New Lemon Mead

I started the must for a new mead (No. 17), which I think will be a lemon mead. I saw the Making Mead channel on YouTube had made a Lemon Clove mead, but I'm not sure if I want to add the clove or not. We'll see after I get through the primary fermentation.

Like all my meads from now on, I will make a traditional mead to start following my step-by-step checklist, and after primary fermentation and racking to a secondary, I'll add the fruit or whatever adjuncts need to go in.

This must was almost identical to the cherry mead (No. 15) I'm making, the only difference being I used 3/4 tsp of Bentonite instead of 1 tsp., and I used a generic yeast nutrient instead of DAP. However, the original gravity between the two meads was vastly different: the cherry mead had an OG of 1.115 while the lemon had 1.082 so the expected ABV differed, 15% to 11%.

I did use different yeasts, too, but the gravity readings were taken before the yeast was added.

As a side note, I'd like to make meads going forward that represent the fruit that's in season. So although No. 15 is listed as a cherry mead and No. 17 a lemon, that may switch by the time fermentation is done, depending upon how I feel. Blackberries are in season now (I use picked a good 5 cups worth from my two bushes to make a terrific blackberry pie) and I have a whole bunch left to pick still so one of the meads may become a blackberry. Also, peaches are in season too, along with a number of other fruits so these meads might change.

Of course, I'll be starting another mead next week and could use begin with that one. I do want to get Fermaid-O and begin doing a step nutrient addition regimen following the TiOSNA plan, but that may have to wait a bit yet. While I never thought I'd try to be so precise, the more mead I make, the better I want it to be.