Fruit & Honey ratios

[MarkKF]

Been skimming thru lots of recipes. I'm seeing 3-4 pounds of honey per gal. of water and 1-4 pounds of fruit per gal. of water. I like creating my own recipes but need a benchmark. So what ratios of honey or fruit do you use?

 

[fuelish]

Varies wildly here, depending on what I'm making....I'll go up to 3 lbs honey for a 5 gallon batch (have gone higher, but step feeding is recommended) ....as far as fruit, have never done a melomel solely with fruit, I'll use honey/water/preservative free fruit juice (ascorbic acid is ok as a preservative), and maybe add 3 or 4 lbs of fruit for 5 gallons.....no hard and fast rules, really. My melomels are typically lower OG, so I might use 1.5 to 2 gallons of juice, 6 to 8 lbs honey, water to 5 gallons, and up to 3 pounds of fruit for the 5 gallons....but, as in most things in life, 'tis subject to change at any whim I might have.
Like I said, have never done a melomel purely with fruit (close, but not quite), so.....can't really comment on lbs of fruit to lbs of honey to a 5 gallon batch specifically...I've just experimented, taken detailed notes of what and when, listened to feedback from friends and family, and tweaked from there....enjoy the hobby, it's a long road

 

[WVMJ]

It depends on the fruit and what style you want to make. If you have something like apple or pear you get a better taste if you use 100% juice plus honey, no water. Some fruits are very acidic like blackberries or tannic like elderberries and you may want to dilute them so you can get a balance. Many traditional melomels seem to be just "flavored" by the fruit, accentuating the honey, but more and more people are learning to add more fruit and experimenting with stronger flavored honeys that can stand up against more fruit flavor. WVMJ

 

[Maylar]

A good place to start is to split the sugar between the honey and fruit, keeping it under 1.100 total. A cyser for instance, 1.050 worth of apple juice and 40-50 points of honey. Honey adds about 38 points per pound per gallon.

 

[madscientist451]

I think the standard is about 25% honey to total volume of water. So 1 quart of honey in a gallon of water and that's about 3 lbs. The fruit amount will vary widely depending on what flavor profile you are looking for. I think a good method is to make a base mead (or cider, beer) and add the fruit in secondary. That way, your fruit flavor and aroma isn't all blown off in the primary fermentation. If you use fruit in secondary, you can also rack the mead off and then add more, I've found I get just as much flavor the second time, but that depends on what fruit you are using and several other factors.

 

[MarkKF]

A good place to start is to split the sugar between the honey and fruit, keeping it under 1.100 total. A cyser for instance, 1.050 worth of apple juice and 40-50 points of honey. Honey adds about 38 points per pound per gallon.

Thanks. Now that's something I can understand.

 

[DungMonster]

I always add 15lbs of honey to a 5 gallon jug as a base though it is not full of water as room for ferment and fruit is needed. If I had to guess it it about 4.25 gallons of water. The lalvin d47 always seems to go over the 12 ish % alcohol tolerance for me. I tend to always get about 15 to 17% ABV after adjusting for temperature variance. For my basic meads I used 1 cup of rasin puree and 8 medium oranges with rinds removed then finely diced up. Those add some sugars too so I check OG after adding the fruit but make sure not to pull out any pulp so it wont mess with the hydrometer. I mix those into it REALLY well also. The other actual fruit ones are all just tests for me but that above is my tried and true tasty goodness. It has a good kick with no burn and enough flavor to please and is the actual recipie I have used for over 10 years after a few experimenting and since I found d47 around 2004 ish if I recall the year right, I get some wiggle room for dates because I am forgetful!

 

[CKuhns]

I would suggest you experiment a bit. Like everything else with this hobby and the reason there is such a wide range is that we all seem to have our own preferences and practices that seem to work well for us. Here is what i found be a good rule of thumb.

For 5 gallons 3-4 pounds Honey per Gallon and Fruit in Secondary only.

Fruit guide is copied from http://www.winning-homebrew.com/melomels.html

Days in Secondary are what works for the flavors I like. Rule of thumb if small seeds no more than 14 days, everything else but Citrus at about 30 days kind of give up all their flavor, Citrus can go longer.

All of these Fruit additions would take place in Secondary and all are for 5 gallons of mead.

24 – 30 Days
Blueberries, Cherries (Sweet)
Mild Fruit Character – 5 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 7 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 11 lbs or more in secondary

Citrus Fruits
Mild Fruit Character – 5 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 7 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 9 lbs or more in secondary

Pears, Apples
Mild Fruit Character – 5 lbs to 7 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 9 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 11 lbs or more in secondary

Plums (use skins as well)
Mild Fruit Character – 4 lbs to 6 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 8 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 10 lbs or more in secondary

8 – 10 Days
Raspberries - Blackberries
Mild Fruit Character – 2 lbs to 4 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 6 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 8 lbs or more in secondary

Strawberries
Mild Fruit Character – 5 lbs to 7 lbs in secondary
Medium Fruit Character – 11 lbs in secondary
Strong Fruit Character – 13 lbs or more in secondary