Brewin_Bob
Well-Known Member
I read somewhere about some mead makers making a batch of mead on, or around, the day of their children's birth to be shared with that child upon their 21st birthday. Have any of you done this? How did they turn out?
I'm planning 2 meads. One will be an apple-cinnamon for my 9 year old daughter and the other will be a vanilla-peach for my yet-to-be-born daughter (due at the end of February). I'll be updating this thread (may be better as a blog/journal) with questions for the resident mead experts. I know in both of the meads, I want the cinnamon and peach flavors to be dominant. I'll bottle 1-3 bottles of each as well as smaller, "sampling" bottles to taste the progression as they each age till my daughters respectively turn 21. To be consistent, I'll mix each batch up 2 weeks after their respective birthdays. Again, I'll be posting questions (gonna have lots) and observations (read: pics) here. Thanks in advance for any feedback!
Ok, here's the recipe for now. I'd still like suggestions/comments. Many thanks to BigKahuna, Tusch, and Hightest!!
Mead Base
12 lbs. honey (likely be wildflower, but open to suggestions)
top off water to 3 gallons (little less than 2 gallons of water)
5g packet Lalvin D-47
Stage 1 nutrients - 2.7g nutrient and 2.7g DAP
Stage 2 nutrients - 1.7g nutrient and 1.7g DAP
Stage 3 nutrients - 1.1g nutrient and 1.1g DAP
est. OG 1.141
target FG 1.010
appx. ABV - 17.5%
Ferment to 1.010 and rack onto fruit. Let the mead sit on the fruit in the secondary for 3 months and then rack onto fresh fruit in the tertiary. Let the mead sit for another 3 months. Continue to rack, without anymore fruit additions, every 3 months until clear. Once clear, bottle some in 750ml bottles to continue to age until my daughters turn 21 (11 years and 21 years, respectively) and the rest in 375ml bottles for semi-regular/yearly sampling.
Fruit Additions
Apple Cinnamon - 5 lbs. Red Delicious apples, 8 3in. cinnamon sticks
Vanilla Peach - 5 lbs. peaches, 4 vanilla bean pods split (similar to how the vanilla beans were used in the Leap Year Meads that were posted)
I will use the same amounts for both secondary and tertiary additions. At first, I thought that this would be too much, but given the number of years that they're going to age, it should mellow out just fine. At least, I think so.
I'm planning 2 meads. One will be an apple-cinnamon for my 9 year old daughter and the other will be a vanilla-peach for my yet-to-be-born daughter (due at the end of February). I'll be updating this thread (may be better as a blog/journal) with questions for the resident mead experts. I know in both of the meads, I want the cinnamon and peach flavors to be dominant. I'll bottle 1-3 bottles of each as well as smaller, "sampling" bottles to taste the progression as they each age till my daughters respectively turn 21. To be consistent, I'll mix each batch up 2 weeks after their respective birthdays. Again, I'll be posting questions (gonna have lots) and observations (read: pics) here. Thanks in advance for any feedback!
Ok, here's the recipe for now. I'd still like suggestions/comments. Many thanks to BigKahuna, Tusch, and Hightest!!
Mead Base
12 lbs. honey (likely be wildflower, but open to suggestions)
top off water to 3 gallons (little less than 2 gallons of water)
5g packet Lalvin D-47
Stage 1 nutrients - 2.7g nutrient and 2.7g DAP
Stage 2 nutrients - 1.7g nutrient and 1.7g DAP
Stage 3 nutrients - 1.1g nutrient and 1.1g DAP
est. OG 1.141
target FG 1.010
appx. ABV - 17.5%
Ferment to 1.010 and rack onto fruit. Let the mead sit on the fruit in the secondary for 3 months and then rack onto fresh fruit in the tertiary. Let the mead sit for another 3 months. Continue to rack, without anymore fruit additions, every 3 months until clear. Once clear, bottle some in 750ml bottles to continue to age until my daughters turn 21 (11 years and 21 years, respectively) and the rest in 375ml bottles for semi-regular/yearly sampling.
Fruit Additions
Apple Cinnamon - 5 lbs. Red Delicious apples, 8 3in. cinnamon sticks
Vanilla Peach - 5 lbs. peaches, 4 vanilla bean pods split (similar to how the vanilla beans were used in the Leap Year Meads that were posted)
I will use the same amounts for both secondary and tertiary additions. At first, I thought that this would be too much, but given the number of years that they're going to age, it should mellow out just fine. At least, I think so.