Winter Mead (melo-meth)
 

Here's the recipe:
6 to 9 lbs honey - I used 9 lbs of clover
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice (crushed)
3 2-inch cinnamon sticks
1 gallon apple juice
1 gallon cranberry juice
water to top off

I actually got this recipe from a newsletter I used to get and had it laying around with plans to make it someday. Last September I decided it was time. I got real anal about the juices, since that makes most of the fluid, and I don't know how much of the flavor to account to those juices or not. I went to the local Whole Foods Market and got pure, not-from-concentrate, cranberry juice, which was surprisingly hard to find, for about $7 per quart. I also got the apple juice, same way from the same market.

Yeast:
The original recipe calls for Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast but I used the White Labs Sweet Mead yeast.

My method:
I heated the honey enough to be able to pour easily, no, I don't pasturize or boil, and some water to put in the container for the remainder. I filtered the juices into the carboy, again, no heating, and added the spices and honey. I then added water to top off the carboy, checked the temp, and pitched the yeast. The recipe says let sit for two weeks and top off with water but I racked it here and topped it off. Then after another 2 months I racked it and added wine conditioner to kill the yeast and resweeten some. I let that sit for another week and bottled it. When I bottled, I got a taste and, unlike all other meads I've made, it was good right then. I've had several people try it after that and they all liked it. My wife and I had a bottle with Christmas dinner.

After this experience, I will make this recipe quite regularly since it is my favorite so far.

primary fermentation... 2 weeks.

do I have to rack it after 2 weeks, or can I just let the primary fermentation die down first cause Ive had it in the first for about a week and a half now.

How did this turn out

Wow, I had completely forgotten about putting this up.

Everyone who's tried it has either loved it or been overly nice to my face. They have come back for more and more. I haven't brewed anything in a while because I just don't have the time right now but I would love to make some more of this.

I know this is an old thread but did you use tap water? I have read that chlorinated water can be bad for Mead but haven't had any issues while making wine or beer.

Also did you use any Fermaid K or other yeast nutrient? Or does the apple and cranberry offer enough nutrients?

I actually used artisan well water that I got in the grocery store. I try to stick to that for consistency in my brews. I've been told that that's a shame since I live in Colorado and the water here is supposed to be miraculous or something but I've had good results and I'm sticking to it.

I did not use any nutrients or extract. I don't know if the juices offer the nutrients but I didn't add any.

Last Sunday I started a 5 gallon batch that will hopefully be ready for Christmas... Looked and smelled very good in the Primary. The only change I made was the addition of Wyeast Wine Nutrient. (Besides upping the amount of ingredients to make a 5 gal batch)

I started a batch of this a week and a half ago. Almost time to rack. Its a wonderful colour. I too searched the local markets for local fresh pressed cran and apple. Got them both right from the producer. The cranberry was the sourest cranberry I have ever tasted, which I think should be a really good thing for my personal tastes. Thanks for posting this I am really excited about this one, can't wait to try it.

So I racked mine 3 weeks after putting it in the primary. There was still activity, but I worry the ABV is going to be very low, because the gravity was quite low. My OG was 0.069 and at racking was 0.010. So I tossed in another 1/2 cup of honey. I wonder if this is due to the sour cran's I put in. I have had some really sweet cranberries and this juice was definitely not sweet.

MeadLover, can you comment on how sweet your fruit juice was and how strong your drink was in the end?

Thanks,