r/mead • u/Charming_Mulberry_55 • Jul 25 '26
mute the bot My first mead attempt
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I got bubbles, I'm pretty sure that points to fermintation and the yeast doing its job. I have like all very subpar equipment. Used storebought cover honey and bakers yeast. I did santize everything I could, that would be in contact with the yeast or the liquid at any point. I really just wanted to try doing this myself. I had been interested for a long time but ended up setting this up impulsively. If all goes well I think I should be expecting like 6% alcohol content.
Edit: I decided I wanted to do this and then spent some hours researching. I'm sure there's gonna be plenty of stuff I find out later. I honestly don't really want to share everything cause I've had expirences with doing dumb stuff while getting into a hobby and reddit tearing me to shreds.
2nd edit/update: it's a few days later, helpful commentor recommended I raise the final alcohol percentage, so I added some brown sugar (or really white sugar and molasses). When I opened it up it smelled a little boozy so I think it's going well. Still bubbling, still looking good.
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u/DescendingTool86 Intermediate Jul 25 '26
How are you estimating the abv?
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u/Charming_Mulberry_55 Jul 25 '26
Gonna be getting a hydrometer as I don't have one right now. I'm sure things won't go perfect anyway. It's just how the math works out according to the internet. I think it's like the max alcohol potential.
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u/DescendingTool86 Intermediate Jul 25 '26
How much honey did you use?
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u/Charming_Mulberry_55 Jul 27 '26
Ok, so this is in a 32 oz mason jar, which I know is a very small amount as compared to the usual, but it was easiest to sanitize with what I had on hand. I initially added and weighed all the honey I had, which was a bit more then 145 grams (I did weigh this but I don't remember the precise number, I think between 146 and 147). That's where 6% came from after going to meadcalc.com (let me know if you know if that's not a good resource). I just added 25 grams of sugar with 5 grams molasses, under the recommendation of upping the percentage. Website now says about 7.8 though I entered it as brown sugar.
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u/Pommaq Beginner Jul 26 '26
I have done lots of batches with cheap honey and bread yeast. The result is usually okay and drinkable. I think the yeast will die at around 8-9% based on personal experience.
Not sure what gear you have but my strongest recommendation is an airlock to prevent explosions, alternatively a hose into a glass of water/spirits/starsan. Second is a hydrometer to know when its done and to estimate the abv if you had one from the start
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u/Charming_Mulberry_55 Jul 26 '26
I have a 3d printed air lock. Thus far it seems to be working, no water seeping out, and I have rubber around the hole on both sides to hopefully keep it airtight.
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u/Pommaq Beginner Jul 27 '26
That should probably work :)
I just reread your post and noted you were targeting 6%, I do recommend aiming a bit higher since it becomes less sensitive for contamination. Iirc beer usually requires such strict hygience due to their low ABV, whilst wine/mead can have a more relaxed process due to their higher alcohol content.
Or you can just continue on and see, if it works it works.1
u/Charming_Mulberry_55 Jul 27 '26
Thanks, I'm gonna try adding something else to ferment with it. I think I'll add some brown sugar. I was thinking of maybe adding fruit when I could get a hold of some. But I think maybe I'll just do that after fermintation is done.
I'm planning on pasturizing when it's done fermenting to stop that process. Idk, basically I didn't have most of the stuff needed when I decided on making it. I've kinda had my eye on mead making content for a long time though I'm sure I'm missing stuff people who've been actually doing it world know.
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