A mead tracking app for Android
If you make mead at home, BrewNote is a free Android app for keeping a log of every batch: the honey and yeast you used, your starting gravity, nutrient additions, gravity readings, racking and backsweetening dates, and tasting notes as the mead ages. It uses an ABV formula suited to high-gravity mead, works offline, and needs no account.
Mead takes months, sometimes years, from mixing the must to drinking the first bottle. Most brewing apps are built around beer brew days and leave meadmakers to squeeze honey, staggered nutrients, and long aging into fields meant for grain and hops. BrewNote treats mead as its own drink type, so a show mead, a melomel, or a quick hydromel gets logged the way you actually make it.
What to log for each mead batch
- Honey type and amount, water, and any fruit, spices, or other additions.
- Yeast strain, pitch date, and how you rehydrated it.
- Original gravity before pitching, after mixing the must well.
- Each nutrient addition with its date and amount, if you follow a staggered schedule.
- Dated gravity readings and the sample temperature.
- When you rack, stabilize, backsweeten, and bottle.
- Tasting notes at each stage of aging.
Typical mead strengths
| Strength | Typical OG | Typical ABV |
|---|---|---|
| Hydromel (light) | 1.035–1.080 | 3.5–7.5% |
| Standard | 1.080–1.120 | 7.5–14% |
| Sack (strong) | 1.120–1.170 | 14–18% |
Ranges are approximate and follow the BJCP mead guidelines. Final gravity depends on how sweet you want the mead: dry meads finish near 0.990–1.010, and sweet meads finish well above that.
How BrewNote handles mead
Start a batch as a mead, either from scratch or from a saved recipe. Add honey, fruit, and nutrients as ingredients, and keep your process notes with the batch.
Log gravity readings from a hydrometer or refractometer as often as you take them. Once you have a couple of readings, BrewNote draws a gravity chart, so a stalled ferment is easy to spot.
Set reminders for the next nutrient addition, gravity check, or racking date. A reminder can send a notification and can also go on your phone’s calendar, which helps over months of aging.
ABV for mead uses a formula meant for high starting gravities, which is more accurate than the simple beer formula at mead strengths. Rate each batch when it’s done and compare batches of the same recipe.
What BrewNote doesn’t do
- BrewNote doesn’t plan nutrient schedules (such as TOSNA) or calculate how much honey to add. It records what you did.
- BrewNote is Android only for now. There is no iPhone version.
- It doesn’t connect to digital hydrometers or Bluetooth sensors. You type in readings yourself.
- There’s no cloud sync between devices. You move data with a zip backup instead.
Free tools for mead makers
Frequently asked questions
What’s a good app for tracking mead batches?
BrewNote is a free Android app built for this. It has a mead batch type with its own ABV formula, plus gravity logging with a chart, nutrient and racking reminders, recipes, and tasting notes. It works offline and needs no account.
Can I log staggered nutrient additions in BrewNote?
Yes. Add each nutrient addition as a dated note or ingredient, and set a reminder for the next one. BrewNote records the schedule you follow but doesn’t calculate it for you.
Does BrewNote calculate ABV correctly for mead?
BrewNote uses a high-gravity ABV formula for mead, cider, and wine instead of the simple (OG − FG) × 131.25 formula, which tends to overstate ABV at mead strengths. Like any gravity-based estimate, it depends on accurate OG and FG readings.
I make mead as a hobby. Is BrewNote overkill?
No. You can log as little as a name, a start date, and a couple of gravity readings. Recipes, reminders, and ratings are there when you want them.