welp, mead is racked and clearing, has a nice little pink hue from the strawberries. I had about 16 oz left over so I decided to put some in the fridge and test it from time to time. As of now it is a little dry and needs time. I may backsweeten this, or I may just add a little more strawberry on second racking (stop fermentation first), along with a tiny bit of honey to try and get a light tart session mead. This next batch I'm not doing any fruit in primary, using desert creek honey, and my goal is to start at a higher OG and stop fermentation before it becomes dry. I want a thick sweet mead on my next one, which would be the opposite of what I have now. Going to do three one gallon batches over the next few months and fruit them all differently in secondary. Do you guys recommend trying a different yeast than 71B or just hone this strain in until I can get good at it? Also, any tips for achieving a sweeter mead other than what I have suggested?