First batch of mead, based on the “Medium Sweet Orange Blossom Mead” recipe in Ken Schramm’s The Compleat Meadmaker, p. 30.

Bought most of the equipment we didn’t already have today at Valley Brewers, the closest available homebrew store to us. The couple there was incredibly helpful. I owe them a Yelp review saying so.

I'm going to call this recipe Basic Batch Mead in the hope that it turns out to be a useful base for future meads.

Ingredients in this batch

Yield: TBA; hopefully five gallons.

Brewing notes

2016-04-11_01_44_28

Turns out I don't have a plastic fermentation tank, as I thought I did; what I do have turns out to be a dispensing tank. Chris at Valley Brewers says we should ferment in the carboy instead, which makes sense. I wish I'd asked some questions about practical implications while there; there wound up being some improvising involved.

Heated the must (1 gal water + all the honey) to 165°F, then poured it into the carboy, where the three gallons of cold water were already sitting. They should have been chilled longer; this meant that cooling the mixture took much longer than it should have: getting it down below 80°F took over six hours. The rehydrated yeast sat there during that time; I hope that's not too long. I'll keep an eye on fermentation. Which hasn't started yet two hours after the yeast was pitched, but I guess that's to be expected.

However, fermenting in the carboy makes some things more complex. How to cool it, for one thing? The carboy holds heat pretty effectively. In retrospect, I should have refrigerated the water longer. Too, it's hard to aerate the must and water mixture: we don't have a sufficiently long stirring rod. I used the back end of the long wooden spoon, which, though sanitized, wasn't long enough, and so I mixed longer, as vigorously as possible, and repeatedly, including as a way of stirring the must/water mixture to cool it while waiting for it to get below eighty degrees.

And it's hard to measure specific gravity brewing in a carboy: I suspended the hydrometer from a thread and hung it in because there was no good way to extract the mead from the carboy without having sterilized a racking cane, but measured at 79°F instead of 60°; the reading was 1.104 at that temperature, which the Specific Gravity Temperature Correction Calculator says is 1.106.

I suspect that stirring with an upside-down wooden spoon may have added trace amounts of wood dust to the mixture. The unsanitized hydrometer thread may have briefly made contact with the mead, as well. And a small amount of vodka from the fermentation lock may have dripped into the mead, although if so, it was a genuinely tiny amount.

Primary Fermentation Observations

2016-04-24_01-34-10
Spent yeast flocculating on inside of carboy seams on 24 Apr 2016.
  • 2016-04-12T15:16:00: Twelve hours in, there's noticable carbonation happening in the carboy. Fermentation! Ambient temperature in the apartment is about 75°F, which is on the high end of what the yeast can take, I think?
  • 2016-04-17T14:15:00: Initial fermentation was quite quick for around two and a half days, but carbon dioxide discharge from the carboy has clearly slowed down to a continual steady rate. The temperature in the carboy has fallen to about 72°F. (Brother Adam claims this is to be expected on p. 117 of Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey: The first violent fermentative process will gradually decrease in the course of a few days. The primary fermentation will then supervene.) Anyway, there's still steady carbon dioxide discharge, so we're just keeping the fermentation lock topped off with vodka every few days.
  • 2016-04-24T13:30: Carbon dioxide discharge has slowed way down, and I'm starting to think that primary fermentation might be over, and time to rack into another container. Temperature inside carboy is still about 72°F. The mead is starting to clarify, especially on top, and there's spent yeast on the bottom, though not so obviously as in batch 003. That'll mean sanitizing the bucket that's finally arrived, racking the mead into that, cleaning out the carboy and sanitizing it, and racking the mead back into that. Oh boy, sounds like fun.
  • 2016-05-02T18:30: Racked the batch into five one-gallon carboys for secondary fermentation, as described below.

Secondary fermentation

On 2 May, primary fermentation had slowed down a great deal, and we racked this batch into five one-gallon carboys: one (called batch 001a) was a simple transfer from the larger to the smaller carboy, keeping a gallon as a basic show mead; the other four received various additives in their individual carboys.

The specific gravity was 1.010 at 76°F (which seems to be our ambient room temperature right now), or 1.012 after temperature compensation. That means that the current alcohol content, according to the ABV calculator, is about 12.3%. All of the batches exhibited immediate noticeable yeast flocculation in the second carboy; all are clearly producing at least some additional carbon dioxide production, indicating that there is still fermentation occurring.

Here are the specifics for each batch:

2016-05-03_00_33_28_HDR
Batch 001a in secondary fermentation on 2 May 2016.

Batch 001a: Orange blossom honey show mead

No changes; just racked (a bit over a gallon of) it into a one-gallon carboy.

