Blueberry melomel

Hi folks, am making my first mead. I want to add blueberries in secondary. So when do I do that? Do I wait until fermentation is completed? Gravity is down to 1020 from 1100 right now. And should I leave some or all of the yeast in primary? Thanks!

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homoeccentricus said:

Hi folks, am making my first mead. I want to add blueberries in secondary. So when do I do that? Do I wait until fermentation is completed? Gravity is down to 1020 from 1100 right now. And should I leave some or all of the yeast in primary? Thanks!

Sent from my XT1032 using Home Brew mobile app

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It sounds like your primary is nearing completion. You could add it now, and more or less consider it to be an addition for secondary. The final flavor profile and sweetness will be influenced at least as much by the yeast strain used as by when and how much fruit you add.

What yeast did you use?

Wyeast dry mead.

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homoeccentricus said:

Wyeast dry mead.

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Hum ? 18% ABV tolerance if I recall correctly......

So, if you let it drop down to 1.000 before doing anything, that 110 gravity drop still represents less than 15% ABV, so adding any fruit could easily cause the ferment to restart.

I'd have thought it would be advisable to let it finish first, then cold crash for a couple of weeks, then while it's still chilled, rack it off the lees/sediment and stabilise it with sulphite and sorbate, then after 24 hours, it should be up to ambient temp so the stabilising chems will have taken effect.

You can then add the fruit, but also I'd suggest that you used some pectic enzyme, with should not only sort out any possible issues with pectins but is also known to help with colour and flavour extraction - just that if it says to use 1 tsp per gallon before ferment, it's usually added at double the amount if it's being added to a fermented brew as the alcohol reduces it's effectiveness..........

Then if it was mine, I'd just swirl the fermenter on a daily basis to keep any fruit that might be exposed to any airspace, moist. And I'd leave it in until it sinks for maximum extraction......... And no, I would just freeze and thaw the fruit, no blitzing or pureeing or any other kind of processing it........

There's a few other ways or suggestions of how this might be achieved, but that's how I'd be progressing........

Thanks for the information. As a homebrewer who has made sour cherry wheat beer I am just wondering why it would not be advisable that fermentation restarts once I add the fruit.

homoeccentricus said:

Thanks for the information. As a homebrewer who has made sour cherry wheat beer I am just wondering why it would not be advisable that fermentation restarts once I add the fruit.

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It is not necessarily inadvisable, but it will produce a particular flavor profile and body character, namely dry and light. The restarting of fermentation with that yeast, at your starting gravity, will consume most if not all of the sugars from the fruit, giving you a dry, sour-tasting product, depending on the fruit used. If this is what you want, then it is necessary to restart the fermentation, but to keep it sweet you will need to exhaust the yeast, or stabilize the mead with sorbate before adding the fruit.

Fermenting the fruit produces a more subtle, and less distinct flavor profile than adding it to a stabilized mead. I prefer not to chemically stabilize my home brews, and my practices reflect this. I also like the "integrated" and mellow flavors produced by the partial or full fermentation of the fruit sugars, or whatever process (or simply time) it is that causes this to occur.

I add fruit at the beginning or end of primary, and sometimes add additional fruit in secondary before clearing and aging. I have tried racking onto the fruit, but usually I just dump the fruit in (more often with fruit extract/puree or concentrate, but frozen berries work as well). The extracts/puree usually dissolve or sink to the bottom for the most part, but frozen and fresh need more attention.

My current batch will be the first that uses an enzyme addition (frozen blueberries at end of primary, neither racked nor stabilized). I expect fermentation to pick back up and take it mostly dry before I rack and cold crash.

Hmm, I see there's more than one "school" here. My main problem is that I've never drunk a melomel in my life, so I have no idea what to expect...
Now, I'm Belgian, and almost by definition a big fan of dry, sour beers such as lambics, gueuzes and krieks, so I would be more naturally inclined to let nature go its way. But again, I have no clue how the two methods would compare. Also, as a homebrewer I am a bit worried about stopping a fermentation artificially by chemical means...

homoeccentricus said:

Hmm, I see there's more than one "school" here. My main problem is that I've never drunk a melomel in my life, so I have no idea what to expect...
Now, I'm Belgian, and almost by definition a big fan of dry, sour beers such as lambics, gueuzes and krieks, so I would be more naturally inclined to let nature go its way. But again, I have no clue how the two methods would compare. Also, as a homebrewer I am a bit worried about stopping a fermentation artificially by chemical means...

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Sounds like you have similar inclinations as I have, and in that case, I would recommend something similar to what I am planning for one of my current batches:

If you didn't add fruit to the beginning of primary, add the fruit as the primary fermentation begins to slow but before it stops. Don't worry about racking until after secondary fermentation has slowed or stopped, and the fruit has dropped (rolling or pushing down the fruit regularly to keep it from drying and to maximize extractives).

I also don't usually stabilize the fruit (ok, I don't ever stabilize fruit), so I like to add it during (somewhat) active fermentation to help ensure dominance over any yeast that may ride in and once alcohol levels are high enough to further suppress any unwanted organisms.

I will also be oaking some, but I have not entirely worked out how/when. I may rack onto the oak once the fruit drops, and cold crash after a week or so (I'm using chips) to clear before aging/bottling.