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Was unable to resist the temptation any longer... Cracked it open and gave my mead its first taste since I removed the oak from it... It has a sipping whiskey-like flavor to it. Burns in the back of the throat but only slightly so on the palate. No residual sweetness at all, really quite dry...

Have you considered adding some herbs to alter the color of the mead to a green color? Maybe something similar to the stuff used in absinthe?

Plus: the keg set up will make exposure to oxygen a non-issue. http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/kegging The keg set ups aren't too horribly expensive.

If money isn't too large an issue, you could consider sticking it in a keg, and putting it under a few PSI. It won't murder the yeast like you're suggesting, but it will have a high enough osmotic pressure to render the yeast inactive.

It's coming along quite nicely. The yeast has devoured all of the sugar content and it already tastes great, even without any aging. I racked it to secondary just last week with 8 lbs sliced apple (not so much for flavor, but for some tannins), and added some French oak Chips. Should be racking...

Don't aerate, the 1118 will be able to handle it as is... If it's a concern of yours, you could always rehydrate the 1118 in a separate container before pitching. Also, if it stays cloudy, try chilling it in the fridge overnight before you rack it again, that's worked for me in the past.

When you add the 1118, try adding a few raisins in the batch to add some nutrients, just make sure they don't have any preservatives in them!

If all else fails use Lavlin EC 1118. Its champagne yeast and will restart your stuck fermentation.... Which strain of yeast did you use for the brew in the first place? Enter in the strain on google and you can pull up the yeasts specs on temp ranges, alc tolerance, flocculence etc. I don't...

As long as you maintain it underneath the threshold you can use fruits to alter the mouthfeel/body (I'm currently planning on using about 8 lbs of peaches in a 5 gallon brew of Brochet once I hit the secondary, its also a nice way of adding to the longevity of the brew and altering the PH)

I'd imagine you could make a pretty decent Hypocras (Wine+Honey) with the blackberry honey. There's also the herbal route: Try making it with some black tea, or star anise... anything that can add to the complexity :D Maybe not adding berries, but adding some other elements that mix/pair very...

**update** So, I wound up using 2 crock pots, and a stainless steel pot. ( I don't have any thermometers that go above 220F, so please bear with me) Crock Pot A, 7 lbs honey: Cooked for 3 hours, got above 220F @ 2 hours. Never reached boil. Delicate notes of caramel and toffee, honey flavors...

That would be epic if you could add an enzyme into the primary that could allow caramelization w/I added heat... I wonder what would happen if you created a very acidic must, like a PH of 2, and then somewhat neutralized it before pitching the yeast ( or go alkaline then lower the PH)

No problem, I've never boiled honey before, so I won't have any reference points to fast burning, but I will let you know what I see today. (hoping for swarms of bees to hang outside my window all jealous like!)

Interesting, I'll go ahead on the crock pot, but just keep a close eye on it... While I've got the attention of some knowledgeable individuals such as yourselves I have a second question: on a chemical level, what's going on to my honey when it boils? I think intuitively that a heavy boil is...

First time attempting a brochet, and I'm going to be boiling the honey tomorrow. I realized that I have 15 lbs of honey to boil, and dont have a kettle big enough. So, I've decided to use my crock pot... Has anyone ever tried this/ do you think the temperature will get high enough to do the job...