Final gravity: 1.002.
Estimated ABV: 13.66%

Observations

  • 2016-05-03T00:08: There's clearly a good deal of spent yeast that's already fallen to the bottom of the carboy just since the batch was racked five hours ago. (Of course, this was the last gallon we racked out of the other carboy, and it probably got more of the bottom-level yeast cake than any of the other batches.)
  • 2016-05-03T11:00: There's a lot of bubbles rising inside the carboy. Fermentation!
  • 2016-05-16T00:24: There are still carbon dioxide bubbles being produced in the carboy, though not as quickly as before. There are signs of clarification starting at the top of the carboy and moving down.
  • 2016-05-25T12:15: There are still carbon dioxide bubbles being produced in the carboy. Clarification is still proceeding slowly from the top down.
  • 2016-06-12T20:25: Returned from a week and a half on the road. No indication of continuing fermentation. However, it seems like the mead inside has actually expanded to eliminate what little head space there was in the carboy
  • 2016-06-18T04:39: Still no carbon dioxide discharge.
  • 2016-06-20T17:45: Bottled into 12- and 22-ounce beer bottles, labeled Batch 001a.

Tasting notes

  • 2016-05-03 (during racking to secondary fermentation): Sweet and kind of strong tasting. It needs to ferment more, but you can already tell what it's going to be like when it's done. It's a bit amazing that we've produced this on our first try. I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops from here.
  • 2016-06-20 (during bottling): Still sweet and strong, but a bit more mellow already. It definitely has legs, as they say. Still not clear; still could benefit from aging, I think. Citrusy. You can taste the orange blossom honey in here.
2016-05-03_00_31_52_HDR
Batch 001b in secondary fermentation on 2 May 2016.

Batch 001b: Apricot-ginger melomel

Xenia's recipe. Additional ingredients for this batch:

  • 2 lb. sliced apricots. (Ours came from Avila Valley Barn.)
  • One piece of ginger, about two inches in length, matchsticked.

Both ingredients were slid into the carboy, then mead was racked onto it. Then the carboy was closed off with a fermentation lock.

Final gravity: 1.002.
Estimated ABV: 13.9%

Observations

  • 2016-05-03T00:18: More yeast sediment appeared in this carboy than any of the others. There is also a a fair amount of carbon dioxide production happening. The mead itself went a gorgeous orange-ish color ... just like a peach, I guess.
  • 2016-05-03T11:00: There's a a lot of bubbles rising inside the carboy. Fermentation!
  • 2016-05-16T00:25: There are still carbon dioxide bubbles being produced in the carboy. Clarification is clearly proceeding, and more quickly than I expected given how much pectin I would have thought would come from the apricots.
  • 2016-05-25T23:44: Carbon dioxide production in the carboy is still happening: dislodging the carboy results in bubbles trapped under the fruit moving toward the top of the carboy. Some of the ginger slivers are now floating at the top of the carboy.
  • 2016-06-12T20:25: Returned from a week and a half on the road. No indication of continuing fermentation, though there is still some carbon dioxide that comes loose if the carboy is disturbed. Much of the fruit mass has started to sink back toward the bottom.
  • 2016-06-18T04:39: Still no carbon dioxide discharge.
  • 2016-06-20T17:45: Bottled into 12- and 22-ounce beer bottles, labeled Batch 001b.

Tasting notes

  • 2016-06-20 (during bottling): Very sweet (Xenia thinks too much so). Both the apricot and the ginger are quite prominent. Very very tasty.
2016-05-03_00_33_53_HDR
Batch 001c in secondary fermentation on 2 May 2016.

Batch 001c: Hibiscimel

Xenia's recipe. Additional ingredients for this batch:

  • 1¼ oz. dried hibiscus flowers, in a muslin bag.

Pushed the bag in, then racked mead on top of it.

Observations

  • 2016-05-03T00:48: Almost immediately, this batch was stained deeply red. Six hours after racking, there's a moderate amount of carbon dioxide discharge through the fermentation lock.
  • 2016-05-03T11:00: There's a lot of bubbles rising inside the carboy. Fermentation!
  • 2016-05-16T00:26: There's very little bubbling happening in the carboy, though disturbing the glass causes some bubbles to rise.
  • 2016-05-22T20:18: Racked into a new carboy; removed hibiscus bag.
  • 2016-05-30T21:30: Bottled into 500mL EZ-Cap bottles. The total yield was just over 3.5L. Final gravity was 1.012, making the ABV about 12–13.5%

