Mead yeast: which one to use
Data sheetPick the yeast by the mead you want: how dry, how strong, and whether fruit goes in.
Which yeast to use for mead: EC-1118 and M05 for a dry, strong mead (both listed at 18% ABV), WLP720 for a sweeter mead, WLP727 or M05 for a fruit mead, with each maker's published figures.
Source data checked 6 October 2026.
Which yeast for the job
YeastMatch assessment, using only the uses each maker lists for the strain. Figures are the makers' published data.
| A dry, strong mead (sack mead) | Lalvin EC-1118Lallemand · 10 to 30 C (50 to 86 F) · 18 % ABV Mangrove Jack's M05 MeadMangrove Jack's · 15 to 30 C (59 to 86 F) · 18 % ABV Both are listed at 18% alcohol tolerance, so they ferment a strong mead to dryness. EC-1118 is neutral; M05 is Mangrove Jack's dedicated mead strain and keeps more of the honey's character. |
|---|---|
| A sweeter mead | White Labs WLP720 Sweet Mead / WineWhite Labs · 21 to 24 C (70 to 75 F) · High (10 to 15 %) White Labs lists WLP720 for sweet mead: it leaves more residual sweetness than its champagne strain and tolerates up to 15% alcohol. |
| A fruit mead (melomel) | White Labs WLP727 Steinberg-Geisenheim WineWhite Labs · 10 to 32 C (50 to 90 F) · High (10 to 15 %) Mangrove Jack's M05 MeadMangrove Jack's · 15 to 30 C (59 to 86 F) · 18 % ABV Both makers list melomel. WLP727 is a German white-wine strain that keeps fruit and floral aromatics. |
| Liquid yeast for a dry or sweet mead | White Labs WLP715 ChampagneWhite Labs · 21 to 24 C (70 to 75 F) · Very High (15 %+) White Labs lists its champagne strain for both dry and sweet mead: neutral and strong-fermenting, so the honey leads. |
Where to buy these yeasts and the nutrient
No prices shown: they change daily.
YeastMatch notes
How dry the mead finishes depends on the yeast's alcohol tolerance against the honey you add. A yeast listed at 18% will usually ferment a normal-strength mead completely dry; a lower-tolerance yeast stops sooner and leaves honey sweetness behind.
Honey is low in the nitrogen yeast needs, so feed nutrient in stages during the ferment; a starved mead ferments slowly and can smell of sulphur. Mangrove Jack's advises fermenting a higher-alcohol mead cooler, below 25 C.
Every strain here ferments at ordinary room temperature, so a mead needs no fermentation fridge; check each strain's range in the table.
The strains in full
Sources: Lallemand Lalvin EC-1118 Technical Data Sheet · Lallemand Lalvin EC-1118 product page · Mangrove Jack's Craft Series yeast chart (attenuation, alcohol tolerance, temperature) · White Labs WLP720 Sweet Mead/Wine Yeast product page · White Labs WLP727 Steinberg-Geisenheim Wine Yeast product page · White Labs WLP715 Champagne Yeast product page