 |
11-03-2011, 02:50 AM
|
#1
|
|
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Shrewsbury
Posts: 106
|
Cran/Blackberry Mead
Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Lalvin 1122
Yeast Starter: yes 500ml
Batch Size (Gallons): 6 gal
Original Gravity: 1.120
Final Gravity: ...
Boiling Time (Minutes): 15
Color: Red/Purple
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 28/68
Additional Fermentation: rack until cleared
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 28/68
Tasting Notes: honey and cranberry dominate this full-flavored sweet mead.
One of my favorites...
7 lbs Clover Honey
5 lbs Orange Blossom Honey
1 lb Eucalyptus Honey
7 lbs. Cranberries
4 lbs. Blackberries
2 oz. Yeast Energizer
2 oz. Yeast Nutrient
I usually put the fruit in primary for this one, I think having the cranberries in there from the start gives it more time to kill some of the tartness and help the flavors meld. The fruit flavor is still huge afterwards.
Boil the honey energizer and nutrient in 2 gal. water for 15 minutes and dissolve. Pour into carboy.
Bring fruit to a light boil (more to the point where "foam" begins to form) and leave them on the heat until the blackberries begin to break apart and the cranberries split open. Use a funnel to add fruit to the carboy.
I usually add a little more water at this point but make sure to leave plenty of head room. Cool and pitch yeast starter when down to temp.
This is a great mead if you've wanted to make a cranberry mead but have always been worried about the tartness. The cranberry is still the dominate fruit flavor mixing well with the honey flavors but the blackberries help to sweeten the fruit profile and help mellow out the tartness to a degree.
Sometimes I will use k-meta and sorbate and add another pound of any of the honey varieties after secondary and before I begin to bulk age. |
|
__________________
Bottled:ESB, Rye Dog Pale Ale V.1, All the Kings Horses Pilsner v.1, Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Daywalker Red Ale v.1,Hazelnut Spiced Porter, 2009 Red Meritage, 2011 Dry Mead, 2009 New England Cyser, 2009 South African Shiraz, 2009 Chilean Chardonnay, 2011 Dry Johannisburg Riesling
Primary: Vanilla Milk stout v.2 and v.3, Chocolate Raspberry Port
Secondary:Italian Barolo, Cran-Blackberry Melomel, Peach Icewine
On Deck:Isla's Boon Strawberry Blonde v.1, Caramel Apple Mead
|
|
|
|
11-03-2011, 06:04 AM
|
#2
|
|
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 147
Liked 3 Times on 3 Posts
Likes Given: 1
|
What do you use for yeast?
|
|
|
|
|
11-03-2011, 11:29 AM
|
#3
|
|
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Shrewsbury
Posts: 106
|
Lalvin 1122 its the Narbonne strain
__________________
Bottled:ESB, Rye Dog Pale Ale V.1, All the Kings Horses Pilsner v.1, Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Daywalker Red Ale v.1,Hazelnut Spiced Porter, 2009 Red Meritage, 2011 Dry Mead, 2009 New England Cyser, 2009 South African Shiraz, 2009 Chilean Chardonnay, 2011 Dry Johannisburg Riesling
Primary: Vanilla Milk stout v.2 and v.3, Chocolate Raspberry Port
Secondary:Italian Barolo, Cran-Blackberry Melomel, Peach Icewine
On Deck:Isla's Boon Strawberry Blonde v.1, Caramel Apple Mead
|
|
|
|
|
12-21-2011, 01:31 PM
|
#4
|
|
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Shrewsbury
Posts: 106
|
Just backsweetened this guy the other day.
Decided to use Buckwheat Honey on this batch to try something different.
So far its coming along very nicely. Honey and Cranberry are def the stars of this batch and while you can't really taste the blackberries they have certainly used their sweetness to balance out the tartness of the cranberries. The batch is still young and will age for several more months but the tartness from 7 pounds of cranberries seems to be well under control.
The color is a light pinkish-red very pleasant and tasty
__________________
Bottled:ESB, Rye Dog Pale Ale V.1, All the Kings Horses Pilsner v.1, Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Daywalker Red Ale v.1,Hazelnut Spiced Porter, 2009 Red Meritage, 2011 Dry Mead, 2009 New England Cyser, 2009 South African Shiraz, 2009 Chilean Chardonnay, 2011 Dry Johannisburg Riesling
Primary: Vanilla Milk stout v.2 and v.3, Chocolate Raspberry Port
Secondary:Italian Barolo, Cran-Blackberry Melomel, Peach Icewine
On Deck:Isla's Boon Strawberry Blonde v.1, Caramel Apple Mead
|
|
|
|
|
09-18-2012, 01:13 AM
|
#5
|
|
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Winnipeg
Posts: 116
Liked 5 Times on 5 Posts
Likes Given: 2
|
Hi,
So I followed this recipe that you posted more or less...the color is beautiful! It's been about a month and it's bone dry now 0.96. My og was 1.1...which I think means It's sitting at 18 % plus. Is this how how yours gets? It's too dry for my taste...when would you suggest back sweetening it in your process?
