melomels- primary or secondary?

ctwtp · 01-21-2012, 10:21 AM

can people advise on whether its good to add stuff to primary or secondary? what's the difference between the to, do they offer different flavours from the same ingredients??

DaleP · 01-21-2012, 10:46 AM

If you want a wine-like flavor, add the fruit to the primary, if you want more fresh fruit flavor, add to secondary. or a third method is to add to both. Check my blog ( Penrose Picobrewery ) for the Strawberry Mead I'm currently making. Gives step by steps with photos to my technique.

gratus fermentatio · 01-23-2012, 12:15 PM

I usually add to both. I think doing so adds depth the the end product. It means using more fruit, but I think it's worth it.
Regards, GF.

**biochemedic** · 01-23-2012, 01:30 PM

As an alternative to adding in the secondary, I usually add my "secondary" fruit to the primary containter, and then rack to secondary *after* the yeast kick up again on the additional added sugars. Then once any additional signs of fermentation have stopped, I give it another couple weeks to a month or so, then rack for clearing/bulk conditioning. I think this keeps the lees and sediment in the secondary to a minimum, and lets me avoid a third/tertiary racking at some point in the future...

ctwtp · 01-23-2012, 02:26 PM

thanks everyone, I've decided to do a number of batches of the same melomel, say a raspberry and try out all your different methods then in few months I'll do a taste test to see which i prefer

paraordnance · 01-23-2012, 02:45 PM

I like to add fruit to both in equal amounts. I add half to primary and other half to secondary after transfering mead off the lees and campden/potassium sorbate