Mead making
Mead nutrient schedule.
Enter your starting gravity, batch size and nutrient dose to get a staggered feeding plan with the gravity to feed at.
Inputs
Feeding plan
Enter your numbers.
How it works
Yeast need nitrogen and micronutrients, and honey has little of either. GotMead’s Newbee Guide describes the staggered nutrient approach: instead of adding everything at the start, you divide the total nutrient by the number of feedings and add each portion at a set point in the fermentation. The two usual points are the 1/3 sugar break and the 2/3 sugar break, when one third and two thirds of the fermentable sugar has been used.
The gravity at a sugar break is found by taking the starting gravity points and removing that fraction: gravity = OG − (OG − 1) × fraction. GotMead’s example is a 1.120 must (28 Brix), where the 1/3 break comes at 1.080.
Worked example. A 5 gallon batch at 1.120 with 1 g per gallon and two feedings needs 5 g in total, 2.5 g at the 1/3 break (gravity 1.080) and 2.5 g at the 2/3 break (gravity 1.040). The tool does not choose the dose for you: use the amount your nutrient label or yeast supplier recommends, because products differ. GotMead warns that too much nutrient can change flavour and cause problems, and says yeast generally need about 250 to 350 ppm of assimilable nitrogen depending on the starting gravity.
Frequently asked questions
What is a sugar break?
GotMead defines the 1/3 sugar break as the point where a third of the fermentables have been fermented to alcohol, and the 2/3 break as two thirds. For a 1.120 must the 1/3 break is 1.080.
How much nutrient should I use?
Follow your product label. GotMead lists 1 g per gallon of Fermaid K at the 1/3 sugar break and 1/4 tsp per gallon of DAP, and notes manufacturers differ.
Is this the TOSNA schedule?
No. This tool splits one dose across sugar breaks as GotMead describes. Other published schedules time additions by hours or days, so use their own instructions for those.
Can I add too much nutrient?
Yes. GotMead warns that too much nutrient can change the flavour of the mead and create compounds that may spoil the batch.
Sources
Opened
- GotMead: Newbee Guide, Chapter 5, Terminology and Calculations: Defines the 1/3 and 2/3 sugar breaks, with a 1.120 example where the 1/3 break is 1.080, and splitting the dose across feedings.
- GotMead: Newbee Guide, Chapter 10, Nutrients: Fermaid K at 1 g per gallon at the 1/3 sugar break, DAP 1/4 tsp per gallon, and the 250 to 350 ppm nitrogen range.
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Scope
Planning aid only, based on one published home mead guide. Nutrient products differ, so follow the label of the product you use. Home production of alcohol is regulated differently in each jurisdiction. Not professional or legal advice.