Sweet strawberry mead

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Devo9

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I have JUST decided to do a sweet strawberry mead and have it ready for my 1st wedding anniversary (June 25th).

I want to have a sweet finish because that's how my wife likes it. Here's what I am thinking:

14 lbs. Clover honey
½ cup of raisins
3 lbs of frozen strawberries
3 sticks of cinnamon
1 Vanilla Bean
a pinch of nutmeg
1 pack of sweet mead yeast or ale yeast
Water filled to 5 gallon line

My calculations give me a OG of about 1.1 and if I can find a yeast to give me a final ABV of 9% - 11%, I'll end up with a FG of 1.035 (for 9%) to 1.021 (for 11%).

I am not sure what yeast to use. I was hoping for some suggestions. I am also wondering about the spices I plan on adding. Any suggestions there? Will this be too sweet? Should I reduce the honey?

Any feedback would be great! Thanks!

EDIT:

New Revised Recipie: (Final revision, I hope)

Ingredients
Primary Ingredients
12 lbs. Clover honey
½ cup of raisins
~4 Gallons water (fill to 5 gallon level)
1 pack of D47, 71B, or Montratchet wine yeast (still deciding)

Secondary Ingredients
12 lbs. of frozen strawberries (Juiced, if possible)
3 lbs. of rhubarb
2 Vanilla Beans
Zest from one lemon
1 teaspoon of Thyme

Backsweetening Ingredients
2 lbs. Clover honey
strawberry juice to taste
 
OK, thanks! I will up the strawberry content to about (15 lbs) 10 lbs then! And should I drop the cinnamon sticks to just 1 stick?

Is the cinnamon going to work with the strawberries? Is there something that would work better? I want a little bit of complexity, just strawberries sounds too dull and boring!

So revised recipie would be:

14 lbs. Clover honey
½ cup of raisins
10 lbs of frozen strawberries
1 stick of cinnamon
1 Vanilla Bean
a pinch of nutmeg
1 pack of sweet mead yeast or ale yeast
Water filled to 5 gallon line

EDIT:15 lbs of strawberries sounds like a lot... that's more strawberries then honey! I am thinking this might be a little bit of over-kill...

Maybe I should go with 10 lbs. of strawberries.
 
I did not make a mead but I did make a beer with strawberries. I used 8 lbs of frozen strawberries in 5 gals of beer. I added then into the secondary. Ended up with a nice tart strawberry flavor. If this helps any.
 
Heckle said:
I did not make a mead but I did make a beer with strawberries. I used 8 lbs of frozen strawberries in 5 gals of beer. I added then into the secondary. Ended up with a nice tart strawberry flavor. If this helps any.

Yes, that's a huge help, thanks!
 
In regards to cinamon sticks, 3 that is not that much actually. Look at JAOM which uses 1 stick per gallon. You should be good there, but I'm not sure how well it will play with strawberries
 
What about rhubarb? Honestly I dunno what would go with strawberries, but people do make strawberry rhubarb pie. A strawberry mead sounds great. Can't wait to hear how it turns out.
 
kevokie said:
What about rhubarb? Honestly I dunno what would go with strawberries, but people do make strawberry rhubarb pie. A strawberry mead sounds great. Can't wait to hear how it turns out.

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea! However I want to keep the strawberries as the main flavor, so maybe just a bit of rhubarb. So, I think I finally have a good workable recipie!


14 lbs. Clover honey
½ cup of raisins
12 lbs of frozen strawberries
3 lb of rhubarb
1 Vanilla Bean
a pinch of nutmeg
1 pack of sweet mead yeast or ale yeast
Water filled to 5 gallon line

Thank you to everyone for your input!

Now I just need to figure out the best yeast to use. Will Nottingham yeast go beyond 11% ABV?
 
Ok here's my 2 cents:

Volume: Looks like you have a 5 gal batch, with the amount of honey you have. Good, I dislike anything less than 5 gal.

