Texas Twang (Jalapeno Cucumber Mead)

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DisturbdChemist

I'm drunk 60% of the time, all the time!
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I got a few request to post this recipe I created. My friends and family at first did not like the sound of this mead but when they tried it they loved it :D. I was very impressed on how this turned out and want to know what other people think and their twist on this. :mug:


One gallon batch:

Ingredients:
3 lbs Clover honey (trader Joe's brand)
3 Big Jalapenos
1 Cucumber

Yeast:
EC-1118

ABV: 14.8%

Steps:
1) Pour 1/4 to 1/2 gallon of water in a pot and heat to boiling
2) During heat up, cut and de-vain the jalapenos (to remove the heat) and slice the cucumber in to round slices
3) When the water is boiling, remove from heat and add the jalapenos and cucumbers.
4) Let the covered mixture sit in the hot water for 30 mins
5) After 30 mins or so remove the jalapenos/cucumbers.
6) Once you removed the veggies, add the honey and mix well.
7) After honey is fully dissolved add to the fermenter and let cool.
8) Once cool add the yeast and take measurements

"Dry Hop":
After primary fermentation (a few weeks or until clear) move to secondary. I added fresh jalapenos (2) and a fresh cucumber to sit in the secondary for a week or so. After a few weeks rack to tertiary and let age. IMO its ready to bottle about 2 1/2 to 3 months since you started or two weeks or so after "dry hopping". It's up to you when you think its ready to bottle.



Notes:
I did not back sweeten this mead because it does not have sweet fruits in it and i think its better when its dry.

Tasting notes:
This mead has a lot of aroma of cucumber and sweet pepper. Mainly the cucumber. Each additive shines on its own and a great sipper. Dont be afraid of the aroma, the taste has the refreshing cucumber with the sweet jalapeno flavor that actually works well with each other.

Awards:
Well one judge said too much jalapeño and the second judge said too much cucumber :drunk:. Oh well im enjoying it so did WestlyS

10/28/13 batch 2
Scored a 43 at the Texas Mead Association comp. Didnt place sadly but suggest adding a little honey for flavor but the judges enjoyed it :ban:

Hope Ya'll will enjoy it and please let me know how it turns out!

Prosit!
Dustin

DisturbdChemist's Disturbed meads #2 - Lemon/Basil

DisturbdChemist's Disturbed Meads #3 -Cinnamon Ginger
 
Awesome!!! This gets done this week as I have rapidly growing jalapeños in my garden. Puts the Texas persimmons in the back of the line. Did you peel the cucumber or just scrub off the wax! Any RedStar or Lailvin equivalent yeast? (My LHBS only has those, I believe). And how long in the third fermenter, then how long in the bottle?
 
springmom said:
Awesome!!! This gets done this week as I have rapidly growing jalapeños in my garden. Puts the Texas persimmons in the back of the line. Did you peel the cucumber or just scrub off the wax! Any RedStar or Lailvin equivalent yeast? (My LHBS only has those, I believe). And how long in the third fermenter, then how long in the bottle?

With the cucumber I just washed and sliced. You can scrub the wax off if you want but I don't think I did and I left the skin on when I sliced it.

I would say any wine yeast should work. I just like the EC-1118 because its a beast of a yeast and clean fermenting. I believe its lalvin brand yeast. You should find it anywhere. The one in the woodlands should have it.
For bottling, I usually go with taste. If I find it good ill bottle it. My experience the one gallon batches mellow out faster. It's just up to you when to bottle. Maybe a month or so after you move it a third time. I think the jalapenos and cucumbers will hide the abv. Every one who tried it said it was smooth and didn't have a burn and I bottled it 2 and a half months since I added the yeast and let it sit in bottles how long it will last. (Its never long lol).

Keep me updated on your progress. We can compare the meads once you are done.

Good luck and Prosit!
Dustin
 
I'm game. I will let you know how it turns out after I make it next weekend
 
On the dry hop...did you rack it into another bucket? If not how did you add the jalapeños and cucumber for just a week? I'm assuming you didn't somehow siphon them out of the carboy....

Also, any acid blend, yeast nutrient, etc?
 
springmom said:
On the dry hop...did you rack it into another bucket? If not how did you add the jalapeños and cucumber for just a week? I'm assuming you didn't somehow siphon them out of the carboy....

Also, any acid blend, yeast nutrient, etc?

I racked or siphoned it to another container with the fresh jalapenos and cucumbers. Then after a week or so I siphoned it again to another carboy to bulk age.

I did not add any acid blend. I haven't used it before and I don't think you need it but its up to you. Yeast nutrient is always a good think to use for healthy yeast. I didn't add any because I added 5 gals worth of yeast (one package) to 1 gallon of mead. So I had plenty of yeast to do the job. All I added to this is honey, water, yeast, and the jalapenos/cucumbers. No other additives.

