Just want to share

Just wanted to share a picture of my current batch, from left to right

5 gallons holiday spica methelgin: 12 allspice berries, 6 cinnamon sticks, 3 vanilla beans, 3lbs soybean/alfalfa/clover honey, 8 lbs goldenrod honey, Red Star Cote Des Blanc
5.5 gallons grapefruit melomel: 21 lbs soybean/alfalfa/clover honey, 6.5 lbs grapefruit, Lalvin 71-B
5.5 gallons peach melomel: 14lbs soybean/alfalfa/clover honey, Lalvin D-47
5.5 gallons goldenrod mead: 16lbs goldenrod honey, wyeast sweet mead yeast, repitched with red star montrachet
5 gallons cherry melomel (planned): 19lbs soybean/alfalfa/clover honey, Lalvin EC-1118, 6-7lbs cherries when they come in season

the respective ABVs for each are 13.4%, 19.6% (before adding fruit), 13.9% (before adding fruit), 16.9%, and 13.6%

Wow, impressive!!!

So there's no acidity issues in using grapefruit?

Wow, that really is impressive. I take it you are going for a few sweet meads in there? They sound tasty!

That's one heck of an investment....You're wise beyond your years.

Keep posting these picks as they begin to clear and at racking and such. I would love to hear tasting notes.
Will the D-47 leave sweet mead when you are finished at 14%? I'm ready to start a batch tonight with that very yeast...and I'm hoping to bust the barrier and end up sweet.

Actually all of these except the cherry are what I'd call medium, not overly sweet, not overly dry.

tooomanycolors said:

5.5 gallons goldenrod mead: 16lbs goldenrod honey, wyeast sweet mead yeast, repitched with red star montrachet

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May I ask why you repitched?

I have a mead going with Wyeast Sweet Mead and have found it to be the slowest fermenting yeast I've ever encountered. I've been considering repitching with another yeast, suggestions?

Toomanycolours, I hate you and love you at the same time.

Joining these forums was a bad idea for me... I'm a jealous one.

I repitched because the wyeast I had was dead so i repitched and now it has a completely different profile

I recommend milk crates for those carboys. I will not transport a full carboy without one.

tooomanycolors said:

Actually all of these except the cherry are what I'd call medium, not overly sweet, not overly dry.

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post the OG's and current SG readings.

Since my roommate had to post here are the gravity readings:

Holiday Spice OG: 1.099 SG: 1.000 on 3/2/2008 pitched 2/1/2008
Grapefruit OG: 1.157 SG: 1.016 on 4/6/2008 pitched 2/1/2008
Peach OG: 1.105 SG: 1.003 on 4/6/2008 pitched 2/1/2008
Goldenrod OG: 1.124 SG: 1.001 on 4/6/2008 pitched 1/29/2008
Cherry OG: 1.139 SG: 1.038 on 4/16/2008 pitched 1/30/2008

OK so the plan changed slightly, since cherries still arent in season and since walmart had 1lb of fresh strawberries for $1.50, I bought 6 pounds of strawberries for the mead that I was planning on using with cherries.

I was planning on making a starwberry mead/melomel. Just a 1 Gal. batch to try. Let me know how that goes. I can get strawberries for the same price at my Walmart. I guess I only 1 lb. though.

couldnt figure out how to delete, sorry

Added 6lbs strawberries either halved or quartered depending on size, 26 Apr 08.
SG= 1.036, after pitching twice with EC-1118 on 30 Jan 08 and sometime in february.



sorry about the grainy picture

Updates on my projects, as notes the strawberry is well on its way to be a decent dessert mead. the goldenrod is kinda tart and dry, the peach is in need of definate help and will probably be racked onto a few pounds of canned peaches (yeah i need some suggestions for this one), the grapefruit definately has a nose and taste of grapefruits, think grapefruit juice minus some tartness in my opinion very enjoyable in moderation, and the spice mead has a nose and body on cinnamon, i thought of pumpkin pie when I tasted it, also due to the allspice which contributed alot of nutmeg to me.

Now after reading or skipping the reading the pictures:

Getting ready to bottle some, maybe as soon as tomorrow

I bet those are going to be really fine after they've aged. Kudos! How long are you going to let them sit before tremptation gets the better of you?

