2026-02a · Moldovan traditional

Kind: mead Stage: primary Volume: 8 L Style: traditional — honey, water, yeast, nothing else Vessel: 10 L glass demijohn, ~2 L headspace, cider shed Started: 2026-08-09

Sibling of 2026-02b — one must, split at pitch.

Vitals

OG	1.085
Volume	8 L
Honey	~2.3 kg Moldovan, ~2 yr old
Yeast	Lalvin 71B
Nutrient	Fermaid O, 2.2 g × 4 doses
Tannin	Tannoblanc ~0.67 g
SO₂	none
pH	?
FG
ABV	~11.2% if dry

As built

One 15.5 L must in the brewing bucket: the whole ~4.5 kg jar of Moldovan honey, barely warmed, water to volume, OG 1.085. Tannoblanc 1.3 g in. 10 g of 71B rehydrated in 12.5 g GoFerm and pitched ~16:00, Sun 9 Aug. This vessel took 8 L of the split.

Nutrient schedule

2.2 g Fermaid O per dose (this vessel's half of 4.4 g). Stir daily until the 1/3 break, then stop. Nothing after the break.

date	dose
Mon 10 Aug	2.2 g
Tue 11 Aug	2.2 g
Wed 12 Aug	2.2 g
1/3 break (~1.057) or Sun 16 Aug	2.2 g

Log

2026-08-09 — pitched

Split from the shared must, under airlock, into the shed.

Watchpoints

Top up or consolidate once fermentation stops — 2 L of headspace is fine under CO₂, not after.
71B tops out near 14%, so this ferments dry.
Sulfite decision belongs at bottling, not here. ~50 ppm free SO₂ at a late racking as antioxidant. Mandatory if back-sweetened: sorbate without sulfite lets bacteria turn the sorbate into off-flavours.

Verdict

Score /5 and a sentence, when it's drunk.