Strawberries: Having done a couple of strawberries, 14 pounds is not overkill for a 5 gal batch. Yes that is about 1 pound of strawberries for 1 pound of honey.

Cinamon Sticks and nutmeg: Drop them. I wouldn't suggest them together. For complexity sake I would probly do a tablespoon of lemon zest and then put something like a 1 teaspoon of Thyme in it, Very little spices go a long way. The other way you can see what will complement strawberries is to look at many strawberry deserts and see what is used there for spices. Since strawberries are sweet I would go with a sweet type spice, Basil, Thyme, Mint are all good choices. If you use mint extract, store bought, then use less than 1/4 a teaspoon.

Rasins: Good for nutrients, be good to chop them a little. I prefer to use yeast energizer and yeast nutrient in my mix Energizer is also known as DAP. Max of 1 tablespoon of nutrient and energizer should be all that's needed.

Yeast: Your choice of yeast is good but I would use either Lavin D-47 ro Lavin 71B. I have found that these yeasts complement the floral quality of the fruit and also they are good clean, no fuss yeast strains. I use 2 packets when I brew a 5 gal. I prep them in about 6 oz of water, room temp and add a little of the must as well, let sit and bubble for about 15-30 min. It should foam up a bit. Also, the packets of yeast are usually only around a $1 each. Cheaper than a liquid yeast starter.

Vanilla Bean: You may not taste much vanilla with only one bean but it will round out the flavor nicely. If you are going for a light vanilla flavor I would use 3, good vanilla flavor I would use 6 beans.

Process: Due to the volitile nature of so much sugar and the fact that you want to preserve the flavor of the strawberries, I would put all spices and fruit into the secondary fermentation. I did one batch in the primary and the strawberries blew up and it took longer to age out the fusel alcohols. I would also only use 12 pounds of honey in the primary and back sweeten with the other 2 pounds of honey. Yeast love the strawberries and it will mostlikely ferment dry, so after stablizing with some potasium sorbate, back sweetening would be good. Also, for cleanliness, Put your strawberries in mesh bag. Trust me, it will be easier to remove. I put my spices in one bag, a hops bag and my oak chips in a hops bag, and the fruit in a large nylon bag. Much easier to clean up.

Seriously consider 1 oz of lightly toasted oak chips in the Must at the end, prior to final clearing and leave in for about 2 weeks to a month. It will add complexity and make it smoother.

I would also seriously consider 1 tablespoon of pectic enzyme to help in clearing this too. It should end up a nice clear beautiful pink color.

Fining: I would also consider after oaking using some sparkloid to help clear this. I think with 5 gal.

Timing: I would expect that this would take about 6-8 months to ferment and clear and 1 year to age properly. It may be drinkable at the 6 month age mark but OMG it is worth the wait. So, I would not make it for this coming june but the next one after that for aging.

Anyway, my 2 cents.

Matrix
 
Ok here's my 2 cents:

Volume: Looks like you have a 5 gal batch, with the amount of honey you have. Good, I dislike anything less than 5 gal.

Strawberries: Having done a couple of strawberries, 14 pounds is not overkill for a 5 gal batch. Yes that is about 1 pound of strawberries for 1 pound of honey.

Cinamon Sticks and nutmeg: Drop them. I wouldn't suggest them together. For complexity sake I would probly do a tablespoon of lemon zest and then put something like a 1 teaspoon of Thyme in it, Very little spices go a long way. The other way you can see what will complement strawberries is to look at many strawberry deserts and see what is used there for spices. Since strawberries are sweet I would go with a sweet type spice, Basil, Thyme, Mint are all good choices. If you use mint extract, store bought, then use less than 1/4 a teaspoon.

Rasins: Good for nutrients, be good to chop them a little. I prefer to use yeast energizer and yeast nutrient in my mix Energizer is also known as DAP. Max of 1 tablespoon of nutrient and energizer should be all that's needed.

