Mead - Tips and Tricks?

[beerfly]

first shot so something is bound to be a bit off.  not going to have the patience to wait a year and i'll want my demijohn back.  going to give it a bit of a shake everyday to know losse some of the co2 in suspension and after about a week add some more nutrient.  will get it off the bulk of the yeast around week 2 and try to forget about it till late march

have to say it got of to a great start, 3hrs after the yeast going in it was bubbling away

[lampie]

Nice lookin meads there lampie, the vanilla's interesting as hell looking

Tnx I bought the vanilla on the internet from a supplier that gets it straight out of madagascar. Its a bit more expensive but compaired to the stuff you get from the supermarket or bakery shop its exelent.
The bottles have a green colour so will have to wait untill the end result in a few months..

[Bzfeale80]

beerfly what type of yeast did you use for your mead? I just racked off my mead from the trub on monday and its very clear already. It was started in late october. Organic honey separated from wax cappings was what I used and added some red star champagne yeast which began fermenting in no time at all. It was very murky to begin with but after a month or so began to clear.

[DrowningManatee]

Thanks Irishgoat!: does this DAP (from amazon) act different to the other yeast nutrients? ie. If I use this in conjunction with youngs yeast nutrient does that complete the required picture? are they different?
Basically I was reading that N. Brewer recommend 1/2 tsp nutrient (fermaid K - which is a source of DAP)  plus 1/4 tsp yeast energiser(5 gallon batch in 4 additions- im a 4.5L demijohn man meself till Im sure of what Im at).
Does the DAP nutrient from amazon have the other nutrients required for healthy fermentation? Or does it need other yeast nutrients as well (and will this other nutrient have DAP?).
Sorry, probably not explaining myself very well here but I think you get the idea. It's a bit confusing with the names of various nutrients being similar, but containing very different things inside, and then not explaining it very well on the pack.
Basically, what nutrients should be added to mead? Not in terms of chemistry, but what you can buy?

@lampie: haha, didn't realise the bottle was green. Never seen a coloured demijohn before Thought that madagascar vanilla musta been some crazy shit when I read that. My blackberry mead looks identical to yours, im thinkin of just topping it up with water when I rack (its on the fruit puree 2 months now). I was gonna top with ribena or something similar but im worried about giving off flavours (doubtful I know but im assuming its a more delicate bouquet with the honey etc and could be damaged easier?)

[lampie]

got some bottles from a flea market for two euro a piece.. rubber cap and airlock on and nice and cheap glass dj

[Will_D]

... but before i do im wondering where to get DAP? Everyone uses a mix of this and nutrient, but it doesnt seem to be available anywhere in Ireland.

Youngs Yeast nutrient (available from all HB stores) is a mix of Diammonium Phosphate(DAP) and Ammonium Sulphate.

So its DAP + Am.Sulphate

I use it all the time for wines. For beer yeast starters I sometimes add a pinch of Marmite (Autolysed/hydrolysed dead yeast) Plus I love it in a sambo - the Marmite that is not the DAP/AS 

[beerfly]

Used wlp540 top cropped from a dubbel that's almost done. I'm thinking any esters from it should hopefully blend well and since it's an ale yeast won't be too dry. At the very least it will be "interesting"