Yule Want More

Written By Bray Denard, PhD

Disclaimer: This recipe is for personal use only.

Mead Master’s Note

Yule Want More is the ultimate winter tipple. Coming in at an eye-watering 18% ABV, it’ll be sure to help lighten the mood of any festive fright you may have.

This mead is heavily spiced with traditional spices used at Christmas time, with a YouToBrew twist.

This recipe uses our QuickToBrew yeast and nutrient protocol to ferment fast and with minimal undesirable flavours. Be sure to check on this daily.

Mead Specifications

Batch Size - 1 gallon
ABV - 18%
Starting Gravity (SG) - 1.160
Final Gravity (FG) - 1.020
Style - Metheglin

Ingredients

  • Wildflower honey - 4 lbs

  • Uvaferm 43 - 8g

  • Go-Ferm - 10g

  • Fermaid O - 11.6g, 5.8g per dose.

  • Potassium carbonate - 2g

  • Fermaid K - 1.9g

  • Potassium sorbate - 0.7g

  • Potassium metabisulfite - 0.4g

Spice Blend

  • Lemon peel - 1.5g

  • Whole nutmeg, crushed - 1.3g

  • Dried ginger - 1g

  • Dried galangal - 1g

  • Mace - 1g

  • Cinnamon - 0.5g

  • Vanilla bean - 1 whole bean

  • Allspice berries - 3 berries

  • Star anise - 3 star points

  • Long pepper - 1 whole pepper

  • Green cardamom pod - 1 pod

  • Clove - 1/2 whole clove

Must Preparation

  1. To a sanitized two-gallon bucket, add the honey, first dose of Fermaid O, potassium carbonate, and Fermaid K.

  2. add 2 liters of water. We highly suggest using bottled water to avoid chloramines found in tap water.
    Do not use distilled water.

  3. Mix until all the honey is dissolved.

  4. Add water until slightly shy of the gallon mark.

Yeast Preparation

  1. In a sanitized microwave-safe glass measuring jug, heat 250 ml of water to 101°F in a microwave.

  2. Mix the Go-Ferm into the hot water.

  3. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then stir vigorously.

  4. After 10 minutes, add the yeast solution to the bucket.

Note: Do not allow the yeast to sit for longer than 15 minutes.

Fermentation

  1. Store the bucket in a temperature range of 65-75°F. Around 70°F is best.

  2. 48 hours after pitching the yeast, add the second dose of Fermaid O.

  3. Take a gravity reading every 3 days with a hydrometer until the gravity reaches 1.020 (10-14 days).

Secondary

  1. Once the gravity is stable, add the spices from the spice blend to the bucket.

  2. Once it tastes right, rack the mead into a sanitized carboy.

Stabilizing

  1. Cold crash in a refrigerator until clear. (Optional) Cold temperatures speed clearing, but clearing will occur without it.

  2. Rack the clear mead into a sanitized carboy.

  3. Add stabilizers to the carboy and mix well. Allow to sit for a minimum of 24 hours, ideally until clear.
    Note: After stabilizing, there will be a harsh note resembling fusels in the mead for a few weeks. This is caused by the stabilizer and will age out as the stabilizer completes its protective purpose.

  4. A few days after mixing, cold crash in the refrigerator to speed clearing. (Optional)

  5. Bottle into sanitized bottles.

Tips and Tricks

  1. Place your bucket into a larger container to contain any potential spill over from fermentation.

  2. If your home is cold, the top back of the fridge is great for keeping the fermentation warm.

  3. A spray bottle of diluted sanitizer is great for sanitizing surfaces, especially hands.

  4. The first time you use a non-graduated bucket, add a gallon of water at a time and draw a line for each.

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Bray Denard, PhD
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