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Cascadegan · 05-25-2011, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esarkipato

Hey sorry let this lie for a while. I did carb some of this. Highly recommended!

I wasn't incredibly satisfied with this over time, and I think I know why. The berries were a mix of black raspberries and blackberries. As I was picking them this year, I noted that I really prefer the flavor of the BRB to the BB. The BB leaves an astringent aftertaste, and I really think this comes through in the mead. I plan on using the BB for beer, which will easily cover up the minor aftertaste issue, and try to just use BRB for another batch of mead.

I thought black raspberries and blackberries were the same thing?

taureangirl · 05-29-2011, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cascadegan

I thought black raspberries and blackberries were the same thing?

There is a very big difference. IMO, black raspberries are much better. You should get both and try them. You will quickly see qnd taste the difference.

Cascadegan · 06-18-2011, 08:47 PM

Ended up doing something like this with 1-2 lbs of marionberries, I think the yeast was already petering out when I put em in because it has a great berry flavor (with a bit of an astrigent bite) for a pretty small amount of berries

It was only a 3gal batch though

MarsColonist · 06-21-2011, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esarkipato

Upon even further consideration, the taste that I'm picking up on is the same taste from chewing a fresh picked blackberry, which has a certain amount of stem or other fleshy component (I'm not a botanist!) behind the fruit. Anyway, I think the blackberry flavor would be better if you could juice/press the berries and ONLY use the juice. This might avoid the slight bitter taste, but give the color and flavor of the berry.

Im thinking the seeds impart a vinous, tannic quality. Jack Keller's blackberry wine recipes all have him freeze, thaw, crush, *pour boiling water over them* and let them set for several days, then just straining the berries over the sugar(honey), adding pectinase and waiting 24 hours, and then pitching.

Grasslands · 06-21-2011, 12:30 PM

I'm mixin' this up tonight, however I'm using White Labs' sweet mead yeast with some fermax yeast nutrient. Publix had a weekend sale where packs of blackberries were only $2 each. I've got about 8-10 lbs worth, I think, in addition to 8 lbs tupelo honey (3lbs unfiltered!).

Anxious to see how this sucker goes!

Quick question, did you dissolve the honey in the water first? I see that you did pasteurize the honey on your first batch... Also, did you do add any oxygen (via shaking or manually)?

Grasslands · 06-23-2011, 01:20 PM

After making this batch, I realized I only had 7 lbs Tupelo honey and 6lbs blackberries. However, I juiced the blackberries and pasteurized for about 10 minutes, skimming off the top as it cooled. I freezed the "remains" for adding later to get an extra blackberry flavor. I then filled to about 3 1/2 - 4 gallons and added the WL sweet mead yeast when it cooled off to about 72ish.

It's been steadily chugging along - not quite the activity of my previous JOAM or ale/cider...but it's going nonetheless. Can't wait for this sucker!

WarrantedFED · 08-16-2011, 01:14 AM

I just made a batch of this using a half flat (about 3-4 lbs) of great big black berries and about 4.5 lbs of huckleberries. All were mashed up pretty well and added to the boil for about 5 minutes.

I followed another recipe for mead that calls for 1 tsp of citric acid and 1 tsp of pectic enzyme. I figured the former would be okay to add and the latter would only help the yeast.

I plan on leaving the brew in the primary for about a month then transferring to a secondary onto an additional half flat of pasteurized and mashed black berries.

I also want it to be extra spritzy so I will be adding a little more than a cup of honey for priming when I decide to bottle.

Overkill? I don't know, but it should be quite good.

How long is too long for the brew to sit on the fruit in primary and secondary?

Thanks all,

-Will

esarkipato · 08-16-2011, 12:35 PM

Sounds pretty delic! I've never had a huckleberry let alone brewed with one. However, I think you will be pleased with the results - if you have patience

. Higher gravity meads like this that are dry will take some aging to really bring out the hint of honey aroma. I think you've planned your fruit additions well and the more the merrier in my opinion. I think a month to extract the flavor/aroma from the berries is fine. I remember reading about some lambic breweries that will leave fruit in the must for 6+ months!

esarkipato · 08-16-2011, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarsColonist

Im thinking the seeds impart a vinous, tannic quality. Jack Keller's blackberry wine recipes all have him freeze, thaw, crush, *pour boiling water over them* and let them set for several days, then just straining the berries over the sugar(honey), adding pectinase and waiting 24 hours, and then pitching.

I'm going to read those recipes right now! Good thinking. I've read many of his, but never the blackberry ones.

esarkipato · 08-16-2011, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grasslands

After making this batch, I realized I only had 7 lbs Tupelo honey and 6lbs blackberries. However, I juiced the blackberries and pasteurized for about 10 minutes, skimming off the top as it cooled. I freezed the "remains" for adding later to get an extra blackberry flavor. I then filled to about 3 1/2 - 4 gallons and added the WL sweet mead yeast when it cooled off to about 72ish.

It's been steadily chugging along - not quite the activity of my previous JOAM or ale/cider...but it's going nonetheless. Can't wait for this sucker!

Sounds awesome. I'm becoming a fan of weaker meads - not so dang long for aging!