Game of Thrones Mead
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p4ttythep3rf3ct
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I call it 'Taking the Black'. For those long nights on the Wall.
Type: Wildflower Bochet
Honey: 6 quarts Raw Wildflower Honey (mostly Tallow)
Water: 4 Gallons
Yeast: Lalvin ICV D47
O.G: 1.110
F.G: 1.012
ABV: 13%
Made as a traditional Bochet, except we used a lower heat over a longer time to caramelize the honey. About 6 hours of cooking time.
I always make a 1L yeast starter.
Once pitched (2/10/13), followed this SNA:
2/10: 2g FermK + 13g DAP
2/11: 2g FermK + 1g DAP
2/12: 2g FermK + 1g DAP
2/13: 6g FermK + 1g DAP
2/14: 12g FermK + 1g DAP
FYI, I work off of YAN calculations and not someone else's recommended SNA. This batch had about 290 YAN, not counting any GoFerm YAN addition.
Additional Steps:
3/13/12 - Racked into 5Gal Carboy, added 12oz Toasted Coconut, 2 split Madagascar Vanilla beans, and 4oz French Oak Dark toast cubes. Attached blowoff tube.
4/9/13 - Racked into new 5Gal Carboy.
The pic you see is from 4/10/13. Aroma is rich and wonderful, you can tell that this one will be amazeballs after it ages out for a bit.
Type: Wildflower Bochet
Honey: 6 quarts Raw Wildflower Honey (mostly Tallow)
Water: 4 Gallons
Yeast: Lalvin ICV D47
O.G: 1.110
F.G: 1.012
ABV: 13%
Made as a traditional Bochet, except we used a lower heat over a longer time to caramelize the honey. About 6 hours of cooking time.
I always make a 1L yeast starter.
Once pitched (2/10/13), followed this SNA:
2/10: 2g FermK + 13g DAP
2/11: 2g FermK + 1g DAP
2/12: 2g FermK + 1g DAP
2/13: 6g FermK + 1g DAP
2/14: 12g FermK + 1g DAP
FYI, I work off of YAN calculations and not someone else's recommended SNA. This batch had about 290 YAN, not counting any GoFerm YAN addition.
Additional Steps:
3/13/12 - Racked into 5Gal Carboy, added 12oz Toasted Coconut, 2 split Madagascar Vanilla beans, and 4oz French Oak Dark toast cubes. Attached blowoff tube.
4/9/13 - Racked into new 5Gal Carboy.
The pic you see is from 4/10/13. Aroma is rich and wonderful, you can tell that this one will be amazeballs after it ages out for a bit.
MarshmallowBlue
Well-Known Member
I love bochets! Can't wait until mine is done. Just another couple months now.
Damn that looks awesome man.
Just shy of four weeks, racked to secondary to get it off the fruit/peppers and start the clarifying. Gravity reading an amazing .992 which puts this one at 14.9% ABV, and I am not sure it is done yet. The taste, earthy dates and green peppers, only a touch of heat, cannot tell it is so high in alcohol. Interesting for sure..
another reading 05/01/13 .990
another reading 05/01/13 .990
strangegreenman
Well-Known Member
That bochet practically looks like squid ink! Very cool! Did you get that color just by cooking the honey? How does it taste?
It occurred to me that perhaps for Castle Black/ The North in general, that Breitsamer Forest honey (it's kinda tangy, and a little hard to describe. I think it come from aphids that live on pine trees that the bees shake down for honeydew? Not sure.) and spruce tips, with a light hopping of chinook for preservative, would make a very interesting hydromel. Has anyone played around with Forest/pine honey? (it is expensive, alas)
Edit: That bochet looks like Kraken ink...
It occurred to me that perhaps for Castle Black/ The North in general, that Breitsamer Forest honey (it's kinda tangy, and a little hard to describe. I think it come from aphids that live on pine trees that the bees shake down for honeydew? Not sure.) and spruce tips, with a light hopping of chinook for preservative, would make a very interesting hydromel. Has anyone played around with Forest/pine honey? (it is expensive, alas)
Edit: That bochet looks like Kraken ink...
MarshmallowBlue
Well-Known Member
The bochet I have also absorbs all light until you pour it into a glass. Then it's a beautiful dark amber brown with a bit of red. Very tasty that one is.
