Dunno, but it sounds like fun if you primary 5 gallons and split into 1 gallon batches for variations. Last post before bed - save back 1+ gallons from the honey primary w/o fruit to blend in if the skins add too much tannin - best of both worlds. Please keep us (me) posted and good luck!
PS - I have family not too far south of you - Peoria, Bloomington, Oswego, Champagne
I will definitely keep you posted, but I must warn you that you have to spell Champaign correctly next time.
Just picked up 8 lbs of Hachiya persimmons for just under 15 bucks.
From the wiki page:
The Japanese cultivar 'Hachiya' is a widely grown cultivar. The fruit has a high tannin content which makes the immature fruit astringent and bitter. The tannin levels are reduced as the fruit matures. Persimmons like 'Hachiya' must be completely ripened before consumption. When ripe, this fruit comprises thick pulpy jelly encased in a waxy thin skinned shell.
Gonna let them jet all soft and ripe before cleaning/skinning them and popping them in a vacuum sealed freezer pouch. Still undecided if I will try with and without skins since this variety is supposedly already high in tannins.
Well, I have the medium show mead sitting on the fruit. The below picture shows the 3 1-gallon jugs with the varying amounts of persimmon in them. The first jug had 1.5 lbs, the second and 2.5 lbs, and the third had 3 lbs 2 oz. The persimmons were scooped of their flesh, skins discarded, and each gallon got a dosing of pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient. Gallon jugs were topped off with the show mead.
Well, here we are 10 months later and I have to tell you, I am a bit disappointed. I bottled the 3 variants today and they all tasted absurdly tannic, astringent, and nasty (like a wet swimsuit might taste?). Since I only had a gallon or so of each it wasn't a lot of bottling despite the disappointing outcome. I had racked them for aging and clearing and they did just that for about 8 months.
I don't see a perceptible difference in the flavors between the 3 different fruit additions but that is mostly due to the heavy astringent and tannin content of all 3. Keep in mind I stripped the skins so the most tannic part wasn't even in there! The only good part is the orange blossom honey really shows through in the nose, but after that it was all downhill.
Anyways, I will throw them in the corner and let them age for a couple years before cracking another open.
Last post before bed - save back 1+ gallons from the honey primary w/o fruit to blend in if the skins add too much tannin - best of both worlds. Please keep us (me) posted and good luck!
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