June Brew Day: Hopped Hydromel

For the club’s June brew day, we set out to create a recipe that was straightforward to brew, easy to share, and full of bright, refreshing flavor. With just a few ingredients and a straightforward process, we put together a 30-gallon batch of hopped hydromel that every participant could customize at home. Here’s how it went down:

Step 1: Hop Tea

We kicked things off by boiling 3 oz of Centennial hops in 5 gallons of water for 20 minutes. This gave us an estimated 18 IBUs—just enough bitterness to balance the honey without overwhelming it. Centennial is a perfect choice for a summer hydromel, bringing notes of lemon zest, grapefruit, and subtle pine.

Step 2: Building the Must

With the hop tea ready, we poured it into our 50-gallon stainless kettle, which was already partially filled with cool water to help temper the mixture. Next came the star ingredient: 36 lbs of honey. We used wildflower honey for its bright, floral character that pairs well with citrusy hops and adds depth without overpowering the hydromel. We continued topping up with cold water until we reached a final volume of 30 gallons. The mixture was stirred vigorously to ensure everything was evenly blended. The gravity came in at 1.041 SG, slightly lower than we were aiming for, but it should still land around 5% ABV—a solid target for a crushable summer hydromel.

Step 3: Divvy It Up

With the must ready to go, we split it into 5-gallon fermenters, so everyone could take home a piece of the batch and make it their own. I took home 3 portions and plan to experiment with different yeasts.

My Fermentation Journey

I explored three distinct approaches to see how yeast strain, fermentation temperature, and dry hopping influenced the flavor and character of the final hydromel.

Batch 1: I pitched Lalvin D47 and left it to ferment in my garage at around 80°F. I dry hopped this one with 1 oz of Nelson Sauvin, which brought bright tropical and white wine–like aromas. After fermentation, I back-sweetened it with 1 lb of clover honey before kegging, giving it a nicely balanced finish.

Batch 2: This batch was fermented with K1-V1116 yeast, also in the garage. After primary fermentation, I racked it onto guava, passion fruit, and orange juice concentrate, which added plenty of natural sweetness—so no back sweetening was needed. This batch was also kegged and ready to serve.

Batch 3: The wild card was pitched with a two-year-old Munich Classic beer yeast and fermented in a temperature-controlled chamber at 68°F. I dry hopped it with Hallertauer and, like Batch 1, back-sweetened with 1 lb of clover honey before kegging to round out the dryness.

All three batches are now kegged and conditioned, and I’m looking forward to serving them at our August club meeting. It’ll be exciting to share and compare how each approach shaped the final mead!

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5-Gallon Hopped Hydromel Recipe

If you want to try this hopped hydromel at home, here’s a simple recipe scaled for 5 gallons:

Ingredients:

• 6 lbs honey

• 0.5 oz Centennial hops

• 1 pack D47 wine yeast or any other yeast of your choice

• Water up to 5 gallons

• Optional: 1 oz hops for dry hopping

• Optional: 3-5 lbs of frozen fruit or juice concentrate

Instructions:

1. Boil about 1 gallon of water and steep hops for 20 minutes to create a hop tea.

2. Cool the hop tea by mixing it with cold water.

3. In your fermenter, combine the hop tea, honey, and enough water to reach 5 gallons. Stir thoroughly to dissolve honey.

4. Pitch your chosen yeast and add nutrients as recommended.

5. Ferment between 65–75°F (depending on yeast strain) until complete.

6. Optional: dry hop with 1 oz of your favorite hop for 3 days.

7. Optional: rack onto 3-5 lbs of frozen fruit or juice concentrate and let it condition for 1 week.

8. Back sweeten if desired, then keg or bottle and carbonate. (if bottling, careful of bottle bombs. You may want to use erythritol for back sweetening.)