My perry pyment is wrapping up about now, haven't checked the gravity or anything yet. But I will in a week or so.
My perry pyment is wrapping up about now, haven't checked the gravity or anything yet. But I will in a week or so.
I also have a bochet that has been going for about nine months now, created long before this thread 
It is interesting, how slow it is fermenting, as I check it monthly and it continues to drop a few points at a time. Crappy cell phone pic, but here it is on the right, with the GOT mead on the left.
It is interesting, how slow it is fermenting, as I check it monthly and it continues to drop a few points at a time. Crappy cell phone pic, but here it is on the right, with the GOT mead on the left.
I was super boring for my GOT mead. I couldn't help it though..the wildflower honey where I live just tasted so good and I'd never made just a honey mead.
So here's my plain ol' recipe!
For 3 gallons:
Started Apr.12/13
Approx. 9-10 lbs of wildflower honey
71-1122 yeast starter
fill rest with spring water
SG: 1.18 sg
Staggered nutrient and stirred till 1.05.
Today its still bubbling and last time I checked (few days ago) the gravity was at 1.05. Now I'm leaving it alone. I'm hoping that it will poop out
between 1.000-1.015 for a semi sweet.
I also just picked up a can of Vinters Harvest Sweet Cherry puree..so I'd like to mix that with some Wildflower or apple blossom honey for my next batch! Will post some pics when its crystal clear!
So here's my plain ol' recipe!
For 3 gallons:
Started Apr.12/13
Approx. 9-10 lbs of wildflower honey
71-1122 yeast starter
fill rest with spring water
SG: 1.18 sg
Staggered nutrient and stirred till 1.05.
Today its still bubbling and last time I checked (few days ago) the gravity was at 1.05. Now I'm leaving it alone. I'm hoping that it will poop out
between 1.000-1.015 for a semi sweet.
I also just picked up a can of Vinters Harvest Sweet Cherry puree..so I'd like to mix that with some Wildflower or apple blossom honey for my next batch! Will post some pics when its crystal clear!
jcalisi
Well-Known Member
I think your going to have to pay me for the right to use my name
A six pack sampling will do...MarshmallowBlue
Well-Known Member
RE: RE: Red wedding
I'm actually not doing the red wedding anymore, unless someone else was doing it too in which case I'm way out of line. Now Im doing The Cheese-monger's reserve. I had a bunch of pictures earlier in the thread. I still need to check the gravity on it and maybe rack it.
I'm actually not doing the red wedding anymore, unless someone else was doing it too in which case I'm way out of line. Now Im doing The Cheese-monger's reserve. I had a bunch of pictures earlier in the thread. I still need to check the gravity on it and maybe rack it.
jessebymail
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jcalisi said:
Ive actually been thinking of trying my first big mead with blackberry. Might be calling this Blackwater's Blackberry Mead
Marmike600
Well-Known Member
I've been giving this Game of Thrones mead idea a lot of thought. Unfortunately I have a very limited brewing setup right now so it will take me forever to get through any of this stuff, but I have a basic plan lined up. I took a lot of inspiration from suggestions in this thread (particularly on the Lannister mead) but here's what I'm planning.
Winterfell/Starks - spiced cinnamon cyser with caramelized honey
Warm and inviting like the hospitality of the North. Imagine coming into a warm house after being out in the blustery cold and snow and getting a hot cup of it.
Casterly Rock/Lannister - Cherry vanilla melomel with 24k gold flakes
Heavy on the cherry so it's nice and deep red. 24k gold flakes a la Goldschlager for the classic red & gold Lannister color combo.
Eyrie/Arryn - strawberry melon melomel with mint
The Eyrie is high up on a mountaintop, with pretty consistent chilly winds. I wanted to represent that with an ultimately light, sweet and refreshing mead.
The Wall/Night's Watch - blackberry and black currant melomel racked over oak chips
Blackberry and black currant for obvious reasons
I'm totally stumped on Iron Islands/Greyjoy... a seaweed melomel with rocks and salt. yum.
For the Iron Islands/Greyjoy- maybe a salted caramel of some kind?