Tasting notes

  • 2016-05-22T20:30 (during racking): Tart, still rather sweet. Heavy on the hibiscus; maybe too much? I feel like I want it to have something else underneath the hibiscus. We'll see as it ages.
  • 2016-05-30T20:30 (during bottling): Tart, but the sweetness is falling off. Heavy on the hibiscus; I still think it needs something else to add backbone: maybe a fruit underneath that doesn't overpower the hibiscus?
  • 2016-06-18T02:30: The hibiscus has lost its edge a little bit, and is a bit mroe mellow; it's tasting a bit more well-rounded overall. Nectar Creek has a good hibiscus-plum short mead we tasted while traveling; maybe plum is the right way to go with this recipe in the future. Or maybe apricot. Anyway, I finished the first 500 mL bottle of this tonight.
  • 2016-06-18T16:30 (during holiday barbecue): quite popular. It's really mellowed out a great deal, and stands on its own (though I still think plums would be a good idea).
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Batch 001d in secondary fermentation on 2 May 2016.

Batch 001d: Cherry-bourbon melomel

Patrick's recipe. Additional ingredients for this batch:

  • 10½ oz. sliced sweet cherries. (Ours came from Avila Valley Barn.)
  • 5 oz. blackberries. (From the local grocery store.)
  • 1 oz. bourbon-barrel oak chips. (Ours were from Valley Brewers.)

The bourbon-barrel chips were boiled, then allowed to sit in water for eighteen hours. Then they were put into a muslin bag, which was slipped into the carboy. Then the sliced cherries and the blackberries went into the carboy on top of the chips. Then mead was racked onto it, and the carboy was closed off with a fermentation lock.

Final gravity: 1.004.
Estimated ABV: 14.23%

Observations

  • 2016-05-03T01:06: A lot of the blackberries are floating, carried up to the top of the carboy by carbon dioxide bubbles. This mead clarified more quickly than any of the other sub-batches, and with less overall sediment winding up on the bottom.
  • 2016-05-03T11:00: There's a a lot of bubbles rising inside the carboy. Fermentation!
  • 2016-05-03T13:00: Some of the mead has clearly backed up into the fermentation lock. Why? Something has expanded more than expected in there (possibly the muslin bag?). Didn't want to, but I removed the fermentation lock, dumped out a small bit of the brewing mead, then sanitized the fermentation lock, put it back on, and filled it to the fill line with vodka.
  • 2016-05-16T00:22: There are still carbon dioxide bubbles being produced in the carboy, though not as quickly as before.
  • 2016-05-25T23:48: Still plenty of carbon dioxide bubbles being produced in the carboy.
  • 2016-06-12T20:25: Returned from a week and a half on the road. No indication of continuing fermentation, though there's still carbon dioxide that can be dislodged by jarry the carboy.
  • 2016-06-18T04:39: Still no carbon dioxide discharge. This looks basically ready for bottling. Also, holy jeez, this is going to be really oaky.
  • 2016-06-20T17:45: Bottled into 12- and 22-ounce beer bottles, labeled Batch 001d.

Tasting notes

  • 2016-06-20 (during bottling): Really oaky. Quite sweet. Delicious. Still not clear; still could benefit from aging, I think, because that will hopefully blend the oaky flavor in more. Gorgeous red color.
  • 2016-07-13T14:00: I had a 12 oz. bottle of this with me when I went to visit my grandparents in Glendale. My grandmother found the bottle cooling in the fridge, opened it, drank about 10 oz. of it, told me she enjoyed it, and went immediately to lay down for a nap.
2016-05-03_00_34_25_HDR
Batch 001e in secondary fermentation on 2 May 2016.

Batch 001e: Blueberry melomel

Patrick's recipe. Additional ingredients for this batch:

  • ½ cup real maple syrup. (Ours was Kirkland brand. I suspect using imitation maple syrup would be a terrible idea.)
  • 7 oz. fresh blueberries. (Ours came from Avila Valley Barn.)
  • 5½ oz. frozen blueberries. (Wild blueberries, from the local grocery store.)
  • 4 oz. fresh blackberries. (From the local grocery store.)
  • 36 oz. fresh blueberries from Santa Barbara Blueberries (added on 30 July)
  • 9 oz. maple syrup (added on 30 July)

Poured in the maple syrup, then poured the berries on top, then racked the mead on top of it. If I were doing it over again, I'd put at least some mead into the carboy before pouring in the syrup to keep it from sticking to the bottom. Or at least I'd pour it over the berries.

Tertiary and quaternary fermentation

On June 20, racked into a new 1-gallon carboy filled with 2¼ lbs of fresh Santa Barbara blueberries, frozen overnight in my freezer to puncture the cell walls. Bottled one bottle to make room for the new fruit, and put the spent fruit into the refrigerator to use in ... I dunno, something baked. Muffins, maybe. (Later: turns out the muffins were pretty good.)

