Todd Peterson
Well-Known Member
Good morning folks.
I took the plunge and put together my first must in some time. I have been away from the hobby for a while and recently got the bug to get back into mead making (I was not a very good maze when I was previously making mead).
I took my inspiration from the following thread : Super Berry Melomel
Apparently, they no longer make black currants. I improvised with blueberry and raspberry juice.
I documented my process and wanted to share with the group to get some feedback on where I might improve.
I look forward to your feedback if you feel so inclined.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Todd Peterson
I took the plunge and put together my first must in some time. I have been away from the hobby for a while and recently got the bug to get back into mead making (I was not a very good maze when I was previously making mead).
I took my inspiration from the following thread : Super Berry Melomel
Apparently, they no longer make black currants. I improvised with blueberry and raspberry juice.
I documented my process and wanted to share with the group to get some feedback on where I might improve.
I look forward to your feedback if you feel so inclined.
- Quarts of Honey were placed in warm/hot water to reduce viscosity. Honey is a wildflower varietal, primarily clover, which was extracted from my beehives several years ago. Honey had to be decrystalized. Age and heat resulted in darker coloration.
- Sanitized the fermenting bucket, lid, utensils, etc. – Using 6.5 gallon plastic bucket for primary.
- Emptied (1) gallon of spring water (Misty Mountain Brand) into fermenter.
- Emptied two 32 ounce Knudsen Just Blueberry Juice Bottles and one 32 ounce Knudsen Just Cranberry Juice Bottles into fermenter.
- Added 14 pounds of honey (honey was extremely thin due to the jars taking a hot water bath).
- Topped to 3.75 gallons with spring water.
- Hydrometer read 1.15 at 3.75 gallons.
- Topped to 4 gallons with spring water.
- Mixed must with drill/attachment
- Hydrometer read 1.14 at 4 gallons total volume (1.14 was my target SG prior to adding fruit)
- Boiled 300 ml of spring water to hydrate yeast. At 120 F, added 12.5 grams of Goferm.
- Bagged 8 pounds of previously frozen mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) in sanitized bag. Added bag to fermenter increasing the total volume to approximately 5 gallons.
- At 96F, sprinkled two (2) 5-gram packets of 71B to the Goferm water. Note that the 71B has been in my refrigerator since 2020 with an expiration date of 11/2021.
- Added ½ teaspoon of pectic enzyme.
- Added small amounts of must to yeast slurry in an attempt to reduce the temp closer to my must.
- At the 20-minute mark from adding yeast to the Goferm water, I pitched into the fermenter. Temp of the yeast solution was 86F with the must at 72F. I know that this is not within the suggested 10 degree F window. I felt like my time was running out after rehydrating the yeast.
- Added 4 grams of Fermaid O – Added the nutrient dry. Was unable to get the dry nutrient to dissolve in the must.
- Added 2 teaspoons of bentonite to ½ cup warm water. Poured into must.
- Sealed fermenter, added airlock, placed in cool fermenting bag with frozen bottles. Placed in fermentation chamber/bag at 10:30 AM (pitched yeast at 9:30 AM).
- Thermometer attached to bucket shows temp of 72F at 11:30AM.
- I would like to ferment the must in the mid 60s if possible. Will replace frozen bottles as needed to maintain the temp.
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Todd Peterson