Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Blueberry Mead

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Blueberry Mead

    So I plan on starting a blueberry mead. I plan on using a clover honey about 17 lbs and about 5 lbs blue berries. I will start the ferment with a base of 13 lbs of honey and the 5 lbs of blue berries 2 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme 5 tsp yeast nutrient 2 1/2 yeast energizer 1/4 tsp grape tannin 25ml 10% sulfite solution add enough water to the original 13 lbs of honey to have a starting SG of 1.090 add in the blue berries and other ingredient's. After 24 hrs add 3 pkgs lalvin D-47 let it rip for about 5 days and keep pushing the blue berries uder the surface a couple times a day as the ferment starts to slow add in 1 lbs increments the 4 lbs of saved honey mixed into water to 1.090 until we achieve a full carboy which should be about 2-3 additional additions then use the rest of the saved honey in small amounts until a pleasing sweetness level is achieved by bench test. I hope to get around 13% alcohol with a nice blueberry fruit bounce I do not want a desert wine but wish to achieve a medium sweet drinking wine This is why I am taking the step method of honey additions I also want enough room in the beginning for foam and boiling so the fermenter does not spill over. Any thoughts?
    http://www.winensuds.com/ Gotta love this hobby

  • #2
    Yup, lots of thoughts........

    Mostly, honey and 1/3rd to 1/2 the bloobs in primary. The rest in once it's finished and either stabilised or at tolerance.

    Never D47 for red/black fruit. RC-212, maybe BDX.

    All done in a bucket while the ferment and any secondary fruit is happening (far too much hassle racking/racking loses with carboy type fermenter).

    If you insist on the D47, keep it below 70F/21C. D47 is known for fusels in honey musts when fermented too warm......

    Buckets can be "sloshed" gently to keep the cap moving. If you're then patient enough to let the fruit sink, a la "red grape", it's easily handled and the fruit pressed etc.......

    Either way, it should work......
    Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

    Some blog ramblings

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by fatbloke View Post
      Yup, lots of thoughts........

      Mostly, honey and 1/3rd to 1/2 the bloobs in primary. The rest in once it's finished and either stabilised or at tolerance.

      Never D47 for red/black fruit. RC-212, maybe BDX.

      All done in a bucket while the ferment and any secondary fruit is happening (far too much hassle racking/racking loses with carboy type fermenter).

      If you insist on the D47, keep it below 70F/21C. D47 is known for fusels in honey musts when fermented too warm......

      Buckets can be "sloshed" gently to keep the cap moving. If you're then patient enough to let the fruit sink, a la "red grape", it's easily handled and the fruit pressed etc.......

      Either way, it should work......
      Right then instead of D-47 Maybe as it is what I have available K1V-116 I will just have to move the mead as soon as the ferment starts to drop out. Interesting as to the timing of the blueberry addition suggestion. Why after the ferment and not in the primary? I also do not understand the recommendation on the honey additions. Are you suggesting to only do it in one addition and not thin the honey down. If that is the case then should I start my must at a lower starting sg to compensate for the final wanted out come?
      http://www.winensuds.com/ Gotta love this hobby

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by rjb222 View Post
        Right then instead of D-47 Maybe as it is what I have available K1V-116 I will just have to move the mead as soon as the ferment starts to drop out. Interesting as to the timing of the blueberry addition suggestion. Why after the ferment and not in the primary? I also do not understand the recommendation on the honey additions. Are you suggesting to only do it in one addition and not thin the honey down. If that is the case then should I start my must at a lower starting sg to compensate for the final wanted out come?
        Ok Robert, it's like this. You said about about using 17lb of honey, but then said about starting with 13lb etc. So I'm thinking that suggests step feeding maybe ? I work on 3 to 3.5lb of honey in the gallon (Imp gallon/4.55 litres, despite similar ratio's being suggested by US based makers for US gallon/3.78 litres, so a "Canadian gallon" or 4 litres would just give you somewhere middling) but it depends on the start, how strong I want my mead etc. I don't routinely start many much above about the 1.110 sort of area. But I use guidance from Ken Schramms paper to work out my nutrition requirements - and once you've an idea where you want it strength-wise (finished), I then use the numbers from the papers guidance to work it out and stagger the addition.

