My First Mead

[BigEars]

Hi All
Thought i would share with you my First Mead Foray
So I bought 4 jars cheap of Honey from Aldi @£0.75p pre Bottle, 5litres of Aldi Spring Water,and a 5g Wilko's Gervin Wine Yeast
So I Boiled the 3 jar's of the Honey (just over 2lb stirring when boiling, then turning down to simmer and still stirring to stop it sticking to the Pan for 30mins, let it cool for around 15-20mins, then adding to 2.5liter's of Aldi Spring water and mixing all together in a 1 gallon DemiJohn, then topping up to the shoulders with spring water. SG Was 1.070, ADDED THE 5g of yeast plus 15 raisens and 1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient to the mix, fitted a Blow Off Tube and Kept at 20c for 12 DAYS FG was 1.004 SO ABV 8.66% approx
Syphoned off to a clean demijohn and added 1 crushed Campden Tablet and half teaspoon of Potsium Sorbate to Kill off the Yeast and left for 36hours
Syphoned off again to clean Demijohn, and added 4th jar of Aldi Cheap Honey to Back Sweeten, (tastes nice) now leaving for around 4-5 weeks, in the dark then Bottle and give a bottle to my mate and open at on Christmas Eve
Will let you know the results of a taste test nearer to Christmas, I know it may be a bit early to try after about a month for maturing but to be Honest I can't wait, although on the Plus side I have more Honey so will be trying another Batch Next Week but in a slightly different way with (extra honey)

Well thank You for taking the time to read this, PLEASE I LOOK FORWARD TO ANY CHRITISISM AND HELPFULL TIPS from you learned folk out there.
Regard's

[Trefoyl]

Last time I made mead I scoured the internet to learn the latest techniques. I used a local honey because I wanted one with good flavor but it was also the cheapest in bulk. Boiling is no longer considered necessary and drives off flavor, and nutrient is added in 3 stages as primary fermentation progresses. I used ICV-D47 but it’s very temperature specific. It finished very slightly sweet because I used a lot of honey, which is what I was going for but if I make it again I would use less so it finishes dry.
I don’t remember how long before I bottled it or how many times I racked it before bottling but it was a year in bottle before it tasted nice, which is normal for a strong mead.
I corked in 750 ml wine bottles but I think half size bottles would have been better because it’s so strong.