khiddy
Well-Known Member
Well, my first mead is in the fermenter jar, and we'll see how it turns out in four to six months or so!
I cobbled together a recipe based on stuff I've read here and on other forums, as well as two books (Making Wild Wines & Meads and The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible). Santa should be bringing me a copy of Ken Schramm's Compleat Meadmaker book, so I haven't had a chance to read through that yet, but I hope I didn't screw anything up in this first attempt. Here's the recipe:
46oz Raw Colorado Wildflower Honey
16oz Montana Clover Honey
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange, fresh squeezed
4 teabags of Black Orange Spice Tea
2 Allspice berries
1tsp Pectic Enzyme
1tsp Fermax Yeast Nutrient
1 packet Lalvin EC-1118, rehydrated in 1 cup Orange Juice (reconstituted from frozen concentrate)
Water to top up to 2 gallons
I brought ~1 gallon water to a boil, then poured it into a large stainless steel stockpot and steeped the teabags for 15 minutes, adding the allspice berries as well. When the weak tea had cooled to ~165, I began adding the honey, starting with the crystallized clover honey and then the wildflower honey. The temperature by the time I was done stirring in the honey was down to ~145. Since I wasn't going to use campden tablets, I used the extended warming technique referenced in Malkore's AOM and let the must sit warm for 20 minutes or so while I rehydrated the yeast in the 100*F OJ.
When the must had cooled to ~130*F, I added the pectic enzyme and the yeast nutrient, then sanitized a strainer/funnel and poured the mixture into the fermenter (which had also been sanitized with Star San). Additional cold water was added to top up to 2 gallons. When the must was down to ~78*F, I pitched the yeast (which was at 81*F). This will sit in my fermentation room at ~63*F until signs of primary fermentation subside (3-4 weeks, I figure), then I'll rack into two 1 gallon carboys, adding a cinammon stick to one and leaving the other plain.
Comments? How does it look?
I cobbled together a recipe based on stuff I've read here and on other forums, as well as two books (Making Wild Wines & Meads and The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible). Santa should be bringing me a copy of Ken Schramm's Compleat Meadmaker book, so I haven't had a chance to read through that yet, but I hope I didn't screw anything up in this first attempt. Here's the recipe:
46oz Raw Colorado Wildflower Honey
16oz Montana Clover Honey
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange, fresh squeezed
4 teabags of Black Orange Spice Tea
2 Allspice berries
1tsp Pectic Enzyme
1tsp Fermax Yeast Nutrient
1 packet Lalvin EC-1118, rehydrated in 1 cup Orange Juice (reconstituted from frozen concentrate)
Water to top up to 2 gallons
I brought ~1 gallon water to a boil, then poured it into a large stainless steel stockpot and steeped the teabags for 15 minutes, adding the allspice berries as well. When the weak tea had cooled to ~165, I began adding the honey, starting with the crystallized clover honey and then the wildflower honey. The temperature by the time I was done stirring in the honey was down to ~145. Since I wasn't going to use campden tablets, I used the extended warming technique referenced in Malkore's AOM and let the must sit warm for 20 minutes or so while I rehydrated the yeast in the 100*F OJ.
When the must had cooled to ~130*F, I added the pectic enzyme and the yeast nutrient, then sanitized a strainer/funnel and poured the mixture into the fermenter (which had also been sanitized with Star San). Additional cold water was added to top up to 2 gallons. When the must was down to ~78*F, I pitched the yeast (which was at 81*F). This will sit in my fermentation room at ~63*F until signs of primary fermentation subside (3-4 weeks, I figure), then I'll rack into two 1 gallon carboys, adding a cinammon stick to one and leaving the other plain.
Comments? How does it look?
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