        Splitting the fruit is based on the idea that when you use a name or word i.e. "Blueberry Mead", people expect it to taste of blue berries. Think on the difference between grapes and wine ? They taste quite dissimilar don't they. So by splitting the fruit addition, so that you get some of the more complex (though different) taste from the fermented fruit flavour, then the addition post fermentation (after stabilising or stepping the batch past tolerance) gives a normal fruit flavour, so people can actually get the taste of blueberries.

        Your comment about the quantity of honey suggests about a 5 gallon sort of size batch. I usually just look up a recipe for whatever the fruit is at Jack Kellers site, then use that as a guide for quantity (I suspect you'll need about 2 or 3 times what you thought of in the first post, otherwise you'll get a reasonable colour, but little to no flavour from it).

        I basically don't thin honey down. I just weigh it out, then dump it in. Of course, you'd need to mix it with some of the must if you want to take gravity readings pretty much, straight away (I don't even bother to reliquify crystalised honey. It's hygroscopic so it will sort that itself over a couple of days). It's up to you if you wanted to sort the honey, so that if you step feed, you let the initial gravity drop to say 1.020 or 1.010 and then add more honey incrementally, but equally it's up to you if you then wanted to add all the extra in one hit, or you have enough to make 10 or 20 point steps. I usually keep a pound or so back, so that I can back sweeten. We're strange, we like to taste the target fruit, but at the same time, some fruit (especially some of the berries) are best consumed sweet. Fresh/raw blueberries are Ok but not really inspiring. Blueberry "compote" or jam/jelly, etc are the tastes that most seem to enjoy.

        I usually work my batches, so that I get any fruit flavour in, then I stabilise and back sweeten before clearing. Honey is good for back sweetening but it's a bit of a f****r for causing a haze in an already cleared mead, and you end up with more process steps and racking loses getting rid of it. Hence I find that if I back sweeten to the numbers (I like my meads in the 1.010-1.020 sort of range) and aim for about 1.010 to 1.015, then if the honey does actually cause a haze, it doesn't seem to matter, as it drops out with the rest of the particulates, leaving you free to add a bit of oak (I do like using acid additions to modify any excess sweetness - but a tiny addition can make quite a big change in taste) or whatever if it needs it.

        K1-V1116 will do a good job with "whites" (meads that is) and I have used it on fruit/reds, but really I prefer a "proper" red yeast, as it's all about colour and flavour based retention with blue/black/dark fruit. I'd guess that if you didn't have or don't want to use one like that, then 71B. But again, that's not suggested if you're gonna make this as an "aged red"........
        Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

        Some blog ramblings

        Comment


        • #5
          Thanks John. I have a specific thought of where I want the flavor profile to be at in the end. I want a dry mead with a bit of alcohol up front. Hence the step addition of the honey I do not want the yeast to tire out before all the sugars are consumed in this one. This is also the reason for the small additions and the watering down to a known gravity rather than just a straight honey addition with out being watered down. I like the fruit flavor idea as I am thinking the alcohol may make this a bit too forward and not enough flavor to carry. I have some unfiltered honey that was donated to me to see what I could come up with. The honey has wax and pollen pieces in it. I am not worried about the extras as they will drop out with the first gross lees. I am interested in finding out if the pollen will add to the honeys grassy profile as it is a clover honey. This is also why I picked Blueberry as a flavoring clover being a fairly neutral flavored honey I thought a strong flavor like blueberries would pick is flavor up and brighten the finish. This is a five gallon batch. What I fear in doing what you suggest as far as the honey additions is missing the mark and winding up with a sweet mead. But I do lack some experience with mead and need the questions I have answered. Thank you.
          http://www.winensuds.com/ Gotta love this hobby

          Comment

          Working...
          X