Marmike600
Well-Known Member
Was thinking about a mead called "Iron Price"
Salted caramel and oak chips. Not sure how to do the caramel but I have read some suggestions about meadowfoam honey.
Salted caramel and oak chips. Not sure how to do the caramel but I have read some suggestions about meadowfoam honey.
MarshmallowBlue
Well-Known Member
Could also fortify a mead with Kraken Rum?
Marmike600
Well-Known Member
That would be good and it would give it a black inky color. :rockin:
Awesome thread! I immediately had some ideas:
- "Wild" mead for north of the Wall: a weak mead using wild fermentation, perhaps something using bits of the hive with it (can be bought at Turkish grocery stores)?
- Like the idea of adding dark berries and aging it on oak for the night's watch.
- For Winterfell and possibly the whole North, there's got to be some heather or juniper flavoring there! A juniper spiced bochet, or a heather-infused light mead, perhaps?
- for the Neck, bog myrtle would be an appropriate seasoning.
- The Eyrie: up in the mountains, the last trees that grow are pines. Where I live, there is pine honey and there are great meads made from it. Alternatively, a "normal" mead could be imfused with gentian root, which is the base of a popular bitter spirit in the Alps.
- Casterly Rock: I definitely love the idea of gold flakes. I think though, that the general taste in Westeros goes towards the sweet, so I think the mead of Casterly Rock needs to be heavy, strong, and sweet as well as ruby red in color. Also, they'd save up exclusive vintages for their feasts, and they have the capital needed for maintaining extensive cellars, so I think oak aging should be considered. Oh, and also, saffron is very useful for displaying one's wealth, so maybe something along those lines?
- The Riverlands: I can picturelush green meadows there, so I guess wildflower mead would be appropriate. Maybe infused with dandelion floewrs?
- Dorne: I think it has to be orange blossom, or maybe JAOM, there's an abundance of blood orange trees theree. Alternatively, one could imagine some of their strongwines or sweetwines not being wines per se but actually pyment, I should think.
- Dothraki: being nomadic, they couldn't carry oak casks or other such stuff with them, at least not in quantity. So, in order to have enough alcohol, I think they'd drink their brews very young. If the make mead at all - and I can see all kinds of supply problems regarding honey in the Dothraki sea - it would have to be hydromel drunk while still in primary or something like that.
- Slave Cities: these have access to all kinds of expensive spices and would probably use a lot of them to season their brews as well. Cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, saffron, pepper, etc. Maybe one "signature" spiced mead for each city, using one or at the very most, two spices? Some of the old Ghiscari cities seem to share some properties with ancient Greece or Byzantium, and rose aromas are prominent in their cuisines. Maybe a rose-flavored mead for one of them?
- Iron Islands: they look down on farming and probably only drink to get wasted. I think they wouldn't make any mead of their own but rather loot what they can from trading ships. The mead appropriate for them is probably any of the above, with some oak character and a sip of sea water or three.
- "Wild" mead for north of the Wall: a weak mead using wild fermentation, perhaps something using bits of the hive with it (can be bought at Turkish grocery stores)?
- Like the idea of adding dark berries and aging it on oak for the night's watch.
- For Winterfell and possibly the whole North, there's got to be some heather or juniper flavoring there! A juniper spiced bochet, or a heather-infused light mead, perhaps?
- for the Neck, bog myrtle would be an appropriate seasoning.
- The Eyrie: up in the mountains, the last trees that grow are pines. Where I live, there is pine honey and there are great meads made from it. Alternatively, a "normal" mead could be imfused with gentian root, which is the base of a popular bitter spirit in the Alps.
- Casterly Rock: I definitely love the idea of gold flakes. I think though, that the general taste in Westeros goes towards the sweet, so I think the mead of Casterly Rock needs to be heavy, strong, and sweet as well as ruby red in color. Also, they'd save up exclusive vintages for their feasts, and they have the capital needed for maintaining extensive cellars, so I think oak aging should be considered. Oh, and also, saffron is very useful for displaying one's wealth, so maybe something along those lines?
- The Riverlands: I can picturelush green meadows there, so I guess wildflower mead would be appropriate. Maybe infused with dandelion floewrs?
