For mead: any suggestions on keeping yeast alive and happy as long as possible (to wit maximum fermentation) while staying as simple & old-school as possible?
“For mead: any suggestions on keeping yeast alive and happy as long as possible”
I like to use two different yeasts for a dry mead. One to hold the flavor while the alcohol is low and one that is alcohol tolerant to finish it. If you like a sweet mead, use White Labs WLP720 yeast.
Yes, you can add a yeast nutrient to the honey water mixture for a mead. The sugars in honey don’t feed yeast like the sugars in malts that are used in beer do. A yeast nutrient is a natural food for the yeast and gives nourishment to the yeast so that it stays healthy throughout the fermentation process. Use it in beer, wine, mead, etc. to produce healthy yeast for a complete fermentation.