Yeast: Your choice of yeast is good but I would use either Lavin D-47 ro Lavin 71B. I have found that these yeasts complement the floral quality of the fruit and also they are good clean, no fuss yeast strains. I use 2 packets when I brew a 5 gal. I prep them in about 6 oz of water, room temp and add a little of the must as well, let sit and bubble for about 15-30 min. It should foam up a bit. Also, the packets of yeast are usually only around a $1 each. Cheaper than a liquid yeast starter.

Vanilla Bean: You may not taste much vanilla with only one bean but it will round out the flavor nicely. If you are going for a light vanilla flavor I would use 3, good vanilla flavor I would use 6 beans.

Process: Due to the volitile nature of so much sugar and the fact that you want to preserve the flavor of the strawberries, I would put all spices and fruit into the secondary fermentation. I did one batch in the primary and the strawberries blew up and it took longer to age out the fusel alcohols. I would also only use 12 pounds of honey in the primary and back sweeten with the other 2 pounds of honey. Yeast love the strawberries and it will mostlikely ferment dry, so after stablizing with some potasium sorbate, back sweetening would be good. Also, for cleanliness, Put your strawberries in mesh bag. Trust me, it will be easier to remove. I put my spices in one bag, a hops bag and my oak chips in a hops bag, and the fruit in a large nylon bag. Much easier to clean up.

Seriously consider 1 oz of lightly toasted oak chips in the Must at the end, prior to final clearing and leave in for about 2 weeks to a month. It will add complexity and make it smoother.

I would also seriously consider 1 tablespoon of pectic enzyme to help in clearing this too. It should end up a nice clear beautiful pink color.

Fining: I would also consider after oaking using some sparkloid to help clear this. I think with 5 gal.

Timing: I would expect that this would take about 6-8 months to ferment and clear and 1 year to age properly. It may be drinkable at the 6 month age mark but OMG it is worth the wait. So, I would not make it for this coming june but the next one after that for aging.

Anyway, my 2 cents.

Matrix

Thank you for your input! This is very helpful for somebody as inexperienced as myself.

"Cinnamon Sticks and nutmeg: Drop them. " - I think I'll take this advice, but I will say I was going to use these because that are the only ingredients I could find in strawberry recipes (however I only looked at about 10 recipes).

"lemon zest and then put something like a 1 teaspoon of Thyme in it" - this sounds nice, I think I'll use this instead of the Cinnamon and nutmeg

"Yeast: Your choice of yeast is good but I would use either Lavin D-47 or Lavin 71B" - I am a little hesitant to do this, as this will drastically increase the alcohol content and reduce the sweetness of my mead if I understand correctly. I might consider these and using 8 lbs of honey to start and then back sweetening with 4 lbs after stabilizing. The wife really isn't a fan of dry meads.

"Vanilla Bean: You may not taste much vanilla with only one bean but it will round out the flavor nicely" - This is exactly what I had in mind. I wasn't really after a noticeable vanilla flavor. However I may increase the vanilla to 2 beans, just to be safe. A little vanilla flavor never hurts.

"Process: I would put all spices and fruit into the secondary fermentation" - This was my plan all along, but it is nice to see I was on the right track.

"12 pounds of honey in the primary and back sweeten with the other 2 pounds of honey." - As I said above I might do this, but with a 10:4 ratio instead of the 12:2 ratio you suggest.

"Yeast love the strawberries and it will most likely ferment dry, so after stabilizing with some potassium sorbate, back sweetening would be good. Also, for cleanliness, Put your strawberries in mesh bag. Trust me, it will be easier to remove." - I found a place to get strawberry juice online. No additives, no preservatives. I was thinking of adding this to the must, but maybe it would be good to use when back sweetening. What do you think? (I could go back to a 12:2 honey ratio, 2 lbs. of honey + Strawberry juice would be very sweet I'm sure)

And the mesh bag, I will definitely do that!

"Seriously consider 1 oz of lightly toasted oak chips in the Must at the end, prior to final clearing and leave in for about 2 weeks to a month. It will add complexity and make it smoother." - it never occurred to me to try this. I think I'll try doing this.

