Gonna start a tradition every new years day of making a mead to age for a year to have at new years parties.
I have recently been looking at water additions for my beers and I was wondering what type of salt additions would I use for orange blossom mead made with RO water?
Are there any resources out there for this?
Thanks!
Honestly, you simply want some alkalinity in the water to help buffer acid produced by the yeast and the acidity of the honey. Beyond that, it’s preference.
I don’t care much for hard water in mine, so when I use RO, I just add 8 grams of gypsum and calcium chloride, and about 5 grams of potassium bicarbonate for a buffer. That’s for 5 gallons total batch size.
Of late, I have gone back to cheap spring water from the grocery. It’s convenient, pre measured, and I can reuse the container.
Many of the mead masters will just use good tap water treated with campden tabs. Of course, most have access to moderate alkaline waters (120-160 ppm alkalinity).
Awesome. Thanks for your advice!