I've been wanting to make more meads with herbs and flowers, but my botanical knowledge doesn't really support trying to collect these in the wild. Therefore, we took a very out-of-character, yet fun trip to Herbs and Arts, a big hippie store on Colfax. Batches 122 through 124 were the first outcome of said trip: one calendula, one chrysanthemum, and one calendula/chrysanthemum (because I bought way too much of each for a single batch). This was also my first set of brews with Red Star Cote des Blancs yeast. The fermentable in this one is a wildflower honey from Gunter's in Berryville, VA, and I honestly don't remember where I picked it up. The name of the batch is, of course, a reference to calendula's common use in skincare products, and possibly the Greenskeeper's fabulous Silence of the Lambs tribute song.

Ingredients in this batch

  • 2.75 lbs Gunter's pure wildflower honey
  • Approx. 0.5 oz calendula petals
  • ⅓ pack Red Star Cote des Blancs yeast, rehydrated
  • ⅛ tsp yeast nutrient
  • Denver tap water to 1 gallon

Process

I made a tea with the calendula, let it cool a bit, then mixed it into the honey. Starting gravity was 1.096. Fermentation took off super quickly and aggressively. I left the petals in the mead as it fermented to extract more flavor; hopefully this won't bite me, but I figure can always dilute with plain solera mead if needed.

I bottled this batch and its brethren on 8/26. It's kind of sort of too floral to love, which makes it just right for me. Final gravity came out at 1.006, which puts ABV around 11.8%.

2/23/2019 update: There's no nice way to say this; batch 122 tastes terrible. The other two batches in this trio are weird, but enjoyable; this one really does taste like lotion. I'll keep letting it age and see if, like most bad mead, it eventually becomes palatable, but I dumped out this bottle after a few sips.