ginger mead, unpasteurized honey

2019-03-10: I decided to try an experiment of ginger-flavored mead; I did it on a 1-gallon scale rather than a full 5 gallons in case I don't like the flavor.  I know this is bad science but another variable I changed was I did not boil or pasteurize the honey - this is supposed to preserve the flavor of the honey.

(based loosely off of this recipe:  https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/beer-recipe-of-the-week-sparking-ginger-mead/)

ingredients:

49 g ginger
1.3 kg honey
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp acid blend
1 packet yeast EC-1118 Lalvin (champagne / sparkling wine)

equipment:

1 gallon glass jug / carboy
spoon that fits in the above / reaches the bottom
airlock for the carboy
plastic funnel &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsppiodine / iodophor sanitizer

Sterilized 1 gallon glass jug - the mini carboy - with iodine solution for 2 minutes, stirred with spoon.  When finished, emptied the iodine sterilization solution into a plastic jug containing other equipment to sterilize.  Cover the carboy's opening with aluminum foil, invert to allow iodine solution to drain.

Added honey to carboy, used water to rinse honey containers (put some tap water, then added boiled water* to bring it up to a hotter temperature - I don't like using hot tap water because it is likely to contain more impurities).

Rinse ginger; grate (skin on).  Boil 1 minute in 1 cup of water to sterilize.  Add water and shredded ginger to carboy via funnel (used sterlizied chop stick to poke the ginger down through the funnel).

Add water to fill carboy up to ~1 gallon line.  Add yeast nutrient, acid blend, yeast; stir vigorously.  Cap with airlock.

Edit/addition 1:  at some point (probably after ~1 month) I transferred to a secondary fermenter, removing most of the pieces of ginger etc.

Edit/addition 2 2020-03-21:  It's a little over a year later, and I bottled and tasted the mead.  I can smell the floral notes of the honey but more strongly the spice from the ginger makes it taste very strong.