Hope this helps.
 
This sounds very interesting. I'm in the Spring, TX area so I feel compelled to give this a try.
 
This sounds very interesting. I'm in the Spring, TX area so I feel compelled to give this a try.

Cool man. I really enjoyed this mead. I still have a few bottles left. We can try each others once yours is done.. Over a few months the jalapeno/cucumber will mellow and blend nicely.
 
Does this have some spice to it? I'm pretty interested in this one.. about to order some honey right now.
 
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ForumRunner_20130710_200201.png
 
The samples I have had from mine it has a little spice to it but not to much the cucumbers mellow it out nicely :)

That's exactly what I'm looking for. Maybe I will use less cucumber for a little more spice?
 
Tonight, this finally got bottled. I let it sit. And sit. And sit. And am glad I did because THAT, sir, is heaven in a bottle. My husband doesn't like it, but I'll have to beat my daughter-in-law-'s father off with a baseball bat to keep him out of it :) That is phenomenal, and I will most assuredly be starting another batch SOON. WOW!!!!!
 
Tonight, this finally got bottled. I let it sit. And sit. And sit. And am glad I did because THAT, sir, is heaven in a bottle. My husband doesn't like it, but I'll have to beat my daughter-in-law-'s father off with a baseball bat to keep him out of it :) That is phenomenal, and I will most assuredly be starting another batch SOON. WOW!!!!!

After a review like that I'll have to try this

How long did it sit? Did you follow the original recipe?
 
lpsumo said:
After a review like that I'll have to try this

How long did it sit? Did you follow the original recipe?

I did follow the recipe. I let it sit, racking occasionally, for almost a year ( started it at the end of September last year). All meads benefit from time. I bottled a traditional mead about as aged, nd it'll be better for another 6-12 months. But the ZtAt is ready to enjoy nw. ANSI is just awesome.
 
Tonight, this finally got bottled. I let it sit. And sit. And sit. And am glad I did because THAT, sir, is heaven in a bottle. My husband doesn't like it, but I'll have to beat my daughter-in-law-'s father off with a baseball bat to keep him out of it :) That is phenomenal, and I will most assuredly be starting another batch SOON. WOW!!!!!

That is an awesome review lol. I'm glad it turned out well. I'm on batch 2 right now and will make more down the line :ban:
 
I am so excited to try this! I just pitched the yeast on my first batch this afternoon and I think that I'm really going to have a hard time waiting for this one to finish. It smells wonderful and I opted to leave the veins and seeds in for a little extra heat. This is certainly going to be an interesting one!
 
This sounds good... Just bought the ingredients to make this mead.
Just to clarify: the original 3 jalapeños and 1 cucumber only go in the boiled water for 30 min, then you remove and discard them? So no veggies in during the primary (only the honey and infused water and yeast), but then add 2 new jalapeños and 1 new cucumber for the secondary about a week? I've seen many recipes that leave whatever fruit or veg in during the primary, so I just wanted to make sure... Thanks!
 
This sounds good... Just bought the ingredients to make this mead.
Just to clarify: the original 3 jalapeños and 1 cucumber only go in the boiled water for 30 min, then you remove and discard them? So no veggies in during the primary (only the honey and infused water and yeast), but then add 2 new jalapeños and 1 new cucumber for the secondary about a week? I've seen many recipes that leave whatever fruit or veg in during the primary, so I just wanted to make sure... Thanks!

That is what I have done. Let the veggies steep for 30 minutes then remove and add the honey. in my opinion the viggies will not help during the primary. I usually leave fruits in there. I just add the fresh veggies for about a week before bottling to get the aroma and flavor bumped up a little.
 
DisturbdChemist said:
That is what I have done. Let the veggies steep for 30 minutes then remove and add the honey. in my opinion the viggies will not help during the primary. I usually leave fruits in there. I just add the fresh veggies for about a week before bottling to get the aroma and flavor bumped up a little.

Sounds like a plan. I'm about to brew it up right now... Will let you know how it goes. Thanks for the recipe!
 
Alright, the Texas Twang is all done and now the waiting begins. Instead of Clover honey, I stayed with the Texas theme and used some local TX Wildflower honey. Don't know how much difference that will or won't make for taste (doubt much), but that's what I had on hand.

