Christmas mead - flavoring suggestions

[morunas]

Hi everyone!

So my first 10L fermenter is off to a good start I believe. My aim is a Christmas inspired metheglin, like so many others, but not following any one specific recipe as I want to add, monitor and control the flavors in secondary. Here's what's done so far:

In the fermenter
3 Kg honey (approx 1.5L)
7.5L water
10g M05 (Jack Mangrove's)
4 tsp ammonium hydrogen phosphate

Original gravity: 107.2 (measured 98 at 30C and used calculator as hydrometer was calibrated for 20C)
Potential ABV: 15.3%

Status as of post: running now almost 24h, stirred twice, bubbling really well, around 1 bubble per 1.5s

Objective: I'm thinking to try and get it semi-sweet (perhaps around 10 points) because dry wouldn't be so christmassy, and then flavor it.

And now a few questions:
1. Should I keep on stirring daily during all of primary until no bubbles are seen and gravity is where I want it?

2. As I understand, it is recommended that I drill-stir after racking to secondary to get rid of bad gases. Does this always apply?

3. If I want semi-sweet, but adding flavors in secondary, should I consider that when choosing/aiming final gravity? I assume flavors would affect perceived sweetness, e.g. star anise adds a sweet kick.

4. What's the best way to stop the yeast if I want to stop it for example at 10 points gravity? I understand racking itself slows it down significantly, but not sure what else to do.

5. I'm considering adding the following flavors:
- cinnamon
- cloves
- vanilla
- star anise
- cardamom pods
And perhaps:
- safron (mainly for color)
- dried orange zest (to make it a bit more "fresh"
- nutmeg
- oak chips

Any opinions, experiences, links to recipes, relating to any and all the above flavors are most welcome.

6. Given the previous list of flavors, and that I want to control the flavor, is the best flavoring method the pure vodka flavors extract method the most suitable? Or could I get good control with a tea bag of flavoring in the beginning if secondary?

And that's all!
Truly appreciate any responses, critics, corrections, suggestions and opinions

Cheers!

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I think gingerbread spices might work. (or whatever is used to give it that distinct flavor)

 

[Dan O]

Hi everyone!

So my first 10L fermenter is off to a good start I believe. My aim is a Christmas inspired metheglin, like so many others, but not following any one specific recipe as I want to add, monitor and control the flavors in secondary. Here's what's done so far:

In the fermenter
3 Kg honey (approx 1.5L)
7.5L water
10g M05 (Jack Mangrove's)
4 tsp ammonium hydrogen phosphate

Original gravity: 107.2 (measured 98 at 30C and used calculator as hydrometer was calibrated for 20C)
Potential ABV: 15.3%

Status as of post: running now almost 24h, stirred twice, bubbling really well, around 1 bubble per 1.5s

Objective: I'm thinking to try and get it semi-sweet (perhaps around 10 points) because dry wouldn't be so christmassy, and then flavor it.

And now a few questions:
1. Should I keep on stirring daily during all of primary until no bubbles are seen and gravity is where I want it?

2. As I understand, it is recommended that I drill-stir after racking to secondary to get rid of bad gases. Does this always apply?

3. If I want semi-sweet, but adding flavors in secondary, should I consider that when choosing/aiming final gravity? I assume flavors would affect perceived sweetness, e.g. star anise adds a sweet kick.

4. What's the best way to stop the yeast if I want to stop it for example at 10 points gravity? I understand racking itself slows it down significantly, but not sure what else to do.

5. I'm considering adding the following flavors:
- cinnamon
- cloves
- vanilla
- star anise
- cardamom pods
And perhaps:
- safron (mainly for color)
- dried orange zest (to make it a bit more "fresh"
- nutmeg
- oak chips

Any opinions, experiences, links to recipes, relating to any and all the above flavors are most welcome.

6. Given the previous list of flavors, and that I want to control the flavor, is the best flavoring method the pure vodka flavors extract method the most suitable? Or could I get good control with a tea bag of flavoring in the beginning if secondary?

And that's all!
Truly appreciate any responses, critics, corrections, suggestions and opinions

Cheers!

Welcome to the forum. I have made this Christmas spice BOMM several times & love it!

https://www.denardbrewing.com/blog/post/christmas-spice-bomm/
Happy meading

 

[Ty520]

Your OG and ABV numbers seem off to me. Did you mean 1.072 OG? a 1072 OG will only get you to about 10% abv

You really won't be able to "stop" the yeast - you'd either have to calculate in advance your sugars so that the yeast hits it's alcohol tolerance before it consumes all of the sugars, or go dry then backsweeten. I would only degas (stir) for the first 3-4 days.

