empty out the primary fermentor (carboy or plastic bucket) and rinse. Use the funnel to pour the cooled must into the carboy, or just pour it into the bucket. If necessary use the second strainer to strain the must. Add some water until the carboy is nearly full. Pitch the yeast. Add a little more water to get the carboy to the desired level. Stir with the big spoon. Put on the bubble-lock or blow-off tube and store.
The first racking might take place a week or two later, but usually our meads sit for much longer before the first racking. Each U2M mead recipe page will contain the date(s) of racking. Racking should be done when the sediment on the bottom of the carboy becomes very thick. Bottling should take place when fermentation is over.
Fermentation will stop when the alcohol level kills off the yeast, or when the sugar content is exhausted. In the later case it is possible to create a sparkling mead by adding a small amount of sugar to the batch. We usually use 3/4 cup of corn sugar, boiled in one cup of water, which is then poured into a sanitized and rinsed bucket. Rack the mead into the bucket with the sugar, and remember to stir. If the sugar water is not stirred in well a few bottles will get all the sugar, and may explode.
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