"I would also seriously consider 1 tablespoon of pectic enzyme to help in clearing this too. It should end up a nice clear beautiful pink color.

Fining: I would also consider after oaking using some sparkloid to help clear this. I think with 5 gal."
- I will see how hard it is to clear, I don't like too many chemical additives, but if it is needed I will do this.

"Timing: I would expect that this would take about 6-8 months to ferment and clear and 1 year to age properly. It may be drinkable at the 6 month age mark but OMG it is worth the wait. So, I would not make it for this coming june but the next one after that for aging." - If I can find the patients I will keep this for the 2nd year anniversary. But I might break down and steal a glass in June...

Thanks again for the advice! I feel a lot better about this recipe already.
 
Oh, one more question! Should I do anything to sanitize the strawberries, rhubarb, and Vanilla beans before adding them to the secondary? How can I sanitize them without ruining them?
 
Oh, one more question! Should I do anything to sanitize the strawberries, rhubarb, and Vanilla beans before adding them to the secondary? How can I sanitize them without ruining them?

do not worry about sanatizing fruit. Most people way over think this procces and go as far as heat pasturizing, big mistake. You adding fruit to 11-14% alcohol, it will sanitize anything. I never had problems. Just freeze it and you good to go
 
>>Now I just need to figure out the best yeast to use. Will Nottingham yeast go beyond 11% ABV?

I would use Montratchet wine yeast. Just my $0.02
 
do not worry about sanatizing fruit. Most people way over think this procces and go as far as heat pasturizing, big mistake. You adding fruit to 11-14% alcohol, it will sanitize anything. I never had problems. Just freeze it and you good to go

Awesome, I won't worry about it then! Thanks!
 
"lemon zest and then put something like a 1 teaspoon of Thyme in it" - this sounds nice, I think I'll use this instead of the Cinnamon and nutmeg

"Yeast: Your choice of yeast is good but I would use either Lavin D-47 or Lavin 71B" - I am a little hesitant to do this, as this will drastically increase the alcohol content and reduce the sweetness of my mead if I understand correctly. I might consider these and using 8 lbs of honey to start and then back sweetening with 4 lbs after stabilizing. The wife really isn't a fan of dry meads.

"Yeast love the strawberries and it will most likely ferment dry, so after stabilizing with some potassium sorbate, back sweetening would be good. Also, for cleanliness, Put your strawberries in mesh bag. Trust me, it will be easier to remove." - I found a place to get strawberry juice online. No additives, no preservatives. I was thinking of adding this to the must, but maybe it would be good to use when back sweetening. What do you think? (I could go back to a 12:2 honey ratio, 2 lbs. of honey + Strawberry juice would be very sweet I'm sure)

Fining: I would also consider after oaking using some sparkloid to help clear this. I think with 5 gal." [/B]- I will see how hard it is to clear, I don't like too many chemical additives, but if it is needed I will do this.


Thanks again for the advice! I feel a lot better about this recipe already.

The Strawberry juice: Good Idea, as long as it doesn't have any preservatives. My first batch of strawberry I atempted to make strawberry juice but the puree is to thick. Oh, also if you do end up in a large mesh bag be sure to strain the bag and let it drip down for a bit, no use loosing the extra volume. I think that you will get good milage out of the Thyme. I did a Raspberry Thyme and it smelled AWESOME. Tasted even better. You don't really think about it but Thyme is a very big aromatic. Especially if you use fresh and non-dried. If you use fresh herbs then I would go with a full tablespoon as the extra water bulks it up a bit. Simply buy or find Thyme in the raw plant form. I preferr a small muslin hops bag to put my spices and herbs in for the same reason that I put the fruit in a bag. Same thing with the oak chips.