Since you've already started though, given your numbers, you're going to end up dry, so you'll need to backsweeten - you should stabilize once fermentation is complete to avoid spontaneous refermentation, then backsweeten.

If you don't have familiarity with those spices in a mead, extracts and a bench test might be the best way to go; many of those spices benefit from some sweetness to be perceived properly - in dry meads, they tend to just come across as astringent and vegetal - in fact, you'll find that without sweetness, you are incapable of detecting what most spice adjuncts are.

If you don't believe me, blindfold yourself, hold your nose (so you cannot smell what it is - smell heavily influences taste) and have someone put a dry piece of spice in your mouth - odds are you won't know what it is, and it won't taste pleasant at all.

Nothing you can do about it now, but for future reference: I have become an advocate of steeping spices in hot must water before I ever add anything else. IMHO, it comes across as better integrated and knocks off some of those astringent sharp qualities i mentioned regarding raw spices - akin to the benefits of adding spices to a batter before baking, versus after. The only caveat is that you have to increase quantities by at least 25% because you lose flavor and aroma in fermentation and aging.

I think all of the spices you mentioned are good - maybe a hint of ginger. I would also go with fresh orange zest (NO pith). I would skip the safron - the orange will tint it.

fresh Cranberries would probably be a good addition, as well - although they'll drop your ABV because they'll add water content...however this might not be so bad for a Xmas mead - lower abv meads can be more appropriate for more formal gatherings (don't want to get the mother in law too drunk...)

 

[Dr_Jeff]

(don't want to get the mother in law too drunk...)

But that could be entertaining.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Your OG and ABV numbers seem off to me. Did you mean 1.072 OG? a 1072 OG will only get you to about 10% abv

I read it as 1.1072. Further down, there's a reference to finishing at 10pts or so. So, starting with 107.2 pts.

 

[morunas]

Welcome to the forum. I have made this Christmas spice BOMM several times & love it!

https://www.denardbrewing.com/blog/post/christmas-spice-bomm/
Happy meading

Thanks for sharing! I will certainly use those ratios to have an idea of how much to use. However, since I'll only flavor in secondary, I probably should cut your quantities by 20%, following Ty520's advice on increasing if flavoring on primary.

Your OG and ABV numbers seem off to me. Did you mean 1.072 OG? a 1072 OG will only get you to about 10% abv

You really won't be able to "stop" the yeast - you'd either have to calculate in advance your sugars so that the yeast hits it's alcohol tolerance before it consumes all of the sugars, or go dry then backsweeten. I would only degas (stir) for the first 3-4 days.

Since you've already started though, given your numbers, you're going to end up dry, so you'll need to backsweeten - you should stabilize once fermentation is complete to avoid spontaneous refermentation, then backsweeten.

If you don't have familiarity with those spices in a mead, extracts and a bench test might be the best way to go; many of those spices benefit from some sweetness to be perceived properly - in dry meads, they tend to just come across as astringent and vegetal - in fact, you'll find that without sweetness, you are incapable of detecting what most spice adjuncts are.

If you don't believe me, blindfold yourself, hold your nose (so you cannot smell what it is - smell heavily influences taste) and have someone put a dry piece of spice in your mouth - odds are you won't know what it is, and it won't taste pleasant at all.

Nothing you can do about it now, but for future reference: I have become an advocate of steeping spices in hot must water before I ever add anything else. IMHO, it comes across as better integrated and knocks off some of those astringent sharp qualities i mentioned regarding raw spices - akin to the benefits of adding spices to a batter before baking, versus after. The only caveat is that you have to increase quantities by at least 25% because you lose flavor and aroma in fermentation and aging.

I think all of the spices you mentioned are good - maybe a hint of ginger. I would also go with fresh orange zest (NO pith). I would skip the safron - the orange will tint it.

fresh Cranberries would probably be a good addition, as well - although they'll drop your ABV because they'll add water content...however this might not be so bad for a Xmas mead - lower abv meads can be more appropriate for more formal gatherings (don't want to get the mother in law too drunk...)

Thanks for all the info after you feedback and some more reading up, I think what I'll do then is:
1. Rack it when sweetness is just a bit above where I want it (1.020-1.030 or thereabouts)
2. Add flavors in secondary using teabag method and taste every 3-4 days in the first two weeks until I'm satisfied. Here I will also add potassium sorbate and sulfites.
3. Backsweeten once it runs dry and fermentation is full stopped, then monitor for a restart for a few days, and if all good... bottling!

