Mead plus Turbo's

[BurnerJust]

With so much information to process looking back through all the posts my eyes start burning before I find what i'm looking for.

Will turbo yeast have a batch of mead ready to distill by Saturday if I batch it tomorrow?

I ask this question because i've assumed a few things based on what I've read (which could be totally wrong). Honey alone isn't enough nutrient for the yeast, turbo's have everything it needs and turbo's will ferment a mash quickly, some within a few days.

Thoughts? You can call me retarded if you want.....I'm here to learn and enjoy the spoils of my new hobby.

[Prairiepiss]

I would not recommend wasting good expensive honey on a turbo. Mead takes time. I'm afraid the turbo will mess up what flavors you would want out of a mead. If you need to use the turbo just use it with sugar. Honey can be fermented with little nutrient additions. But its the sugars in the honey that make it slow. But also what makes it good.

This is not the hobby to be in for rushing. Maybe if you were making fuel. But not a good drink.

[BurnerJust]

Good point.

I'll get some champagne yeast for the mead. The local home brew store sells yeast nutrient, can you suggest anything else to make sure it ferments properly, and what how long should the fermentation take?

[BurnerJust]

I"ll also be using my pot still with a 90 degree arm.....should I go with something sloped down for more flavor, or will the 90 degree give me enough flavor?

Thanks again

[Large Sarge]

Hmm.... Distilling mead. I've had it once but I didn't make it and didn't really care for it. I much preferred the traditional mead. But as Mr. Piss said, mead is gonna take you some time to get'er done. honey ferments slow. Worth it in the end in my opinion.

[myles]

I am a big fan of mead, although for me it is usually in the form of melomel !! Fermentation is SLOW, often 6 months at low temperatures, with the honey added in stages. Whilst I can see why you might fortify a mead, I don't think I would distill one.

[heartcut]

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[USACelt]

Last mead I bottled took 60 days to ferment. with muiltuple rackings.
Honey is kinda high $$$ to use in a mash for distilling I think. but to each his own.

[rtalbigr]

I have distilled mead, a melomel to be specific, and ya it was damned expensive, but it is an absolutely heavenly drink. I only drink it on special occasions.

I would absolutely not use a trubo, you will ruin the mead. I think its gotmead.com that is an excellent site for meads of all kinds, check there for proper nutrients and yeasts.

My meads generally take 3-4 months to ferment out. For a good mead cool fermenting is necessary and a turbo definitely doesn't qualify there.

Big R

[Jasper]

Don't you dare use Turbo!

Mead fermentations can be sped up without ruining it - but a week is crazy talk. Those poor flying stingy bastards are worth more than that.

If you are into mead for mead's sake check this out. Mead is all about nutrient additions and ph control. Last one i made was an orange vanilla mead (dreamsicle) that was basically done with primary fermentation in about 3 weeks (OG of 1.120 and FG of 1.008). Seriously ph - is key here - low PH makes sluggish yeast (which is why most people think it takes 6 months to make a good mead). It takes a bit longer to mellow in flavor... but that can be done in secondary or bottles.

[myles]

I tend to ferment my mead in the autumn and winter. I don't use heat and It often sits at 5 to 10 deg C in one of the outbuildings. I have the space so I don't mind how long it takes, and recently I have been using a bottom fermenting ale yeast. It works for me. I have fermented it like a wine, inside the house and warmer, it is just an issue of convenience.