One thing you didn't mention in the original recipe - did you add water to top up to a gallon in the fermentor? I'm pretty sure you did, as you say to boil 1/4-1/2 gallon, and that it's a one gal recipe. Obviously the honey doesn't make up the difference. The only reason I ask is because my OG (and therefore potential ABV) was much lower - 1.072 (temp corrected)... Which would make it 9.4% or so (may ferment lower than 1.000). I think, though, that my must had already started settling out when I took my reading (I had shaken it up pretty good, and stirred in the honey to what looked like fully dissolved), and some of the heavier honey particles had sunk lower. I took the sample from the top of the jug, so I'm thinking it was just less dense.
I calculated the potential OG using C1V1+C2V2=CtVt (where C is concentration/OG, V is volume, 1 is water, 2 is honey, and t is total). 1.000 for water, 1.417 for 18% moisture honey (most honeys), 12 cups water, and 4 cups honey (=3 lbs)... Comes out to Ct being 1.104. Which, if fermented to 1.000, would be about 13.6%, or higher if it goes below 1.000. Much closer to the 14.8% you got...

Also, the EC-1118 has a pretty big temp range - 10-30C or 50-86F. What temp did you use, and have you tried more than one temp if you've done this multiple times? I've got a JAOM going at room temp in the closet right now (~78F), and was just going to put his one in there with it (I attached a blow-off tube, just in case the higher temps make it more active. Alternatively, I have a Pumpkin ESB fermenting in my fermentation chamber at 60F right now, so I could toss it in there as well, and let it go a bit colder and slower... Just wondering if higher (but not out of its range) temps would make more fusels or off flavors in a mead like they would in beer, and wanting to hear any experiences y'all have had at different temps.

Thanks! Now for the hard part - patience. Looking forward to trying this one!

image-2267666341.jpg


image-2972473671.jpg
 
Alright, the Texas Twang is all done and now the waiting begins. Instead of Clover honey, I stayed with the Texas theme and used some local TX Wildflower honey. Don't know how much difference that will or won't make for taste (doubt much), but that's what I had on hand.

One thing you didn't mention in the original recipe - did you add water to top up to a gallon in the fermentor? I'm pretty sure you did, as you say to boil 1/4-1/2 gallon, and that it's a one gal recipe. Obviously the honey doesn't make up the difference. The only reason I ask is because my OG (and therefore potential ABV) was much lower - 1.072 (temp corrected)... Which would make it 9.4% or so (may ferment lower than 1.000). I think, though, that my must had already started settling out when I took my reading (I had shaken it up pretty good, and stirred in the honey to what looked like fully dissolved), and some of the heavier honey particles had sunk lower. I took the sample from the top of the jug, so I'm thinking it was just less dense.
I calculated the potential OG using C1V1+C2V2=CtVt (where C is concentration/OG, V is volume, 1 is water, 2 is honey, and t is total). 1.000 for water, 1.417 for 18% moisture honey (most honeys), 12 cups water, and 4 cups honey (=3 lbs)... Comes out to Ct being 1.104. Which, if fermented to 1.000, would be about 13.6%, or higher if it goes below 1.000. Much closer to the 14.8% you got...

Also, the EC-1118 has a pretty big temp range - 10-30C or 50-86F. What temp did you use, and have you tried more than one temp if you've done this multiple times? I've got a JAOM going at room temp in the closet right now (~78F), and was just going to put his one in there with it (I attached a blow-off tube, just in case the higher temps make it more active. Alternatively, I have a Pumpkin ESB fermenting in my fermentation chamber at 60F right now, so I could toss it in there as well, and let it go a bit colder and slower... Just wondering if higher (but not out of its range) temps would make more fusels or off flavors in a mead like they would in beer, and wanting to hear any experiences y'all have had at different temps.

Thanks! Now for the hard part - patience. Looking forward to trying this one!

Your going to love it. It taste so fresh.

ForumRunner_20130926_084057.jpg

:ban:
 
Alright, the Texas Twang is all done and now the waiting begins. Instead of Clover honey, I stayed with the Texas theme and used some local TX Wildflower honey. Don't know how much difference that will or won't make for taste (doubt much), but that's what I had on hand.

One thing you didn't mention in the original recipe - did you add water to top up to a gallon in the fermentor? I'm pretty sure you did, as you say to boil 1/4-1/2 gallon, and that it's a one gal recipe. Obviously the honey doesn't make up the difference. The only reason I ask is because my OG (and therefore potential ABV) was much lower - 1.072 (temp corrected)... Which would make it 9.4% or so (may ferment lower than 1.000). I think, though, that my must had already started settling out when I took my reading (I had shaken it up pretty good, and stirred in the honey to what looked like fully dissolved), and some of the heavier honey particles had sunk lower. I took the sample from the top of the jug, so I'm thinking it was just less dense.
I calculated the potential OG using C1V1+C2V2=CtVt (where C is concentration/OG, V is volume, 1 is water, 2 is honey, and t is total). 1.000 for water, 1.417 for 18% moisture honey (most honeys), 12 cups water, and 4 cups honey (=3 lbs)... Comes out to Ct being 1.104. Which, if fermented to 1.000, would be about 13.6%, or higher if it goes below 1.000. Much closer to the 14.8% you got...