Thanks
E
__________________
Daydreaming about...... Sweet cherry wildflower mead
Brewing & Aging: Wildflower mead, Chilean amarone, Chilean Sauvignon blanc
Bottled: sweet blueberry melomel, sparkling Cranberry/Blackberry melomel, fb apple cyser, wine, wine and more wine!
|
|
|
|
|
09-30-2012, 12:41 PM
|
#6
|
|
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Shrewsbury
Posts: 106
|
Hey Erin,
Just got back one the forum sorry for the late reply.
Yeah as long. You stabilized the mead and shocked the yeast I would certainly back sweeten. I think some clover honey would do the trick for you. Your mead fermented out a little more Han my did, but it still sounds like it went really well.
Mine tastes like ocean spray with a nice sweet honey aftertaste. The color is amazing though isn't it!!!
__________________
Bottled:ESB, Rye Dog Pale Ale V.1, All the Kings Horses Pilsner v.1, Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Daywalker Red Ale v.1,Hazelnut Spiced Porter, 2009 Red Meritage, 2011 Dry Mead, 2009 New England Cyser, 2009 South African Shiraz, 2009 Chilean Chardonnay, 2011 Dry Johannisburg Riesling
Primary: Vanilla Milk stout v.2 and v.3, Chocolate Raspberry Port
Secondary:Italian Barolo, Cran-Blackberry Melomel, Peach Icewine
On Deck:Isla's Boon Strawberry Blonde v.1, Caramel Apple Mead
|
|
|
|
|
09-30-2012, 04:08 PM
|
#7
|
|
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Winnipeg
Posts: 116
Liked 5 Times on 5 Posts
Likes Given: 2
|
I actually calculated the gravity wrong...the final gravity was 0.996 not 0.96 so the alcohol is sitting around 13.65% which is much better!! i had some headspace in my secondary so I added in some more cranberries and a honey water mixture...now i think i will leave it alone for a few months. Can I bulk age with cranberries in it?
__________________
Daydreaming about...... Sweet cherry wildflower mead
Brewing & Aging: Wildflower mead, Chilean amarone, Chilean Sauvignon blanc
Bottled: sweet blueberry melomel, sparkling Cranberry/Blackberry melomel, fb apple cyser, wine, wine and more wine!
|
|
|
|
|
10-01-2012, 11:48 PM
|
#8
|
|
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Shrewsbury
Posts: 106
|
You could age with the cranberries as long as you pasteurize them first, however you might get way to much tart flavor from aging on, them. I'd prob ad the honey and cranberries leave it.for a month then rack and age do that it clears and some of the tartness fades
__________________
Bottled:ESB, Rye Dog Pale Ale V.1, All the Kings Horses Pilsner v.1, Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Daywalker Red Ale v.1,Hazelnut Spiced Porter, 2009 Red Meritage, 2011 Dry Mead, 2009 New England Cyser, 2009 South African Shiraz, 2009 Chilean Chardonnay, 2011 Dry Johannisburg Riesling
Primary: Vanilla Milk stout v.2 and v.3, Chocolate Raspberry Port
Secondary:Italian Barolo, Cran-Blackberry Melomel, Peach Icewine
On Deck:Isla's Boon Strawberry Blonde v.1, Caramel Apple Mead
|
|
|
|
|
03-02-2013, 09:22 PM
|
#9
|
|
Feedback Score: 0 reviews
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Winnipeg
Posts: 116
Liked 5 Times on 5 Posts
Likes Given: 2
|
This recipe turned out great! I ended up carbing it...just tried one the other day after aging about 6 months and it was great!! What a treat  my first successful mead!
__________________
Daydreaming about...... Sweet cherry wildflower mead
Brewing & Aging: Wildflower mead, Chilean amarone, Chilean Sauvignon blanc
Bottled: sweet blueberry melomel, sparkling Cranberry/Blackberry melomel, fb apple cyser, wine, wine and more wine!
|
|
|
|
| Thread Tools |
|
|
| Display Modes |
 Linear Mode
|
|
|
|
.gif-1367621329.gif)
