I'm trying to formulate a plan for my 25th Birthday Mead Recipe. I would like to brew a batch (10 or 15 gallons) of something strong and unique that I will age until my 50th birthday. I have thought about Charlie Papazian's Prickly Pear Fruit Mead as a candidate. However, I think I would rather just brew a 5-gallon batch of that this year (and every other year I can get my hands on prickly pear) separate from this project.
Some thoughts/possibilities to incorporate into my 25-year-old Mead project:
1. Right now I have a 5 gallon batch of Carrot Blossom Honey mead that is aging, and it's quite amazing. I also happen to have another 18 lbs of this honey waiting for another batch that could be used for this project. Carrot Blossom Honey is dark amber in color and has spicy flavors that are hard to fully describe.
2. I want to put at least 10 gallons of this into a refurbished oak barrel to age for up to 5 years, if there is any left over that doesn't fit in the barrel I will just bottle and age until my 30th for a "sampling."
Here are a couple recipe ideas, I was hoping for some input on honey selection and recipe and such. I think I would use either Orange Blossom or Sage Blossom honey as the base (I have use Orange blossom in the past with good results, but have yet to use Sage Blossom - I read that it is supposed to have a more intense "honey" flavor than most others). And then add in one or two more uniquely flavored honeys. I want to get the abv up to 18%, but still have some sweetness, so shooting for an original gravity of 1.140 and sweeten as necessary.
Recipe 1: (15 gallons)
30 lbs Sage Blossom Honey
18 lbs Carrot Blossom Honey
6 lbs Blackberry Honey
Recipe 2: (15 gallons)
24 lbs Orange Blossom Honey
18 lbs Carrot Blossom Honey
12 lbs Sage Blossom Honey
6 lbs Buckwheat Honey
Thanks for the help!
Oh, and my birthday is in October, so I really need to figure this out in the next couple of months in order to buy the honey and prepare, just to give you a timetable.
I'm also interested in other honeys, so any info on the taste (in meads) or where to get them would be helpful:
* Blueberry Honey
* Alfalfa Honey
* Apple Blossom
* Huckleberry Honey
* Desert Blossom Honey
Some thoughts/possibilities to incorporate into my 25-year-old Mead project:
1. Right now I have a 5 gallon batch of Carrot Blossom Honey mead that is aging, and it's quite amazing. I also happen to have another 18 lbs of this honey waiting for another batch that could be used for this project. Carrot Blossom Honey is dark amber in color and has spicy flavors that are hard to fully describe.
2. I want to put at least 10 gallons of this into a refurbished oak barrel to age for up to 5 years, if there is any left over that doesn't fit in the barrel I will just bottle and age until my 30th for a "sampling."
Here are a couple recipe ideas, I was hoping for some input on honey selection and recipe and such. I think I would use either Orange Blossom or Sage Blossom honey as the base (I have use Orange blossom in the past with good results, but have yet to use Sage Blossom - I read that it is supposed to have a more intense "honey" flavor than most others). And then add in one or two more uniquely flavored honeys. I want to get the abv up to 18%, but still have some sweetness, so shooting for an original gravity of 1.140 and sweeten as necessary.
Recipe 1: (15 gallons)
30 lbs Sage Blossom Honey
18 lbs Carrot Blossom Honey
6 lbs Blackberry Honey
Recipe 2: (15 gallons)
24 lbs Orange Blossom Honey
18 lbs Carrot Blossom Honey
12 lbs Sage Blossom Honey
6 lbs Buckwheat Honey
Thanks for the help!
Oh, and my birthday is in October, so I really need to figure this out in the next couple of months in order to buy the honey and prepare, just to give you a timetable.
I'm also interested in other honeys, so any info on the taste (in meads) or where to get them would be helpful:
* Blueberry Honey
* Alfalfa Honey
* Apple Blossom
* Huckleberry Honey
* Desert Blossom Honey