Fruit after fermentation stops!

[kakistos_uk]

Hi Folks,

My 1st posting/query, I apologise if this has been covered elsewhere.

I’ve started making mead (its so good) and want some advice. I read Ken Schramm book and wanted some more general advice about melomels. I decided to add fruit to a mead that’s been wracked twice and is about 4 months old. The bubbler shows no life and hasn’t for about 2 months. I’ve added blueberries (a month ago) and they are floating around nicely.

My query – does it matter that fruit is added after fermentation has most likely stopped? I’ve started with enough honey that I’m happy with how sweet it will be. I want the flavour/smell of the fruit. I’m not too bothered about it helping with the sweetness.

Also, I didn’t add pectic enzyme but normally do with wine. I like the clarity the product offers – can this be added afterwards to help clear?

Thanks!
Kakistos.

 

[porterpounder]

Adding fruit that late in the secondary will usually lead to distinct fruit flavors and aromas and unfermented sugars, so it will probably be sweeter than you expected. It is possible that there was enough yeast to ferment the sugars in the fruit if it had not reached its tolerance before the fruit was added. Not sure about post-fermentation pectic enzyme, but imagine it would still work independent of the fermentation stage.

 

[madscientist451]

What was your starting and ending gravity before adding the fruit? I usually see some fermentation activity after adding fruit, but since you racked twice and your ABV is high, the fruit may not kick off again? I'd pull a sample every 3 weeks or so and give it a taste and see if the fruit character is what you are looking for.

 

[kakistos_uk]

Hi guys, thanks for answering. TBH I don't know what the gravity is. I'm rather lazy and havent used a hydrometer. The more I read the more I realise I will have too. Its quite strong, I'd guess around 15% ABV. I like strong flavours, I don't really enjoy anything mild (mild is akin to plain). I was going to leave the blueberries in the demijohn for as long as possible. I wondered a rough time scale before you need to take them out - when spoilage becomes a risk. Is there a maximum fruit can be left in?

 

[porterpounder]

There isn't really a maximum, but soft berry fruit extraction time is usually between 1 and 3 months. Leaving it on there longer creates more of a chance of oxidation off-flavors. I do my fruit in primary in meads, so when the fermentation is done (12-14 days on average for me) it gets kegged to clear and/or bottled.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi kakistos. Welcome. My answer is that "it depends". If in fact there is no fermentation going on then what you may simply be doing is using the alcohol in the wine to extract color and flavor. If the alcohol level is high enough then while there should be little chance of spoilage of the fruit (and I place an asterisk here because if there is a great deal of CO2 in the wine and the fruit is being kept afloat then the fruit on the surface may very well spoil as it has a great deal of contact with the air). But extracting flavor and color does not take months. Most published work (not self published) suggests a couple of weeks in very high alcohol liquors so I am guessing a month or so in lower ABV solutions.
If, however, there is active yeast in the wine and they are attacking the sugars in the fruit (I assume that you have done something to give the yeast access to the pulp by perhaps freezing the fruit and then allowing it to thaw before allowing the wine to sit on it?) then that will take however long it takes given a whole range of variables.
But that said, if you know the volume of your mead and you know the amount of honey you fermented then you do in fact have a good handle on the SG and if you have an hydrometer you can determine the current specific gravity. One pound of honey (a scant 1/2 K) dissolved in water to make 1 gallon (a heavy 4 L) will have an SG of 1.035. If you insert your recipe and you do the arithmetic you will determine the starting gravity. If you then multiply that number by 131 you will convert that to the potential ABV. All very approximate but good enough unless you are reporting for tax purposes.