The reason why racking at that point is so I can have an approximate sweetness reference as you mentioned that it is important for tasting the spices, in this case while balancing flavors. Makes sense?

Regarding the mother in law... I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy it she does have a sweet tooth and very much enjoys Port wine for example.

I read it as 1.1072. Further down, there's a reference to finishing at 10pts or so. So, starting with 107.2 pts.

Ya sorry I am new to this what I read was 1.098 at 30C, and then corrected to 1.1072 since hydrometer was calibrated to 20C.

 

[user 263363]

Welcome to the forum. I have made this Christmas spice BOMM several times & love it!

https://www.denardbrewing.com/blog/post/christmas-spice-bomm/
Happy meading

Do you follow the recipe to a T? It seems slightly strange to carbonate a bigger mead but if it works, it works.

Also, I’ve not used 1388 so does this finish dry? Maybe I missed it but I didn’t see any mention of backsweetening.

 

[Dan O]

Do you follow the recipe to a T? It seems slightly strange to carbonate a bigger mead but if it works, it works.

Also, I’ve not used 1388 so does this finish dry? Maybe I missed it but I didn’t see any mention of backsweetening.

I do follow the recipe, except, I add a little more honey & I don't carbonate any of the meads I make. If you follow it to the T, it will finish dry. I tend to like my meads on the semisweet side so adding a little more honey up front puts me close to where I want to finish. 1388 is a beast of a yeast & will easily chew through 120 points without any problem.

 

[user 263363]

I do follow the recipe, except, I add a little more honey & I don't carbonate any of the meads I make. If you follow it to the T, it will finish dry. I tend to like my meads on the semisweet side so adding a little more honey up front puts me close to where I want to finish. 1388 is a beast of a yeast & will easily chew through 120 points without any problem.

Thanks for the reply! I believe I will follow you and forego the carbonation and shoot for some residual sweetness.

 

[William 'Bill' Moore]

I usually make home made wine but had to move recently and where I'm living ( will be out of here next year hopefully to a place where I can continue making my award winning home made wine) i can't make wine so I'm giving Mead a try. I've tried getting workable recipes off the internet but most of them are all over the place and not very specific. I don't want to waste the ingredients and end up with something I'll have to pour down the sink. I thought I'd try a 4 or 5 gallon batch as I have a buddy that has bee hives. I was hoping there was someone out there who has a simple recipe to make Mead at home. As a winemaker, I already have most if not all of the equipment needed, all I lack is a recipe to make dry non sparkling Mead. BTW: Since my buddy has bee hives and can supply the main ingredient, does the honey need to be sterilized, (pasteurized)? Also, how many LBS of honey would I need to make 4 - 5 gallons? Again the recipes are all over the place. Any help and especially recipes for non flavored Mead would be great. Thanks, Bill

If anyone out there has a feasible recipe or recipes, if they could post it in the public forum it would be great.

 

[user 263363]

I usually make home made wine but had to move recently and where I'm living ( will be out of here next year hopefully to a place where I can continue making my award winning home made wine) i can't make wine so I'm giving Mead a try. I've tried getting workable recipes off the internet but most of them are all over the place and not very specific. I don't want to waste the ingredients and end up with something I'll have to pour down the sink. I thought I'd try a 4 or 5 gallon batch as I have a buddy that has bee hives. I was hoping there was someone out there who has a simple recipe to make Mead at home. As a winemaker, I already have most if not all of the equipment needed, all I lack is a recipe to make dry non sparkling Mead. BTW: Since my buddy has bee hives and can supply the main ingredient, does the honey need to be sterilized, (pasteurized)? Also, how many LBS of honey would I need to make 4 - 5 gallons? Again the recipes are all over the place. Any help and especially recipes for non flavored Mead would be great. Thanks, Bill

If anyone out there has a feasible recipe or recipes, if they could post it in the public forum it would be great.

When I first looked in to making mead, I was quite overwhelmed. Do yourself a favor and check out Bray’s One Month Mead. I believe it’s a sticky post in the main forum. That is your best way to get a good result on your first try.

 

[Dan O]

When I first looked in to making mead, I was quite overwhelmed. Do yourself a favor and check out Bray’s One Month Mead. I believe it’s a sticky post in the main forum. That is your best way to get a good result on your first try.

You beat me to it.