Mead Maker Notes on iPhone: Honey Assessments, Nutrient Schedules & Fermentation Logs
How mead makers use Nemos to document honey variety assessments, TOSNA nutrient addition schedules, fermentation progress records, and adjunct experiment notes.
Mead fermentation is slower, less forgiving, and more variable than beer. A stuck fermentation in beer might recover with rousing and warming. A stuck mead stuck at 1.080 for three weeks is a more serious problem — and often a preventable one if the nutrient additions were documented and reviewed. Nemos gives mead makers a mobile record that captures the technical variables that separate consistent quality from batch-to-batch unpredictability.
Why Mead Makers Need Better Records
Mead has fewer inputs than beer — primarily honey, water, yeast, and nutrients — but those inputs interact more sensitively. Honey composition varies by floral source, harvest year, and processing. Yeast stress from a high-gravity must manifests differently depending on nutrient status and fermentation temperature. Without documented records, debugging a problem means guessing which variable changed.
What to Capture in Nemos
Honey Variety Assessments For each honey variety you use: - Floral source and geographic origin - Producer and harvest year - Initial gravity contribution at your standard dilution - Aroma and flavor profile of the raw honey - Color and clarity - Any varietal characteristics that will shape the finished mead
Honey is the primary flavor-shaping ingredient. Documented assessments let you choose honeys intentionally and anticipate how they'll behave in fermentation.
Must Preparation Records For each batch: - Honey weight and volume - Water volume and source (filtered, spring, reverse osmosis) - Starting gravity (measured) - pH at must setup - Nutrients added at must setup (type, amount per gallon) - Any other additions (tannin, acid blend, campden/sulfite)
Must preparation records are the baseline. Every subsequent observation is relative to this starting point.
Nutrient Addition Schedule (TOSNA or equivalent) Staggered nutrient additions are essential for healthy high-gravity fermentation. Log each addition: - Date and time of addition - Days from pitch - Current gravity - Nutrient type and amount - Yeast activity at time of addition - Any temperature reading
Nutrient records are where many mead problems either get prevented or traced after the fact.
Fermentation Progress Log Log at each gravity check: - Date and current gravity - Temperature (actual, not target) - Yeast activity (vigorous, moderate, slow, stuck) - Clarity and color - Any off-aromas detected
Fermentation progress notes surface the stuck fermentation before it becomes a problem — a single gravity check that shows fermentation stopped early is actionable if you catch it.
Adjunct and Experiment Notes For melomels, metheglins, and other adjunct meads: - Fruit or botanical type, form, and quantity - Addition timing and duration - Color and flavor contribution assessment - Any extraction or pressing technique used - Whether addition was primary, secondary, or post-fermentation
Adjunct notes document what worked and what didn't — essential for iterating on a recipe that uses expensive or seasonal ingredients.
Packaging and Finishing Records At packaging: - Final gravity and calculated ABV - Clarity assessment (fine or hazy) - Fining agents used (bentonite, Sparkolloid, gelatin) and timing - Carbonation level (for sparkling) - Sulfite addition at packaging (if applicable) - Packaging date and volume
FAQ
Can Nemos work offline in a cellar with no signal? Yes. Full offline functionality. Notes sync when WiFi is available.
How do I track many active batches simultaneously? Title notes by batch number or batch name and honey variety. Tags by status (active, bulk aging, packaged, complete) keep the current batch list visible.
Is there a way to track mead competition submissions? Yes — create a note per competition entry with style category, score received, and judge feedback. Competition notes are useful for recipe development direction.
How do I calculate TOSNA nutrient additions in Nemos? Nemos is a notes app, not a calculator. Do your TOSNA calculations externally (Got Mead calculator, spreadsheet) and log the results and actuals in Nemos.
Can I attach photos of clarity and color progression? Yes. Attach photos at each gravity check or racking. Visual documentation of clarification progress and color development over time is more informative than description alone.
Why not just use brewing software? Brewing software handles recipe and gravity calculations well. Nemos captures the sensory observations, anomalies, and contextual notes that structured data fields don't accommodate.
Related Reading
- /blog/brewer-notes-iphone — fermentation documentation and yeast performance records
- /blog/cidermaker-notes-iphone — wild fermentation and adjunct documentation patterns
- /blog/distiller-notes-iphone — long-horizon fermentation and maturation records
- /blog/winemaker-notes-iphone — fermentation observation and blending documentation
Sources
- Mead fermentation nutrient management: Got Mead technical resources and American Mead Makers Association guidelines
- Honey variety characterization: National Honey Board floral source documentation
Taha built Némos after years of losing screenshots and voice memos across a dozen apps. He writes about on-device AI, personal knowledge management, and building privacy-first tools for iPhone.
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