I bought a one gallon fermenter, a rubber stopper, and an airlock. I have 3lbs of local Colorado honey and a can of Oregon blueberries in light syrup. I'm hoping to make an awesome blueberry mead. Any thoughts? Had anyone every tried this?
blueberry mead
- Thread starter Budzien
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I've been thinking of doing blueberry mead - blueberries seem to be in season and Costco has tons of them...
It would be easier to have input if we knew more about the process you're using.
With an OG of 1.122, it depends a lot on your yeast and procedure on how dry it's going to turn out. Normally I'd expect most yeasts to chew through all of that and leave you with a very dry FG.... but depending on which yeast you use, and if you don't aerate much or add any nutrient (I don't know if blueberries have much natural nutrient), then it might end up sweeter.
Good luck!
It would be easier to have input if we knew more about the process you're using.
With an OG of 1.122, it depends a lot on your yeast and procedure on how dry it's going to turn out. Normally I'd expect most yeasts to chew through all of that and leave you with a very dry FG.... but depending on which yeast you use, and if you don't aerate much or add any nutrient (I don't know if blueberries have much natural nutrient), then it might end up sweeter.
Good luck!
Added the 3# honey, the can of Oregon blueberries, yeast nutrients, yeast energizer, and Lavlin D 47 to a one gallon jug. Capped it and shook the hell outta it for a good 5 minutes. Then I put an airlock on and set it in the back of the brew cabinet.
Sounds good. I don't have any experience with D47, but I know many people here think it's a great yeast.
You might want to replace that airlock with a blowoff tube; a lot of folks on here find out the hard way when making a melomel for the first time that there can be a rather volcanic reaction once the ferment starts...and I mean blueberries all over the ceiling, walls and floor. Also, take care that your must doesn't go over about 68 degrees with D47, or you will have a "rocketfuel" taste to your mead that may or may not age out. The fermentation process itself can add 8 to 10 degrees over and above the room temp, so you may want to put a wet towel over your fermenter and put a fan on it.
LMFAO! The tube got clogged and the mead geysered out the top. Blueberries actually hit, and stuck, to the top of the cabinet. I think enough blew out to stop a second explosion. Will have to wait and see.
my blueberry batch developed a similar krausen (foam) but never showed any signs of volatility thankfully.. I also used D47. I guess I got lucky that my ferment didnt produce any off flavors since my ferment temp was 72*
I asked about capturing some blueberry flavor in the aged end product in a different thread and people suggested throwing in some blueberries in with some pectolase in the secondary after racking it off the lees/sediments.
They suggest freezing and thawing the fruit first though . I put some in my primary because I wanted a strong color too. Once it clarifies a bit, I am going to rack it onto some new fruit and I hope it gives it a good blueberry flavor and nose.
Happy brewing!
I asked about capturing some blueberry flavor in the aged end product in a different thread and people suggested throwing in some blueberries in with some pectolase in the secondary after racking it off the lees/sediments.
They suggest freezing and thawing the fruit first though . I put some in my primary because I wanted a strong color too. Once it clarifies a bit, I am going to rack it onto some new fruit and I hope it gives it a good blueberry flavor and nose.
Happy brewing!
Oh yeah, adding more blueberries into secondary is crucial if you want any blueberry taste to it; the ferment will blow the aroma and flavors right out of the airlock; freezing and thawing the fruit (not sure on the hows and whys of this) changes the structure of the fruit so that more of the flavor extracts out. In secondary, what I do is buy some knee high nylons, soak them in sanitizer, put the thawed berries in one (do this over a bowl to catch juice) then crush them a little bit with my hands so the must can get at the good stuff inside then stuff the nylon (after knotting the end of it) into the carboy and pour the juice you caught in the bowl from crushing in as well. This'll give you some blueberry flavor and help the color tremendously too.
Well, guess it's safe to say your ferment kicked in! :rockin: There's a good reason for the nylon right there; you wouldn't have berries clogging up your tube! I'd suggest getting one of those 6.5 gallon ferment buckets for your next one, even if it's only a gallon you're doing. One, it helps with aerating til the 1/3 sugar break ... just throw a sanitized towel over the mouth of the bucket; two, you won't have geysering going on like you just experienced, and three, it's a heck of a lot easier to remove your fruit filled nylon when you go to rack to secondary. Once you hit the 1/3 or 2/3 sugar break (depends on who you talk to), take off the towel, slap on the lid with the airlock and wait out the rest of the ferment.