As far as the chemical additives: Sparkloid only grabs the yeast and Protine strands and other items and completely drops out into the lees. So I wouldn't worry about that. Many Wine Brewers add Irish Moss to help clear their wine, this is not needed. Also, Many Wine Brewers will say to add Tannin and citric acid. Both are also not needed in Mead. Just like Beer brewers will say boiling the honey is neccessary. It isn't. Just warm enough to melt the honey into the water is all that's needed.

Oh, Something else that may help you. Sanitize your equipment prior to starting. I use those little blue pills that they have in restraunts and creates a blue sanitizing water, soak for 2 min or so, then air dry.

I think that you will be good. Please let us know how it turns out. Pics are great if you can, If you can't, oh well. Me personally, I post my brewing on my livejournal out at matrix4b on livejournal.com. I look back at it occasionally to judge myself and see my process.

Here is a good place for advice and over at Gotmead.com is great for mead too. The best 2 sources on the internet as far as I am conserned.

Good luck

Matrix
 
That strawberry juice source may not pan out... They only deliver to Toronto, Ontario! BUT I used to live there, so I might be able to get a friend to recieve it and then ship it out to me. But I'm not sure if that is realistic...

But first I'll check the local organic food stores.

Oh and I checked out your journal. Awesome! I signed up myself, but time will tell if I'll actually bother posting regularly... Oh, and Devo9 is my journal user name, but I have yet to post anything! Maybe I'll start my first post later today.

Either way I'll try to keep this thread updated with my progress and pictures!
 
do not worry about sanatizing fruit. Most people way over think this procces and go as far as heat pasturizing, big mistake. You adding fruit to 11-14% alcohol, it will sanitize anything. I never had problems. Just freeze it and you good to go

I used Dole frozen strawberries. Didn't thaw or anything, just tossed them into my secondary.
 
Just a quick note: I'm making this exact mead right now. I just racked it off the fruit, and it's now sitting and making merry bubbles in my carboy. It's a lovely orange/pink color. Can't wait for it to start to clear.

Thanks for this recipe -- it sounds (and smell) fantastic. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!
 
Just a quick note: I'm making this exact mead right now. I just racked it off the fruit, and it's now sitting and making merry bubbles in my carboy. It's a lovely orange/pink color. Can't wait for it to start to clear.

Thanks for this recipe -- it sounds (and smell) fantastic. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Awesome! I am glad someone else gets to enjoy my recipe. I'd love to compair notes when it is done.
 
If you want a Tried and True Strawberry mead recipe that will knock your socks off, and all of your guests..this is the one for you. I posted this quite some time ago. Everyone who has made it loves it. It's good stuff, and we've take ALL of the guesswork out for you!

Good luck
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/group-brew-strawberry-mead-156994/

I might try that some day, thanks for the link.

But it is definitely not the same as what I am making here. I planned to have something with a more complex flavour, hence the vanilla, rhubarb, and thyme. I wish I could rename this thread "Summer Pie Mead" or "Sweet Strawberry Rhubarb Mead", but it is a little late now, so who cares...

Plus there is something to be said for something you have come up with yourself. I love making something new and unique, it is fun to experiment. The guess work is half the fun!

Cheers! :mug:

Edit: By the way, Flyweed, my recipe was originally based off of yours. I used yours as a starting point. It took me a while to remember what I started from, but it came to me... so thanks for that!
 
The only difference in how I made it is that after starting to ferment the basic must in a primary (for about 10 days or so), I then added the frozen strawberries and rhubarb (thawed) into the primary. Racked off those 7 days later, and added the thyme and lemon zest (in a hops bag) in that carboy.

Just slight changes in the timing -- and those mostly because I determined I'd rather try to clean out those (disgusting!) strawberries from a primary than a carboy. It's still fermenting away like crazy in the carboy.
 
The only difference in how I made it is that after starting to ferment the basic must in a primary (for about 10 days or so), I then added the frozen strawberries and rhubarb (thawed) into the primary. Racked off those 7 days later, and added the thyme and lemon zest (in a hops bag) in that carboy.

