Another shot at a bochet, since batch 134 seems to be progressing so nicely.

Ingredients in this batch

  • 2 lb. raspberry honey, moderately caramelized by heating, covered, for 180 minutes in our Crock-Pot on high.
  • 2 lb. of same honey from same source, uncaramelized.
  • untreated tap water to just over 1 gallon.
  • ⅜ tsp. Fermaid K.
  • ¾ tsp. Fermaid O.
  • 1 packet Lalvin 71B-1122 wine yeast, rehydrated in ½ cup untreated tap water at 100℉.
  • 1 tsp. Fermaid O, added on 11 April 2019.
  • approx. ⅕ packet Super Kleer, added on 9 August 2019.

Procedure

Heated two pounds of honey in the Crock-Pot for three hours. Poured in enough honey to bring the total to four pounds, then cooled further by adding some warm water when the temperature dropped. Poured into a carboy with some water already in it, then added Fermaid O and K, then water to just over a gallon. Agitated intermittently and repeatedly for over an hour while other batches were being prepared, then measured the gravity. Pitched yeast at 76℉.

Brew date: 5 April 2019.
Original gravity: 1.136.
Bottling date: 30 September 2019
Final gravity: 1.012.
Estimated ABV: Approx. 17.5%.

Yield:

  • 8 x 500mL wine bottles

Total: 4 liters.

Observations

  • 2019-04-11: Made a late nutrient addition to the carboy.
  • 2019-08-09: Added approximately one-fifth of the first packet of Super Kleer to the carboy.
  • 2019-09-30: Bottled, yielding four liters of mead.