Mead Calculator

Calculate honey, water, and yeast needs for mead based on target gravity, batch size, honey variety, and desired sweetness level.

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How It Works

Mead is one of the oldest fermented beverages, made simply from honey, water, and yeast. About 2.8 lbs of honey per gallon raises specific gravity by roughly 0.040 points. The key to great mead is patience — most meads need 6-18 months of aging to smooth out. Yeast nutrient additions (Fermaid-O, DAP) are critical because honey is nutrient-poor compared to grape juice or wort. Staggered Nutrient Additions (SNA) over the first 3 days prevent stressed fermentation flavors. For sweet meads, you can either use a low-tolerance yeast that stops naturally, or ferment dry and backsweeten after stabilizing with potassium sorbate and metabisulfite.