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summersolstice · 06-08-2008, 07:43 PM

Recipe Type: Extract
Yeast: Lalvin K1v1116
Yeast Starter: yes
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.120
Final Gravity: 1.010
IBU: n/a
Steep Time (Minutes): 45
Color: golden brown
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 15 days at 68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 35 days at 68F

4 Gallons apple juice
2 lbs DME
3 lbs 60L Crystal malt
7 lbs Orange blossom honey
2 lbs clover honey
2 lbs buckwheat honey

2 vanilla beans

Steep grains in 1.5 gallons of apple juice at 155F for 45 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in the DME and honey. Rinse grain sack with 1/2 gallon apple juice. Add the remainder of the apple juice. Aerate by vigorous stirring for at least five minutes. Aerate some more. I now use oxygen with a diffuser stone to aerate (better). Pitch yeast starter (hydrated with Go Ferm per container instructions) directly into the primary (plastic pail fitted with an air lock).

At about 1.075 add 5g Fermaid K
At about 1.035 add 5g Fermaid K
(Dissolve your nutrients in water before adding them to your must. This helps to minimize foam.)

Within about two weeks this should ferment out to 1.012 or so. Rack to secondary and add vanilla beans. Allow to remain in the secondary for about a month.

Rack again onto 1 lb of buckwheat honey and 1/4t potassium metabisuphite or 5 campden tabs and 2 1/2t potassium sorbate to stabilize. Add Super Kleer to clarify. Bulk age for six months to a year before bottling.

I adapted this recipe from one I saw on gotmead.com. Mine is about 14 months old and tastes just like caramel apples. It's a medium sweet mead that's very drinkable. At about 13.75% alcohol and no alcohol bite one should exercise caution since it goes down so smoothly.

hightest · 10-12-2008, 03:28 PM

After reading this recipe and the instructions, I have a few questions:

Apple juice is listed as an ingredient. Is it a commercially bottled juice (like Mott's) or is it sweet apple cider?
What grade of DME was used - light, dark, other?
The instructions say after steeping the grains to "Stir in the DME and honey". As written, I would take this to mean add all of the 3 types of honey listed at that time. Yet later, the instructions state, "Rack again onto 1 lb of buckwheat honey...". Did you initially add only 1 lb of buckwheat honey and reserve the other pound for the later step? Or should the ingredient list be revised to show that 3 lbs of buckwheat honey are required - 2 lbs up front, and another pound used later?
Did you split &/or scrape the vanilla beans, or cut them into pieces?

Thank you for clarifying these points...

summersolstice · 10-13-2008, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hightest

After reading this recipe and the instructions, I have a few questions:

Apple juice is listed as an ingredient. Is it a commercially bottled juice (like Mott's) or is it sweet apple cider?

Regular commercial apple juice

Quote:

What grade of DME was used - light, dark, other?

Light

Quote:

The instructions say after steeping the grains to "Stir in the DME and honey". As written, I would take this to mean add all of the 3 types of honey listed at that time. Yet later, the instructions state, "Rack again onto 1 lb of buckwheat honey...". Did you initially add only 1 lb of buckwheat honey and reserve the other pound for the later step? Or should the ingredient list be revised to show that 3 lbs of buckwheat honey are required - 2 lbs up front, and another pound used later?

Yes, all three are added at once with the only exception being 1 pound of BW added initially with the other pound added in the later step.

Quote:

Did you split &/or scrape the vanilla beans, or cut them into pieces?

I used the entire bean, though I understand some prefer them scraped.

Quote:

Thank you for clarifying these points...

You're welcome.

ruger12pk · 12-17-2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersolstice

Recipe Type: Extract
Yeast: Lalvin K1v1116
Yeast Starter: yes
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.120
Final Gravity: 1.010
IBU: n/a
Steep Time (Minutes): 45
Color: golden brown
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 15 days at 68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 35 days at 68F

4 Gallons apple juice
2 lbs DME
3 lbs 60L Crystal malt
7 lbs Orange blossom honey
2 lbs clover honey
2 lbs buckwheat honey

2 vanilla beans

Steep grains in 1.5 gallons of apple juice at 155F for 45 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in the DME and honey. Rinse grain sack with 1/2 gallon apple juice. Add the remainder of the apple juice. Aerate by vigorous stirring for at least five minutes. Aerate some more. I now use oxygen with a diffuser stone to aerate (better). Pitch yeast starter (hydrated with Go Ferm per container instructions) directly into the primary (plastic pail fitted with an air lock).

At about 1.075 add 5g Fermaid K
At about 1.035 add 5g Fermaid K
(Dissolve your nutrients in water before adding them to your must. This helps to minimize foam.)

Within about two weeks this should ferment out to 1.012 or so. Rack to secondary and add vanilla beans. Allow to remain in the secondary for about a month.

Rack again onto 1 lb of buckwheat honey and 1/4t potassium metabisuphite or 5 campden tabs and 2 1/2t potassium sorbate to stabilize. Add Super Kleer to clarify. Bulk age for six months to a year before bottling.

I adapted this recipe from one I saw on gotmead.com. Mine is about 14 months old and tastes just like caramel apples. It's a medium sweet mead that's very drinkable. At about 13.75% alcohol and no alcohol bite one should exercise caution since it goes down so smoothly.

I wouldnt attempt this at this stage of the game for myself..(too much a noob...lol) But Ill tell ya what....I damn sure would love to give this a sip!! WOW!

digdan · 04-14-2009, 08:28 PM

Why did you use three separate types of honey? Can you diffrenciate the three flavors of honey in the final product? Could one use just orange, or just clover, or perhaps clover and buckwheat?

summersolstice · 04-15-2009, 03:01 PM

I don't really remember why used both OB and clover honey. I assume it's because I didn't have enough OB honey for the recipe. You could certainly use one or the other, or any combination. I wouldn't use an expensive light honey for this recipe due to the influence of the other flavors. The Buckwheat is definitely needed to add the much stronger aggressive honey flavor. A lot of mead makers add a little buckwheat to a recipe for complexity.

bubbachunk · 04-20-2009, 07:48 PM

What would you guess the difference if any in the final product if I used the following honeys. (due to availability):
8# Clover
3# Mesquite

summersolstice · 04-20-2009, 08:20 PM

I've never had Mesquite honey but if it has an aggressive profile, it should work well. If it has a very aggressive profile, like buckwheat, you might want to cut back to 2 pounds though. Try it.

bubbachunk · 04-20-2009, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersolstice

I've never had Mesquite honey but if it has an aggressive profile, it should work well. If it has a very aggressive profile, like buckwheat, you might want to cut back to 2 pounds though. Try it.

Could you try to explain what you mean by aggressive profile?

summersolstice · 04-20-2009, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubbachunk

Could you try to explain what you mean by aggressive profile?

Strong flavor. Like molasses has a strong flavor. Usually the darker the honey the more strong the flavor, but not always.