- Dorne: I think it has to be orange blossom, or maybe JAOM, there's an abundance of blood orange trees theree. Alternatively, one could imagine some of their strongwines or sweetwines not being wines per se but actually pyment, I should think.
- Dothraki: being nomadic, they couldn't carry oak casks or other such stuff with them, at least not in quantity. So, in order to have enough alcohol, I think they'd drink their brews very young. If the make mead at all - and I can see all kinds of supply problems regarding honey in the Dothraki sea - it would have to be hydromel drunk while still in primary or something like that.
- Slave Cities: these have access to all kinds of expensive spices and would probably use a lot of them to season their brews as well. Cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, saffron, pepper, etc. Maybe one "signature" spiced mead for each city, using one or at the very most, two spices? Some of the old Ghiscari cities seem to share some properties with ancient Greece or Byzantium, and rose aromas are prominent in their cuisines. Maybe a rose-flavored mead for one of them?
- Iron Islands: they look down on farming and probably only drink to get wasted. I think they wouldn't make any mead of their own but rather loot what they can from trading ships. The mead appropriate for them is probably any of the above, with some oak character and a sip of sea water or three.
MarshmallowBlue
Well-Known Member
Not a huge update, But I did rack my Cheesemonger's reserve This past weekend. I'll be back sweetening with more grape and pear juice, but it's already pretty nice.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f45/calling-all-game-thrones-fans-412457/#post5216099
Not quite about mead but entertaining nonetheless.
Not quite about mead but entertaining nonetheless.
honreth
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Never tried brewing a mead before, Mostly because I've only brewed two things and only started this year, but I was reading the forum and thought to myself
"This sounds fun"
Has anyone thought about making a peppermint-vodka and pitching it post fermentation for the Mead? The cooling bite of peppermint seems in line with Jon Snow as he has taken the black is in the frosty northlands...(at least as of the last time I watched the show..... NO SPOILERS!!!!! Or I will have to come and viciously beat you about the head and shoulders with a wet noodle!!!!!)
"This sounds fun"
Has anyone thought about making a peppermint-vodka and pitching it post fermentation for the Mead? The cooling bite of peppermint seems in line with Jon Snow as he has taken the black is in the frosty northlands...(at least as of the last time I watched the show..... NO SPOILERS!!!!! Or I will have to come and viciously beat you about the head and shoulders with a wet noodle!!!!!)
good to keep this thread alive! Honreth I like the idea ... but would consider using peppermint leaves in the secondary to be more true to the idea of ingredients that can be found locally or in the wild. Good stuff!
MarshmallowBlue
Well-Known Member
Is there still discussions of Trading finished meads; and if Regular members could be involved? I only made a bit over a gallon so trading a 750ml I think would suffice.
YES. We need to set up an exchange...
Why not just Wildling Berry?
Aoife3Sheets
Member
Hey all!
I'm so excited to see this thread! I manage a Game of Thrones brewing blog (www.gameofbrews.com), and would love to have some new folks toss ideas around! My favorites so far have been a red apple wine, and a heather ale.
I'm so excited to see this thread! I manage a Game of Thrones brewing blog (www.gameofbrews.com), and would love to have some new folks toss ideas around! My favorites so far have been a red apple wine, and a heather ale.
I'd trade a bottle..think I can fedex from Canada? I just did a straight wildflower honey mead. Never just tasted the basics! It's clearing right now and going to rerack one more time..hopefully bottle in a month or so. I'm planning to bottle in 375 ml
I'm about to start another one..since I wasn't too creative the first time maybe ill try this time. So far for my next mead I have a can of vinters harvest cherry and will be using wildflower honey again...rerack on some black cherries maybe
? Gonna brainstorm a couple more ingredients. I can never pinpoint my favorite characters or areas in Game of Thrones...think I'm too busy keeping up with it all!
I'm about to start another one..since I wasn't too creative the first time maybe ill try this time. So far for my next mead I have a can of vinters harvest cherry and will be using wildflower honey again...rerack on some black cherries maybe
? Gonna brainstorm a couple more ingredients. I can never pinpoint my favorite characters or areas in Game of Thrones...think I'm too busy keeping up with it all!
huesmann
Well-Known Member
Red Wedding Mead?
