Mead made with wild yeast

[Mitchamus]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

perhaps I need to surround my oven with a cider orchard??

I definitely want to do that!... one day...

I think they take 3-5 years to bear fruit though...

[david s]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

I read somewhere that cider is improved by using a few varieties of apples rather than one only. This was part of my reason for adding the honey. The other reason was to boost the alcohol content. The honey imparts a very nice aftertaste.

[MK1]

Re: Mead made with wild yeast

A famous homebrewer Denny Conn lives in apple country (Oregon) and he is noted for his creativity and empiricism. He says he went to great effort a few times to select varieties for his cider. It made little difference. What makes the difference is the fermentation. Proper temp is a must. My batch from last year is very good. I use Potassium metabisulfite to kill the wild yeast, let it sit for 24 hours (winemakers use this) and it chemically changes into some regular compound and then I add the sweet mead yeast, White Labs WLP720. I don't do it any favors. I try to impede it a little by pitching less yeast than would be proper by beer or wine standards. I want it to ferment a little slow and incompletely leaving some sugars behind.

Mark