From: glo@beta.lanl.gov (Gordon Olson) Date: Tue, 26 Apr 94 11:17:41 -0600 Subject: Wine yeasts for mead Last September I split a batch of mead into four gallon jugs and pitched four different yeasts. It was simple: 12 pounds of clover honey with 2 tsp. of acid blend and 4 tsp. of nutrient salts. Six weeks after pitching, I racked the meads into clean jugs and logged the following comments about the mead pitched with each yeast: Lalvin K1V - SG = 1.015, honey nose, sweet, acdic, clean Flor sherry - SG = 1.029, lighter nose, sweeter, clean Epernay 2 - SG = 1.034, sulfury nose, very sweet Montrachet - SG = 1.023, sour, sulfur nose, sour off taste, yuck. At that point I added a stabilizing tablet to each jug and topped it up with boiled water. One month later all of them were still very cloudy so I added sparkaloid to all of them. I then basically ignored the meads until February when I wrote in my log book that the Montrachet was the cloudiest, then the Flor Sherry, Lalvin, and Epernay 2 was the clearest. Finally now in April I bottled the Epernay 2 and Lalvin. I'll have to do something more to the others to finally get them to clear up. Years ago, all of my initial meads used champagne or prise de mousse yeasts. However, I was unhappy with the high alcohol content and the very dry mead that resulted from these two yeasts. So I started using the Lalvin K1V and was immediately impressed by it. K1V produces a very neutral or complimentary aroma and flavor to the meads I have made with it. On the other hand, the two or three times I have used Montrachet, I have been unhappy with it. My fermentations lead me to the following conclusions: For dry or high alcohol meads use champagne or prise de mousse. For intermediate strength meads use Lalvin K1V (general purpose). For sweet meads try Flor Sherry (or use more honey with K1V). I once tried to use Vierka mead yeast, but it was either dead or so slow that I gave up on it and added something else. I am interested to know if my experience agrees what others have found. Gordon Olson (glo@lanl.gov)