Mead water treatment help?

[greg301333]

My main questions are PH control and water treatment. I know what I'm doing with beer, but mead sure seems a bit different. I have unbelievably soft water- almost nothing in it. Where beer may need 80ppm Calcium, I have no idea what mead needs? I also heard Ken Schramm recommend 300ppm Potassium? I bought some food grade Dry Potassium Hydroxide which I can use, for either potassium and/or PH control I assume, but I have to admit I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with it. I'm an engineer, and I wasn't very good with chemistry. So that's where I'm lost for the most part, the need for potassium additions, if any, PH control, and how to use dry KOH. Of course any other recommendations as well. Thanks.

[De-Geert]

Especially nitrogen is required to compensate for low amounts of nutrients in honey, for fermentation. It has nothing to do pH control. I guess the same is true for potassium. Normally di-ammonium phosphate is used. If you want to add potassium, I would use potassium phosphate, chloride or sulfate.

Do not use potassium hydroxide, it is way to alkaline!

I'd listen to the Jamil-show on mead. It's very informative.

[mabrungard]

I have Ken's book on Mead, but I've never seen a mention of 300 ppm K. That level would be noticeably salty to taste and is not present at that level in typical drinking water. Potassium is typically quite low in most drinking water. I would welcome having the page number of where Ken mentioned the need for the K in the mead. Just seems high to me.

I agree that some DAP in the water would be a good thing for yeast health. Since the OP's water is very soft, I would bring the calcium content up to 50 ppm with CaCL2 to also feed the yeast and aid in their eventual flocculation.

[greg301333]

The 300 ppm didn't come from Ken's book actually, it came from a 12/08 Jamil show with Ken as guest.

Correction: Ken had 300-350 ppm nitrogen, Kurt Stock had 300 ppm Potassium