Also, the EC-1118 has a pretty big temp range - 10-30C or 50-86F. What temp did you use, and have you tried more than one temp if you've done this multiple times? I've got a JAOM going at room temp in the closet right now (~78F), and was just going to put his one in there with it (I attached a blow-off tube, just in case the higher temps make it more active. Alternatively, I have a Pumpkin ESB fermenting in my fermentation chamber at 60F right now, so I could toss it in there as well, and let it go a bit colder and slower... Just wondering if higher (but not out of its range) temps would make more fusels or off flavors in a mead like they would in beer, and wanting to hear any experiences y'all have had at different temps.

Thanks! Now for the hard part - patience. Looking forward to trying this one!


Yes I top it off to one gallon. I usually top it off to 3/4 gal to prevent blow out and when in secondary fill it up a little more if i can (doesnt drop the alcohol too much). I just let it sit at room temperature. I leave it in the pantry until it clears then move it to secondary. I never had a problem with fusels in mead yet and room temp works well with them. I have had a few blow outs but nothing to dramatic yet. Waiting is the hardest part. you just need to get another batch going to get your mind off of this one lol. I might make some mead this weekend. I havent mad one in a while.. What other weird but delicious mead should I make. :D

Let us know how it turns out!
 
Fixing to start a second gallon of this today. I'm considering using one nice big Hatch chili pepper. They have such a nice flavor I'd live to find out how much (if any) difference it'd make.
 
DisturbdChemist said:
Yes I top it off to one gallon. I usually top it off to 3/4 gal to prevent blow out and when in secondary fill it up a little more if i can (doesnt drop the alcohol too much). I just let it sit at room temperature. I leave it in the pantry until it clears then move it to secondary. I never had a problem with fusels in mead yet and room temp works well with them. I have had a few blow outs but nothing to dramatic yet.

As you can see from the pic above, I topped it off pretty full... Almost a full gallon. But I did attach a blow-off tube, just in case. Have it in closet at room temp, still happily bubbling away (but not TOO happily - no actual blow-offs that I can tell!).

When you top it back up after racking, do you just use water? Or do you mix in a similar ratio of honey to the water?

And talking about your next mead you're planning... I've got a good spiced cyser recipe (well, sounds good - haven't actually tried it yet) I've got the ingredients for on deck...
 
Fixing to start a second gallon of this today. I'm considering using one nice big Hatch chili pepper. They have such a nice flavor I'd live to find out how much (if any) difference it'd make.

Awesome! This will be one I'll always keep around.

As you can see from the pic above, I topped it off pretty full... Almost a full gallon. But I did attach a blow-off tube, just in case. Have it in closet at room temp, still happily bubbling away (but not TOO happily - no actual blow-offs that I can tell!).

When you top it back up after racking, do you just use water? Or do you mix in a similar ratio of honey to the water?

And talking about your next mead you're planning... I've got a good spiced cyser recipe (well, sounds good - haven't actually tried it yet) I've got the ingredients for on deck...

I usually dilute with water. If I back sweeten I'll dilute with honey. Though I rarely do that. If it's high enough alcohol I'll cut it a little with water. It wouldn't weaken it to much.

I got a chocolate/habanero going now. Haven't made a cyser yet
 
DisturbdChemist said:
10/28/13 batch 2 Scored a 43 at the Texas Mead Association comp. Didnt place sadly but suggest adding a little honey for flavor but the judges enjoyed it :ban:

Well done! I'm still patiently excited to try it! I will be racking to secondary sometime this week, onto the new cucumber and jalapeño...
 
I racked it onto the cucumber and jalapeños last night. The EC-1118 is a beast of a yeast - dropped it all the way to 0.992! With my OG of 1.072, that puts my ABV at 10.5%. Taste-wise, I'm not getting much cucumber, but am tasting the jalapeños and the honey and the alcohol, for sure... Thinking these will mellow with age and the cucumber will come back out after that (it's only been in primary 5 weeks so far)...

image-1499449413.jpg
 
I racked it onto the cucumber and jalapeños last night. The EC-1118 is a beast of a yeast - dropped it all the way to 0.992! With my OG of 1.072, that puts my ABV at 10.5%. Taste-wise, I'm not getting much cucumber, but am tasting the jalapeños and the honey and the alcohol, for sure... Thinking these will mellow with age and the cucumber will come back out after that (it's only been in primary 5 weeks so far)...

Yes it will mellow out fo sho!
 
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