Just slight changes in the timing -- and those mostly because I determined I'd rather try to clean out those (disgusting!) strawberries from a primary than a carboy. It's still fermenting away like crazy in the carboy.

Actually, I plan on doing this next time I make this recipe! It isn't easy to take the fruit out of that carboy...
 
You never posted if it came out as delicious as it sounds....

I am really liking the smell of mine, although as it continues to ferment I'm not picking up quite as much strawberry as I wish. I may still add another pound into the carboy (which would invalidate the "cleaning the carboy" comment I made earlier). I'll take a quick taste in a week or so, and see what I think.
 
You never posted if it came out as delicious as it sounds....

I am really liking the smell of mine, although as it continues to ferment I'm not picking up quite as much strawberry as I wish. I may still add another pound into the carboy (which would invalidate the "cleaning the carboy" comment I made earlier). I'll take a quick taste in a week or so, and see what I think.

So far it tastes great. I got a lot of strawberry flavour coming through. It may be because I ran fresh strawberries through the juicer, rather then using frozen strawberries!? I did recently add frozen strawberries in hopes of adding yet more strawberry flavour, but it is a lot messier and I plan on the last bit of strawberries I add to be juiced like the first batch.

My mead is still far from finished, I will post more about it when I get closer to being done.
 
I got a picture of it today, but It isn't a very good picture. I'll try posting a better one when I have time.

Strawberry Rhubarb Mead.jpg
 
The big white thing is a grain bag filled with strawberries, the dark brown bits are oak chips, and the yellow things are lemon zest (well actually lemon shavings would be more accurate).

The liquid itself is a dark amber colour. It is nice and clear, but very dark.
 
What size grain bag did you use?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I didn't have any choices in my local home brew store. I just bought what they had. I'd have to check next time i go there.

It was a pretty large bag, it could have taken more then I put in it
 
To make this you ferment the primary ingredients for 10 days then add the secondary ingredients and let it ferment for 7 days then rack it and add the lemon and thyme? How long will you leave it on the thyme and lemon?
 
To make this you ferment the primary ingredients for 10 days then add the secondary ingredients and let it ferment for 7 days then rack it and add the lemon and thyme? How long will you leave it on the thyme and lemon?

I actually kept it on the fruit until it dropped. I think it was more like 15 - 20 days. I juiced the strawberries in my juicer (I highly recommend this) then added the rhubarb in the grain bag. Finally, I added more strawberries in the grain bag (not nearly as clean as the juiced strawberries). The new strawberries haven't dropped yet.
 
I actually kept it on the fruit until it dropped. I think it was more like 15 - 20 days. I juiced the strawberries in my juicer (I highly recommend this) then added the rhubarb in the grain bag. Finally, I added more strawberries in the grain bag (not nearly as clean as the juiced strawberries). The new strawberries haven't dropped yet.

How many more pounds of strawberries did you add? Are you saying you added the second addition of strawberries once the rhubarb dropped? Thanks for the info, I just want to get it right.
 
How many more pounds of strawberries did you add? Are you saying you added the second addition of strawberries once the rhubarb dropped? Thanks for the info, I just want to get it right.

Yes, I waited for the rhubarb to drop before I added the additional strawberries. I didn't want to displace too much mead at once. I also added the vanilla, lemon, and thyme with the rhubarb, as soon as it went to secondary.

Here is the amounts I used (found in my original post near the end):

New Revised Recipie: (Final revision, I hope)

Ingredients
Primary Ingredients
12 lbs. Clover honey
½ cup of raisins
~4 Gallons water (fill to 5 gallon level)
1 pack of D47, 71B, or Montratchet wine yeast (still deciding)

Secondary Ingredients
12 lbs. of frozen strawberries (Juiced, if possible)
3 lbs. of rhubarb
2 Vanilla Beans
Zest from one lemon
1 teaspoon of Thyme

Backsweetening Ingredients
2 lbs. Clover honey or
strawberry juice to taste
 
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