5 gallon
***DISCLAIMER ***
Just because you are purposely souring this recipe, DOES NOT MEAN you do not need to clean and sanitize!!! Make sure that everything that comes in contact with this mead is properly clean and sanitized. Also, due to the nature of this recipe containing brett, lacto and pedio strains in the two yeast options provided below, it would be advisable to keep any fermentation/secondary vessels, mixing aparatus, siphon or hoses that come in contact with the must after yeast pitch for use of only similar types of recipes to avoid infecting "non-sour" meads you may make in the future.
Now, onto the recipe...
Yeast Options:
1) 1 packet Imperial Yeast Sour Batch Kidz
2) 1 packet of Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
1.037 SG / 9.27 Brix
1.000 Estimated FG
1.010 SG after back sweetening
Honey Options for Primary Fermentation (choose one):
1) 6 lbs Bee Seasonal's Melato honey
2) 6 lbs Avocado blossom
3) 6 lbs Western Buckwheat
Add your honey into a bucket (preferably with a bottling spigot) and top off with enough water needed to reach the starting gravity listed above.
Add 5-ounces of maltodextrin and properly dilute it into the must.
Pitch your yeast blend into the must (no yeast starter, just pitch the yeast blend as is).
Add the total of amount of nutrients (7g of Fermaid-O in this case) to your mead 24-hours after yeast pitch.
At this point, keep oxygen out of your fermentation vessel.
After fermentation is complete, taste every week or so (from the spigot) 30-days after fermentation completed, at least up to 2-months, until you feel happy with the character of the mead.
Then follow one of these two options:
1) IF BACK SWEETENING: Add sulfite & sorbate addition to stabilize, and 1-1.5 lbs of honey (diluted with just enough water to dilute it enough to blend into the mead on its own during racking) into a second clean and sanitized bucket with a spigot. Rack into bucket. You can then bottle it from there.
If carbonating, rack into a keg instead of bucket.
2) IF LEAVING DRY, follow same steps as option 1, but leave out the sulfite, sorbate and honey addition.