Gravity at the time of moving into tertiary was 1.005. Moved into quarternary fermentation on 30 July, removing the blueberries (which Xenia baked into a pie) and adding another 9 oz. maple syrup. Fermentation never really restarted, though there seemed to be a small amount of carbon dioxide production for several days.

Observations

IMG_5450
A glass of batch 001e in our kitchen window on 16 July 2016.
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Racking batch 001e off of its blueberries on 30 July 2016.
  • 2016-05-03T01:18: This mead is the least clear of all five at six hours after racking, but there is clearly more fermentation happening here than in any of the others. (No surprise, with a half-cup of maple syrup added in.)
  • 2016-05-03T11:00: There's a a lot of bubbles rising inside the carboy. Fermentation!
  • 2016-05-03T13:00: Some of the mead has clearly backed up into the fermentation lock. Why? Something has expanded more than expected in there. Didn't want to, but I removed the fermentation lock, dumped out a small bit of the brewing mead, then sanitized the fermentation lock, put it back on, and filled it to the fill line with vodka.
  • 2016-05-03T13:00: Once again had to clean out extra mead from the fermentation lock. Emptied and sanitized the lock, dumped out a few ounces of mead, and re-set the lock.
  • 2016-05-16T00:22: Fermentation in the carboy is still proceeding vigorously. There is some clarification, and the color isn't as dark as I'd hoped. Maybe I should use more fruit next time.
  • 2016-05-25T23:50: Still plenty of carbon dioxide bubbles being produced in the carboy.
  • 2016-06-12T20:25: Returned from a week and a half on the road. Fermentation seems to have slowed greatly, perhaps stopped.
  • 2016-06-18T04:39: Still no new carbon dioxide discharge. This might want one more racking to get it off the fruit; it could then clarify with some pectin enzyme.
  • 2016-06-20T19:48: Racked onto new frozen blueberries in a new carboy, as described above under tertiary fermentation.
  • 2016-06-20T19:48: Bottled one bottle of this batch, labeled Batch 001e-1, to make comparisons with later.
  • 2016-06-21T21:17: Color in the carboy is already noticeably darker, leading me to believe that freezing the blueberries was the right move, and there seems to be some carbon dioxide production again, though not much of it.
  • 2016-07-16T15:22: Somehow, the volume in the carboy has increased; it's pushed berries and mead into the fermentation lock. Dumping a bit out into a glass for a tasting, then putting in a new sanitized lock. How has the volume increased? Is the alcohol soaked up by the blueberries causing the berries to expand by more than the volume of the alcohol itself? Anyway, it will clearly need some aging, but it's delicious.
  • 2016-07-21T12:15: Overflowed into the fermentation lock again. Tasted some (delicious! Needs more maple!) when I poured some off to make room.
  • 2016-07-30: Racked off of blueberries; added another 9 ounces of maple syrup. Gravity before adding maple syrup was 1.010, higher than when the blueberries went in; I think fermentation is done.
  • 2016-08-14: Bottled, yielding 110 ounces of mead (3x22 oz. bottles; 3x12 oz. bottles) with an FG of 1.022. Fermentation never really restarted, though there seemed to be a small amount of carbon dioxide production inside the carboy after the maple syrup was added. The Mead Calculator says this has come out with an ABV of 19%?!?!

Tasting notes

  • 2016-06-20 (during racking to tertiary fermentation): Tasty. Quite sweet. Surprising how little this tastes like blueberries—I guess Schramm is right that they need to be frozen so that the cell walls are ruptured. Likewise, the maple flavor is hardly perceptible, so I guess this needs more maple. Let's see if it referments on the blueberries first, though.
  • 2016-07-16: Delicious. Much darker blue, and the blueberry flavor is quite strong. It still tastes quite hot, with the fusel alcohols being rather prominent, but it's going to be very nice after aging. I think it's more or less time to get this off of the blueberries and put some more maple syrup in.
  • 2016-07-30: Tasty. Fusels are less prominent already. It's ready for more syrup.
  • 2016-08-14: Very sweet. Quite tasty. The maple is barley preceptible at all. Next time, this will start with a drier mead. And use grade B maple syrup.

Wish list items for next time

  • A plastic fermentation tank —got one
  • something long to stir the carboy with —got a long plastic spoon
  • a digital pH meter — got one; need to get calibrating solution.
  • marbles to weight down muslin bags

Lessons learned

  • Patience, grasshopper.
  • Primary fermentation is easier in a bucket than a carboy.
  • Fruit should be frozen before being used.