Thoughts on a Sour Melomel...

[decoleur]

So I was thinking of making a Sour Melomel. I had heard that honey and bugs don't like each other so I was going to start with fruit nutrients and some honey and step feed it.

the goal is 4 gallons.
Start with fruit in 3 gallons of water with 3lbs of honey.
add nutrients and direct pitch roslearre blend from wyeast.
step feed 3lbs of honey with more nutrients every other day until up to 12 lbs of honey.

wait 9 months, rack, wait...

what do you think?

 

[bernardsmith]

What data do you have that bacteria do not play well with diluted honey? I made a batch of mead using L. Brevis and those bacteria had no problem fermenting the honey bone dry. Dry, the mead was fine but semi sweet it was astonishingly good. I don't recall what the starting gravity was but I think that it was about 1.090

 

[decoleur]

@bernardsmith
This is good news. At NHC the chap from Moonlight Meadery said it was a challenge. That was what I basing it upon.

 

[bernardsmith]

I believe you BUT Moonlight Meadery may be trying to square the circle - https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/presentations/pdf/2014/Yes, Funky Sour Meads.pdf
I have made only one batch of sour mead using L. Brevis and had no problem, but then I used only orange blossom honey and never added any fruit (with the challenge of dropping the pH to a level that would kill the bacteria). I also used an aquarium heater to keep the temperature of a water bath at about 68 - 70 F in which I stood the fermenter (I made the mead during the winter and our house is not warmer than about 60 during the day)

 

[decoleur]

I will give it a try and see if I can borrow a PH meter. Thanks!