Tools
Mead calculator
Work out how much honey and water your traditional mead needs for the volume and alcohol you're aiming for.
Results
Honey needed
— kg
≈ — L of honey
Approximate water
— L
Top up to — L
Target original gravity (OG)
—
≈ — °Plato
Target alcohol
— % ABV
With FG —
Proportion by weight of the must (— kg in total).
Keep in mind
- The OG is above 1.120, a very high gravity to ferment all at once. Consider adding part of the honey in stages and using a high-tolerance yeast.
- 14–15% ABV is at or beyond the tolerance of many yeasts. If the strain can't handle it, sugar will be left unfermented and the mead will be sweeter, not stronger.
- With an FG of 1.005 or higher, the mead will finish sweet. Residual sugar with live yeast can referment in the bottle: stabilize and confirm the gravity holds steady before bottling.
- At such small volumes, any weighing error shifts the OG a lot. Use an accurate scale and confirm with a hydrometer.
- This is a production-scale volume: the model still holds, but always adjust with real measurements of the must.
Honey by alcohol
Tap or hover over each point to see its values.
Comparison table
For — L, honey with —% sugars and FG —. Choose a row to select it.
| Target ABV (%) | Honey (kg) | Approx. water (L) | OG |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — | |
| — | — | — |
My mead recipe
- Must volume
- — L
- Target alcohol
- —% ABV
- Honey
- — kg (≈ — L)
- Approximate water
- — L
- Target OG
- —
- Estimated FG
- —
- Honey sugars
- —%
Dissolve the honey in part of the water, top up with water to — L and measure the OG with a hydrometer, correcting for temperature. Adjust with honey or water if needed.
Estimated values. The final ABV depends on the yeast, the nutrients and the actual fermentation; fermentation doesn't stop by itself when it reaches the target ABV.
Understanding the numbers
What are OG and FG?
OG (original gravity) is the density of the must before fermentation; FG (final gravity) is what's left when it finishes. The difference between them shows how much sugar became alcohol.
What does ABV mean?
Alcohol by volume, as a percentage. It's estimated with (OG − FG) × 131.25 from the measured gravities.
Why does honey need nutrients?
Honey brings plenty of sugar but almost no nitrogen, vitamins or minerals. Without nutrients the yeast gets stressed: fermentation slows or stalls, and sulfur or solvent aromas appear. The usual approach is to add nutrients in staggered doses over the first few days.
How does yeast tolerance matter?
Each strain stops working at around a certain alcohol level. Aim higher than it tolerates and fermentation will stop early, leaving residual sugar. Choose the yeast for the ABV you want.
Does more honey mean more alcohol?
Not necessarily. Past the yeast's limit, extra honey only adds sweetness. A must that's too dense also causes osmotic stress and can keep fermentation from starting or finishing properly.
Does a high FG make mead stable?
No. A sweet mead can still hold live yeast able to referment in the bottle and build up pressure. Refrigeration only slows the yeast down; it doesn't stabilize it for good. To stabilize, clarify and use methods such as sorbate with metabisulfite, checking that the gravity holds steady for several days.
Why measure instead of trusting the calculation?
Every honey has a different moisture content, volumes shrink when mixed and temperature skews the reading. The hydrometer gives you the real OG; correct the reading for its calibration temperature (usually 20 °C).
Before you start
- The calculations are estimates and don't guarantee the final strength.
- Fermentation doesn't stop by itself at the target ABV: it carries on until the fermentable sugar runs out or the yeast reaches its tolerance.
- Refrigeration isn't a definitive stabilization method; it only slows the yeast down.
- The calculated volume is the must before fermentation, not the final bottled volume.
- If you want a high ABV and a high FG together, you need a yeast that reaches that alcohol level, or to sweeten after stabilizing.
How this tool calculates
It gets the OG from OG = FG + ABV / 131.25 and converts it to degrees Plato (percentage of dissolved sugars by weight). From the must's mass (volume × OG × 0.998 kg/L) it works out the sugar needed, divides it by the honey's sugar fraction and subtracts that honey to get the water. That way the water the honey already contains is accounted for. The 131.25 formula tends to slightly underestimate alcohol above ~12% ABV.
Services for mead makers
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Tell us about your projectInternational System of Units. Gravity readings referenced to 20 °C.