Apollo

Recipes 

Ok, so I'm currently boiling the pureed prickly pear fruit and have a few questions about the process. I'm using the Papazian recipe from Joy of Home Brewing except I'm only doing a 1 gallon batch. I will post pics after I get the yeast pitched and everything cleaned up.

- the recipe calls for some optional pectin enzyme. When does this get added?

- I bought the 2 different kinds of yeast as recommended in the recipe. I have Lalvin K1-V116 and EC-1118. My LHBS told me I should pitch both yeasts at the same time. Is this advisable?

- Since I'm only doing a 1 gallon batch instead of 5 gallons, should I use the entire 5g packages of both types of yeast?

- I purchased some one gallon jugs. I anticipate this being very full. Does anyone have experience with how active the fermentation is going to be? Do you recommend using a blowoff tube?

Thanks and I'll try to keep this thread updated with my progress.

homebrewer_99

Recipes 

I made 5 gal of this last year.

It's not bad, just takes a glass or two to get used to the flavor. To me it tastes like you'd think aloe would taste like.

I know Charlie P says it's the best mead he's ever had, but I got to tell you that effect only happens after about the 3rd glass...

I doubt you'd need a blow off tube, I didn't use one, but with 1 gal jugs there's not a lot of air space left.

I only used 1 yeast and no pectin enzyme.

The best advice I can give you to be patient...and don't sample it. Reason is there's only a gallon of it to start with. Taking hydrometer readings will greatly cut down the final volumne.

__________________
HB Bill

Apollo

Recipes 

Here's 7.5 lbs of prickly pear fruit.



Burning the needles off.



14 pear fruit = 1 lb.

homebrewer_99

Recipes 

They sure look purdy...

__________________
HB Bill

Apollo

Recipes 

Boiling the fruit puree.


Everything combined.


Yeast pitched and airlock in. I think I may have a problem with head space. I put this in a plastic bin to (hopefully) contain any mess.

ChshreCat

Recipes 

Wow. Having never seen a prickly pear, I imagined they were green. Cacti are green, after all! But that's an amazing shade of red in the primary.

Apollo

Recipes 

While cacti are mostly green, the fruits are mainly red or yellow.

gratus fermentatio

Recipes 

If you sulfite the must, add the pectic enzyme when you pitch the yeast; if you don't sulfite the must, stir it in with the nutrients.

I'd only use one 5g packet of yeast.

I've made cysers with EC-1118 & with K1-V116, and only the K1-V116 blew the top off my airlock, though both were fairly vigorous fermentations & both produced kraeusen. The smaller the headspace, the more blow-off you'll have.

Hope you find some of this info useful. Regards, GF.

DrunkTrucker

Recipes 

That reminds me I need to go pick some prickly pear soon. I drank my last bottle of prickly pear mead a few weeks ago. I've been waiting until I move to make more.

ChshreCat

Recipes 

Comes from living in the pacific northwest. I've never seen a cactus that wasn't in a pot on someone's desk.