Ingredients
Yeast is the driving force behind every mead you create. In mead-making, they convert honey sugars into ethanol (alcohol) and CO2.
Liquid and Dry Yeast
Yeast is available for purchase in both dry and liquid forms. Liquid yeast requires refrigeration and typically has a shelf life of six months from harvesting. Dry yeast has a drastically increased shelf life and does not require refrigeration.
Prior to use in mead-making, dry yeast requires rehydration. Rehydration minimizes yeast stress and leads to a cleaner ferment.
Most popular yeast strains are available in dry format. However, some yeasts are only available in liquid format.
Experiment With Neutral Yeast
Yeasts are like tools. You don’t use a hammer on a screw. Your yeast choice will depend a lot on the particular ingredients in a mead recipe as well as your personal tastes. If you are new and starting out, I suggest using yeasts that are largely neutral and that impart very little aroma or flavor. This allows you to appreciate the flavors of the honey first. Good neutral yeasts include Wyeast 1388, US-05, and EC1118. D47 is great if you have temperature control.
After experiencing neutral profiles, branch out to other yeasts in traditional meads to determine what aroma and taste components they provide. Over time, you will discover what you prefer. Some good yeasts to try are W15, DV10, D21, and 71B. If you want to get really adventurous (or lack temperature control), Kviek yeasts such as Voss, Lutra, and Hornidal are wonderful options for adventurous mead makers.
Fermenting Temperature
All yeast strains will have a fermentation temperature range stated by the manufacturer. Try to stay on the low end of the range. When yeast converts sugars to ethanol and CO2, they produce heat. The faster the fermentation, the more heat is produced. It is not uncommon for your fermenter to reach 10°F higher than your room’s ambient temperature. Batch size also contributes to the temperature increase. The larger the batch, the more difficult it is to radiate the heat away. For batches larger than 5 gallons, we highly suggest a temperature-controlled chamber.
In addition, the fermenting temperature can dictate what esters the yeast produces. Esters are chemical compounds some yeast produce during fermentation. Esters can add many flavors but they are usually fruity and floral in nature. Belgian strains are known to produce esters at the high end of the temperature range, while English strains produce esters at the low end. Research your yeast carefully.
Alcohol Tolerance
Every yeast you purchase will have a stated alcohol tolerance. This is the amount of sugar your yeast can turn into alcohol before stopping the fermentation process. It is rare to find a yeast that performs exactly as stated on the packaging. Different fermenting conditions will produce different results, which can cause your yeast to overperform or underperform. Some factors that can change this tolerance are fermenting temperature, sugars, yeast nutrients, and fermenting vessel pressure.
Flocculation
Flocculation is the speed at which yeast will drop out of the mead to make it clear after fermentation has concluded. Different yeast strains can be categorized as having high, medium, or low flocculation. Higher-flocculation yeasts will clear faster after fermentation.
Yeast Dosing
The amount of yeast you should use will depend on the volume and desired strength of alcohol in each mead.
We have a convenient Mead Batch Builder that will instruct you on how much yeast to use, specific to your recipe. The batch builder can be used for both liquid and dry yeast.
Yeast Resources
Wine yeast, beer yeast, and cider yeast can all be used in mead-making to achieve certain outcomes. For example, champagne yeast such as EC-1118 is excellent for achieving high ABV meads. Below are a few yeast producers we use regularly. Pick a few and give them a try!