5 Mead Ideas

[abstractreasoning]

Going to brew these Friday evening. All will be 1 gal batches. Following the JAOM basics of 1gal batch + handful of raisins. 3 lbs honey with no secondary and using bread yeast to keep it sweet...

Blackberry / Vanilla
1-2lbs Blackberries
2 Vanilla beans

JAOM
1 Large orange (peeled)
1 clove
1 cinnamon stick

White Peach / Raspberry
2 or 3 White Peaches
1-2 lbs Raspberries

Mango Habanero
1 Mango
1 lb Habanero's

Pina Colada
1 Coconut
1/2 Pineapple
1 Orange
2 Vanilla beans


I'll be mixing 15 lbs honey into 5 gal's water in by brew pot...cooling with my wort chiller...adding ingredients to jars...then racking honey water to top it off. I MAY add some nutrients...I have plenty around. What do you guys recommend?

Thoughts?

 

[lpsumo]

Mango Habanero
1 Mango
1 lb Habanero's

I really hope you mean 1 pound of mango and 1 habanero...

Sounds tasty though

 

[Bluespark]

You could strip paint off a house with a lb of habaneros in a gallon of mead!!!! I have a litre of vodka with two of my home grown orange habs in it, and it is HOT! Like, do a shot at your own peril and then chase it with three glasses of milk hot. I dilute it for a chocolate- habanero martini and use it in a few tomato sauces. I'm no chicken when it comes to heat, but this stuff needs a warning label.

Love the sound of a mango habanero mead though. I made a very popular BBQ sauce last summer with this flavor combo.

 

[jglazer]

Are you going to let all of them ferment the same way? 70-80f for 2+ months? I just made 5 gallons of cider and now have 5 one gallon glass jugs sitting around just waaaiittting for some sort of experiment like this.

 

[Thundernick]

I'm doing something similar but using different fruits. I recommend making 5 gallons in the primary fermentor, and then adding your other flavors in the secondary.

But it's really your decision, just look up and decide if you think it's better to add each one to the primary or split after primary and add to secondary.

 

[jglazer]

Is there a lot of trub that forms with mead? And is it better to get the mead off the trub after a certain period of time? If it is better to get it off the trub, then fermenting a base mead in a 5 gallon carboy then racking into 5 one gallon jugs sounds like a much better plan to me....BUT you do lose some of that magic that happens during the initial fermentation with the different fruits that may not occur later when you rack off trub.

Again I've never made mead so I'd love to hear what some experienced mead'ers have to say about it...

 

[Deadrasputin]

I have done this myself before. I have made several one gallon batches in one gallon plastic water containers. You may want to reconsider not using a secondary though. Clarity suffers a great deal going full term in the primary plastic water jug.

Why not ferment a basic Mead in each jug for three weeks or in a single 5 gallon fermenter, then transfer them to empty plastic water jugs as secondary’s? You could place the fruit in at that stage. Then there is less risk of a stuck fermentation from the fruit messing up the PH balance of a must and killing the yeast. Do not laugh.... this has happened.


You may want to also consider using the juices of these fruits and berries rather than the whole item itself. Clarity is the reason. Fruits and berries can break down. Particles of them can become stuck in the must itself creating a cloud in your Mead. Juices mix well and do not create this issue.

The optimal would be to add the correct juices to a filler/fermenter then rack the Mead back into the filler two weeks or so before bottling.

Blackberry / Vanilla
1-2lbs Blackberries
2 Vanilla beans

I would juice the Blackberries, strain out the solids, through the Blackberry juice in a saucepan and boil it with the vanilla beans for a few moments, then add this tea to the Mead a couple of weeks before bottling.

JAOM
1 Large orange (peeled)
1 clove
1 cinnamon stick

Everything in the saucepan again, strain out the solids and add this tea to the Mead a few weeks before bottling.

White Peach / Raspberry
2 or 3 White Peaches
1-2 lbs. Raspberries

This one I would just juice, strain out the solids and add to the Mead a few weeks before bottling.

Mango Habanero
1 Mango
1 lb. Habanero's (I suggest 1 tablespoon, perhaps 2 but not much more then that)

Juice the mango, strain and make a tea of it with the Habanero's

Pinna Colada
1 Coconut
1/2 Pineapple
1 Orange
2 Vanilla beans

Same here, Juice the Coconut, Pineapple and Orange, then make it a tea with the Vanilla beans

 

[abstractreasoning]

OK...I think the 1 Hab and 1lb of Mango makes more sense. Check.

I will be using 1gal glass jugs....for secondary.

I believe fermenting the mead en masse is the better plan. That way I can do some SLIGHT nutrient additions...keep it healthy...and maintain some consistency batch to batch. It also gets the mead off the dead yeast before they have a chance to autolyze and get funky.

I believe juicing everything (juicable) is also a better idea (I've got a good juicer). The raisins will go in primary...the vanilla beans, cinnamon, and clove will go in whole...in secondary....a few weeks later...once my gravity is down.

I don't think I'm gonna cook any of it...though it's an interesting idea.

Keep the suggestions coming! Thanks!