Ize

is that a vanilla bean floating in there with Peaches?

So..... How do you get the grapefruit wedges out of the carboy?

1. Not long on the strawberry, and well see as it goes for aging
2. 3 vanilla beans
3. Pray and shake just like JAOM

The strawberry melomel just gave birth to 20 750ml bottles and 1 375ml bottle...Im so proud

wow they all look great. I like how the strawberries lost alot of color when they fell to the bottom. im guessing that means a great flavor.

The holiday spice mead gave birth to 20.5 bottles two nights ago...Im such a happy father at the moment.

Who will pop next?

tooomanycolors said:

Who will pop next?

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My question is what are you brewing back in those empty carboys?

gpogo said:

I have a mead going with Wyeast Sweet Mead and have found it to be the slowest fermenting yeast I've ever encountered. I've been considering repitching with another yeast, suggestions?

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You're not kidding! My brother is making a dry mead right now with the Wyeast dry mead yeast, and it has been fermenting solid for 8 months No joke still chugging away! I think it is going to be very good though, our half way tasting was very promising!

I think I... I think I love you.

I've been thinking about doing something like this, I just discovered an organic market that has buckwheat, orange blossom, clover, and wildflower honeys all $12/5 lbs and tupelo for $17/5 lbs... those are the best prices I've seen outside of costco, and costco only has clover.

those look delicious

In the strawberry one, my roomie z987k has one of his beers in secondary, and the spice one has 5gallons of cider goin.

I have a question, more of a request for input, anyway Im getting ready to bottle something and was thinking what about a belgian white style mead using a trappist type ale yeast and adding orange zest and corriander to the must.

Anyone have an idea on this either way is good input for me.

Thanks

tooomanycolors said:

I have a question, more of a request for input, anyway Im getting ready to bottle something and was thinking what about a belgian white style mead using a trappist type ale yeast and adding orange zest and corriander to the must.

Anyone have an idea on this either way is good input for me.

Thanks

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You're asking US question??? Between you and bigkahuna, you two are the most experimental mead makers on this forum...and you want input from us???

It sounds interesting...DO a 1 gallon test batch if you are not sure.

Reading your idea I was thinking more of a mead/tripel, with some Belgian Candy Sugar...or even plain Brown maybe...something that would add a bit of carmelness to it.

tooomanycolors said:

I have a question, more of a request for input, anyway Im getting ready to bottle something and was thinking what about a belgian white style mead using a trappist type ale yeast and adding orange zest and corriander to the must.

Anyone have an idea on this either way is good input for me.

Thanks

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Do a little mash, add some light bittering hops and call it a Braggot!
Mash like...4# of 2row, (3.3# can of extract)
maybe...1 oz of Cascades?
The citrus and Coriander would go great!
Make sure and start a new thread if and when you get going on this.

So what would be your recommendation on amount of honey?

I was thinking maybe 12# of clover then top off with the cooled mash and fill to 5 gallons?

I'm posting my response to your new thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=73158

I have come to a realization...actually using cut oranges and grapefruits sucks big time.

Anyway I racked the grapefruit mead off the fruit and stabilized it tonight, it should hopefully reclear in a couple days and then it will be ready to bottle.

tooomanycolors said:

it should hopefully reclear in a couple days and then it will be ready to bottle.

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Once I made a mess of my mead with oranges in it (Stirred the crap out of it while racking)....5 weeks in the basement to clear.
I hope you have better luck.

Oh I hope mine clears by the weekend, it is now holding up my braggot project.

on a side note I finally bought beersmith.

Just bottled the Grapefruit, 23 750ml bottles

I now just use the juice and the rinds, just takes to long and is a real pain using the entire fruit. Seems to condition quicker without the white pith(sp?).

BigKahuna said:

That's one heck of an investment....You're wise beyond your years.

Keep posting these picks as they begin to clear and at racking and such. I would love to hear tasting notes.
Will the D-47 leave sweet mead when you are finished at 14%? I'm ready to start a batch tonight with that very yeast...and I'm hoping to bust the barrier and end up sweet.

Click to expand...

I just reread some of these and the D-47 has dropped to 1.000 so def not sweet