Utilityengineer
Member
Blueberry Melomel:
‎3Lbs. of Orange blossom & Clover Honey
2Lb. frozen Blueberries
1tsp. yeast nutrients
1 pouch of Red-Star pasteur yeast
Water to 1Gal.
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Thaw 1Lb. of frozen Blueberries and mush them in their bag/container.
Rehydrate yeast in a half cup of warm water, with 1tsp. of honey.
In a pot, warm about two cups of water to just below simmering, then add honey, stirring until completely disolved.
transfer to fermentation vessel, add blueberry mush, and yeast nutrient, add water to near one gal, cap and shake vigorously to mix and oxygenate must.
when must has reached the proper temp, pitch yeast and add your airlock.
I did not leave enough headspace in my gallon jug, and ended up having to remove about 6Oz. of must to avoid blow-outs, this could have been avoided by using a larger container, or less water during primary.
OG was measured at 1.095, estimated actual gravity with all berries was 1.117
I shook the must every other day for the first week to degas and try to get the berries out of the neck of the bottle.
I racked after 1 week, primary fermentation was very vigorous, with an abrupt end of activity on day 6 at 0.998
I thawed and put the remaining 1Lb. of frozen Blueberries through my blender, and racked from primary onto the blueberry pureé. (I forgot to take a gravity reading after adding fruit)
after 2 months on the added fruit, I racked again, and left it to age/clear for about 8 months before bottling. at some point in the clearing process, I needed the airlock for another brew and capped it, I wish I hadn't because it continued to slowly ferment, and ended up being slightly carbonated. I am using swingtop bottles, so I am releasing the carbonation every couple of days until they are still, at which point, I will seal the tops with wax and age.
FG at bottling 0.998
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Tasting notes: with a final gravity of 0.998, this is much drier than I expected considering I had 3Lbs. of honey and 2Lbs. of blueberries, as I continue to bleed off CO^2, the character of the blueberry is coming out more. I like it, but I wish it was sweeter and a bit more fruit forward.
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What I learned from this recipe:
#1: when using fruit, make sure to have plenty of headspace.
#2: my meads are still too dry, pasteur yeast is a beast, aim for 4Lbs. of honey plus added fruit if I use it for a melomel in the future.
#3: don't use a blender to pureé fruit, this leaves very fine particles of fruit that are nearly impossible to avoid picking up when racking, take forever to clear, and stir up if you even look at the container.
#4: never run out of airlocks ever again. I am very lucky that I didn't end up with a gallon of purple carpet stain and/or glass shards everywhere.
------------
picture on bottling day (bottles with 'B' tags)
‎3Lbs. of Orange blossom & Clover Honey
2Lb. frozen Blueberries
1tsp. yeast nutrients
1 pouch of Red-Star pasteur yeast
Water to 1Gal.
------------
Thaw 1Lb. of frozen Blueberries and mush them in their bag/container.
Rehydrate yeast in a half cup of warm water, with 1tsp. of honey.
In a pot, warm about two cups of water to just below simmering, then add honey, stirring until completely disolved.
transfer to fermentation vessel, add blueberry mush, and yeast nutrient, add water to near one gal, cap and shake vigorously to mix and oxygenate must.
when must has reached the proper temp, pitch yeast and add your airlock.
I did not leave enough headspace in my gallon jug, and ended up having to remove about 6Oz. of must to avoid blow-outs, this could have been avoided by using a larger container, or less water during primary.
OG was measured at 1.095, estimated actual gravity with all berries was 1.117
I shook the must every other day for the first week to degas and try to get the berries out of the neck of the bottle.
I racked after 1 week, primary fermentation was very vigorous, with an abrupt end of activity on day 6 at 0.998
I thawed and put the remaining 1Lb. of frozen Blueberries through my blender, and racked from primary onto the blueberry pureé. (I forgot to take a gravity reading after adding fruit)
after 2 months on the added fruit, I racked again, and left it to age/clear for about 8 months before bottling. at some point in the clearing process, I needed the airlock for another brew and capped it, I wish I hadn't because it continued to slowly ferment, and ended up being slightly carbonated. I am using swingtop bottles, so I am releasing the carbonation every couple of days until they are still, at which point, I will seal the tops with wax and age.
FG at bottling 0.998
------------
Tasting notes: with a final gravity of 0.998, this is much drier than I expected considering I had 3Lbs. of honey and 2Lbs. of blueberries, as I continue to bleed off CO^2, the character of the blueberry is coming out more. I like it, but I wish it was sweeter and a bit more fruit forward.
------------
What I learned from this recipe:
#1: when using fruit, make sure to have plenty of headspace.
#2: my meads are still too dry, pasteur yeast is a beast, aim for 4Lbs. of honey plus added fruit if I use it for a melomel in the future.
#3: don't use a blender to pureé fruit, this leaves very fine particles of fruit that are nearly impossible to avoid picking up when racking, take forever to clear, and stir up if you even look at the container.
#4: never run out of airlocks ever again. I am very lucky that I didn't end up with a gallon of purple carpet stain and/or glass shards everywhere.
------------
picture on bottling day (bottles with 'B' tags)
