Double Blueberry Melomel

LightningInABottle · 10-14-2009, 01:56 AM

In this recipe I use store bought blueberries and blueberry blossom honey.

I mixed
15 lbs of blueberry blossom honey
60 oz of store bought blueberrys
5 tsp Nutrients
2 tsp Energizer
5 campden tabs

I first froze the berries for a few days then thawed and smashed with paddel in bucket. Then I filled bucket with tap water to 5 gallon mark.

Let it sit overnight then pitched yeasties. I used EC-1118
SG=1.130

I read about adding nutrients and energizer through out the fermenting process, so I got a wine thief and took a sample. The gravity was at 1.044! I added 1 1/2 tsp of nutrients and 5/8 tsp of energizer. It seems I missed the 1/3 mark, but I'm still learning and don't have all the equipment yet.

I was planning on racking it off over 1 lb of honey and 5lb of frozen blueberries a series of 3 times, but I tasted the mixing spoon after I was done and quite pleased about the level of blueberry taste. Also I read that by racking it off I am getting rid of yeasties that could be hard at work on the additional honey I plan on adding.

So I am now thinking of adding the last 3lbs of honey and waiting for it to ferment out, then racking onto 5lbs of frozen wild blueberries.

I also saw some blueberry concentrate at the grocery store and was thinking about using this. I need to double check the label for preservatives.

Any suggestions on whether I should add the rest of my honey now or stick with the original plan. Also any thoughts on frozen blueberrys vs concentrate would be helpful.

This is my first 5 batch mead and it already seems to be turning out better than my JAOM. My JAOM smells like bread/beer/oranges so I didn't taste it. My blueberry tasting made me want to sample a shot sized glass.

LightningInABottle · 10-24-2009, 01:57 PM

I've decided to do a 4 part racking series and add 1 lb of honey and 1 13 oz bottle of Wild Blueberry Juice concnetrate for the first 3 rackings. The juice is non-pasturized with no preservatives. Should I use a campden tab or pectic enzymes on the juice a day before racking? Or will I be ok just racking my mead on top of the honey/concentrate mixture in a carboy. My mead is slowing down to about 1 bubble every 45 seconds vs. 1 bubble every 2 seconds at the height of the fermenting process. The smell I get from the airlock is sort of like blueberry drag racer fuel.

gratus fermentatio · 10-26-2009, 08:31 PM

I use pectic enzyme every time I use actual fruit, and often when I use just the juice from the fruit. I always add it when I add the fruit/juice. I always rack onto the fruit/juice/pectic enzyme instead of adding enzyme before racking, this is easier & can save you from some problems, like foaming up when you add a dry powder to an active fermentation; or even miscalculation in volume/expansion of the fruit. Regards, GF.

LightningInABottle · 10-27-2009, 01:28 AM

Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to add pectic enzyme to the concentrate bottle, put the lid back on, shake it and then add it to the carboy I am going to rack into before I rack. Then add the honey and rack.

flyweed · 11-16-2009, 08:29 PM

Hey Lightning, If you are still posting..I'd love to hear where this brew is at now...how's the taste, what's the S.G. now, etc etc?

jcobbs · 11-16-2009, 09:14 PM

I'd like to know what kind of blueberry concentrate you found. I have a batch that I put blueberries in primary and also racked onto more berries in secondary. It looks beautiful and tastes OK, but it could used a little more "berry"-ness.

LightningInABottle · 11-17-2009, 02:01 AM

I racked this after 3 weeks and a SG of 1.001

It looked like this http://yfrog.com/5aholloween047j
It was very hot but had some blueberry taste. I was hoping for more sweetness and blueberry taste so I racked it off onto a pound of honey and a 13 oz bottle of wild blueberry concentrate. It is in a glass carboy now and there is no airlock activity and more headspace than I wanted.

http://img190.imageshack.us/i/bbcarboy001.jpg/Is that too much headspace? I'm thinking of getting a 4 gallon carboy...

The plan is to give it a couple of weeks then take a gravity reading. When I do that I will sample it to decide if I want to add more honey and/or another bottle of concentrate. Right now it is very dark and when I put a headlamp on the other side of it I can only see the two LED bulbs.

Even with it tasting a bit like blueberry drag racing fuel it does have more taste than the raspberry redstone I drank this weekend so I am encouraged.

flyweed · 11-17-2009, 02:30 AM

No, that amount of headspace in a carboy will be just fine..no worries. Keep us posted on this as you do anything with it, taste, test S.G. or otherwise...I am following this one, because I have a bunch of fresh wild blueberries I picked this fall and about 3 gallons of fresh blueberry juice that I want to do something with..but I don't want to ruin it. SO am looking for a good, tastey blueberry recipe that SWMBO will like.

rsmith179 · 11-17-2009, 02:54 AM

IMHO, I believe that you may have too much headspace in that particular carboy, especially if you're planning on bulk aging your mead. I would recommend going out and picking up a 3 gallon carboy and a 1 gallon jug as well. You really don't want that much exposure to oxygen with that mead.

flyweed · 11-17-2009, 01:55 PM

he didn't say he was bulk aging, he said he racked onto more honey and and blueberry concentrate, he may not have any noticable airlock activity, but you can bet that brew will be putting off gas yet. So again, I'd leave the headroom, UNTIL you decide to either bulk age, or bottle.

Dan