MarshmallowBlue
Well-Known Member
For those interested I had a recipe for a Red Wedding mead at the beginning of the thread. I ended up doing something from book 5 so its up for grabs.
The Red Wedding
4 lbs honey
1.5 cups raspberries
3 cups blackberries
2 cups lingenberry concentrate
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves
Water to 1.5 Gallons
Half teaspoon pectic enzyme
Pasteur red yeast
Dissolve honey in room temp water. In a clean and sanitized blender add lingen concentrate and berries (leave out 2 cups of blackberries). Blend to a very fine smoothie. Add smoothie to must and move must to fermenting bucket. Bring level to 1.5 gallons and pitch yeast. Ferment to completion in bucket. Rack as much as possible to 1 gal carboy excluding fruit paste and lees and store extras for topping off. With the blackberries, blend them and run pulp through coffee filters to strain pulp. Age to clear.
The Red Wedding
4 lbs honey
1.5 cups raspberries
3 cups blackberries
2 cups lingenberry concentrate
2 cinnamon sticks
2 cloves
Water to 1.5 Gallons
Half teaspoon pectic enzyme
Pasteur red yeast
Dissolve honey in room temp water. In a clean and sanitized blender add lingen concentrate and berries (leave out 2 cups of blackberries). Blend to a very fine smoothie. Add smoothie to must and move must to fermenting bucket. Bring level to 1.5 gallons and pitch yeast. Ferment to completion in bucket. Rack as much as possible to 1 gal carboy excluding fruit paste and lees and store extras for topping off. With the blackberries, blend them and run pulp through coffee filters to strain pulp. Age to clear.
The_Happy_Dachshund_Brewe
Active Member
I saw somebody talking about Greyjoy mead made on seawater, so I made it. Just a small batch and actually not a real mead (the bees wasn't ready to let us harvest the honey yet)
But I collected some gallons of Baltic seawater and started.
1.7 L distilled seawater
150 g sugar
4 g lemon zest
Juice of half a lemon
14 ~ 1.54 g juniperus
6 ~ 0.18 g staranis seed
1.02 g dry rosemary
0.68 g dry bay leaves
10 ~ 0.35 g black pepper corn
1.5 teaspoon peppermint essenes
I gave it some port wine yeast i had harvest from a apple mead
My OG is 1028
I'm thinking let it fermenting for about two weeks, then remove the spices, split the batch in two, ad about 250 g of sugar to the one part, collect some stones from the beach, heat them up and throw them in the part of the batch witch the extra sugar, let it stand to it is cool and mix the two together again for a couple of weeks and see what happened.
Hope my English is understandable, I have dyslexia and English is not my first language
But I collected some gallons of Baltic seawater and started.
1.7 L distilled seawater
150 g sugar
4 g lemon zest
Juice of half a lemon
14 ~ 1.54 g juniperus
6 ~ 0.18 g staranis seed
1.02 g dry rosemary
0.68 g dry bay leaves
10 ~ 0.35 g black pepper corn
1.5 teaspoon peppermint essenes
I gave it some port wine yeast i had harvest from a apple mead
My OG is 1028
I'm thinking let it fermenting for about two weeks, then remove the spices, split the batch in two, ad about 250 g of sugar to the one part, collect some stones from the beach, heat them up and throw them in the part of the batch witch the extra sugar, let it stand to it is cool and mix the two together again for a couple of weeks and see what happened.
Hope my English is understandable, I have dyslexia and English is not my first language
MarshmallowBlue
Well-Known Member
haha I also mentioned the distilled seawater, but not a recipe. I'd love to try that one just for curiosities sake.
It's going to be a long year aging my Cheese-monger's reserve. I may be adding more grapes and some oak soon. The pears really didn't do anything.
Edit: Also watch out that those stones are dry. Heating wet stones can cause them to blow up.
It's going to be a long year aging my Cheese-monger's reserve. I may be adding more grapes and some oak soon. The pears really didn't do anything.
Edit: Also watch out that those stones are dry. Heating wet stones can cause them to blow up.
Marmike600
Well-Known Member
Sunday's episode destroyed my brain. I am technically a zombie now.
I was literally screaming at my tv.
I was soon thereafter contemplating a mead to do it justice. Still thinking on it but I like the name "Red Wedding Mead"
