kc_in_wv

Recipes 

Last week I started my version of 1 gallon Lord Rhys Chocolate Mead. After I mixed up the must I realized I had adjusted everything except for the Cocoa Powder from the recipe. I hadn't pitched the yeast yet so I just bottled everything in a gallon jar and put it in a cool spot to plan how to adjust it.

I had thought on using my 6 gal carboy and up the recipe. The drawback is that would take 6 quarts of Lin Honey. I did not want to use that much since I can get $15 a quart for it. This week I had a chance to drive to the HB shop and they had a 3 gal carboy so I got it.

Here is my final recipe.
3 Quarts of Lin Honey
3 vanilla beans split.
3/4 tsp yeast energizer
3 tsp yeast nutrient
2 3/4 cup of Organic Cocoa Powder
1 packet of Red Star Cote Des Blancs

I brought about 3 quarts of my good well water up to a steam stage.
Mixed in the honey and cocoa.
I added about 8 quarts of water and let it cool. After the mix cooled I checked the SG (it was 1.125), put the must in the carboy, added the rest of the ingrediants, and pitched the yeast.

After the ferment slows down I will add mor water to reduce the head space in the carboy.

So far this 3 gallon batch has cost me;
$45 that I could have sold the honey for.
$15 for the Organic Cocoa
$4.35 for the Vanilla beans
$26 for the carboy I hadn't planned on getting
for a total of $90.35

If I bottle 3 gallons of mead, which I doubt, that would cost me a little over $6 a bottle.

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What I smoke has a sting to it.

kc_in_wv

Recipes 

About a month ago I sold 3 cases of quart jars of Lin honey to a produce shop in North Carolina. Just after that a local produce store owner stopped in the NC store and bought a lot of this honey that I had sold him and brought it back here to sell

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What I smoke has a sting to it.

Atek

Recipes 

Keep us updated, seems like a ton of cocoa powder... I'm curious to see what it looks, smells, and tastes like.

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"Gaurd your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and out live the bastards."

fatbloke

Recipes 

I'm just wondering about "Lin" honey. I mean, what the hell is "Lin", or is that referring to linseed a.k.a. flax seed ?

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"What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away". Tom Waits.

Oh, and here's some blog stuff!

kc_in_wv

Recipes 

The Lin Tree is also known as Linden, Basswood or honey tree. The honey from the flowers is light yellow, has a slight minty taste. It is very highly saught after honey by honey connoisseur.

Here is a google link with pictures and information on the tree.
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22linden+tree%22&hl=en&num=10&lr=&ft=i&c r=&safe=images&tbs=

__________________
What I smoke has a sting to it.

kc_in_wv

Recipes 

http://youtu.be/qhNnX3frLrw

After 2 days the bubbling had slowed down.

__________________
What I smoke has a sting to it.

Atek

Recipes 

Nice. I was not expecting it to be almost black... figured it would look more like chocolate milk, like those chocolate wines.

__________________
"Gaurd your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and out live the bastards."

kc_in_wv

Recipes 

The honey/water/chocolate mixture sure tasted good before I added the rest of the ingredients .

__________________
What I smoke has a sting to it.

kc_in_wv

Recipes 

I checked the progress of the mead last night. It has been a week since I started and the heavy foaming has settled down. There was a film of chocolate on the upper shoulders of the carboy. Since it obstructed looking at the mead I did a light swirling of the carboy to wash it down.

__________________
What I smoke has a sting to it.

Atek

Recipes 

Sweet, I'm pretty excited to hear how this turns out :-)

__________________
"Gaurd your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and out live the bastards."