GROUP BREW: Strawberry Mead

you'll love it..and once you taste it when you rack it into a secondary..you'll NOT want to age it all winter....you'll want to drink it up...trust me.

Also...I see that you cut down the ingredients to make a 5 gallon batch..my suggestion to you is that you make the full 6.5 gallon batch..because once you remove all the sludge and berry pulp..you'll end up with right at 5 gallons of finished product. If you start out at 5 gallons only..you are gonng end up under 4 gallons of final product.

Dan

I stepped it up to a 6.5 gal batch-
12# wildflower
5# clover
15# whole frozen strawberries
71B Narbonne

waiting overnight for the campden to work and the must to warm up a bit.

the problem is, the must is almost right to the top of my bucket, and I'm afraid that fermentation will send it over the top. I noticed comments about laying a towel over the top of it for the first couple of days- Is it okay if the towel touches the top of the must? otherwise, I'm not sure how I will cover this batch.

yep..use a towel you don't care about...my towel I put over the bucket pretty much the entire ferment.....it was one there until my ferment got down to about 1.024 for a SG....I kept it on by using an elactic hair bungee from my wife...but the towel still sagged a bit, and had little bits of strawberry crud on it when it was all said and done so don't worry about that..the towel is really there just to keep little "nasties" out of your must.

Dan

So, I'm finally getting around to making this -- mixed up everything and will pitch tomorrow - just curious, how bad does this krausen? I know to expect a bunch of foam during additions, but just wondering how much of a mess I'll make in my 7 gallon bucket

well do NOT put a lid and airlock on at all...you'll have a geyser....it will foam, and bubble and produce alot of "head" as you "punch the cap" everyday..just loosely cover with a lint free cloth, and keep the entire fermenter in your bathtub..It is a very messy ferment..but it is totally worth it in the final product.

Dan

flyweed said:

well do NOT put a lid and airlock on at all...you'll have a geyser....it will foam, and bubble and produce alot of "head" as you "punch the cap" everyday..just loosely cover with a lint free cloth, and keep the entire fermenter in your bathtub..It is a very messy ferment..but it is totally worth it in the final product.

Dan

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Thanks Dan. That'll be my plan...

I'm down to 1.070 already. Will probably hit it with SNA #3 tomorrow....

It smells amazing whenever you punch that cap!

I made a batch of this last weekend and so far I am very happy. The hot alcohol is up front as it should be at this point. I am excited to see the finished product.

This is my first mead and I opted for a bucket but I am having trouble seeing where a good point to stop siphoning when I rack. Any suggestions? This is when I wish i had a BB or glass carboy handy.

no worries..I use a bucket for this one all time, because with a carboy or BB you can't effectively punch the cap as you can with a bucket.

Anyway...do you have a spigot on your bucket? You can just use that to siphon off into secondary..or use a racking cane.and it'll help to not suck up as much sludge either.

either way, you'll leave alot of the junk behind..but you'll still need to let it settle alot when it's in the secondary as well.

HTH

I dont have a spigot in this bucket but that may be what I use in the future. I have enjoyed using the bucket with the exception of one day where i squeezed the drill trigger a little too hard during degassing (glad I had it in the tub!)

Once the mead has finished fermenting out I plan to rack, cold crash, and rack again into a keg for aging. Have you or anyone else cold crashed this and had good results?

Good lord - does this stuff ever clear? It's sitting in the better bottle right now, but I should probably rack again as there's a bunch more lees; then top off and bulk age...

Ok, i am a new meader and have a batch of JOAM going now, but his sounds to good to pass up.I just have a couple of questions. What are these 2 things? Fermaid-K & DAP? and the directions say to add nutrients like normal. I have read a lot about mead but have not figured out the schedule. Are the nutients Fermaid-K & DAP? My LHBS is over a our away and I hope that I have bought all the stuff to make a mead like this.

Knight03 said:

Ok, i am a new meader and have a batch of JOAM going now, but his sounds to good to pass up.I just have a couple of questions. What are these 2 things? Fermaid-K & DAP? and the directions say to add nutrients like normal. I have read a lot about mead but have not figured out the schedule. Are the nutients Fermaid-K & DAP? My LHBS is over a our away and I hope that I have bought all the stuff to make a mead like this.

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DAP is also known as "yeast nutrient" - and DAP stands for Di-ammonium Phospate

Fermaid K is also known as "yeast nutrient" - and contains DAP, and a bunch of other stuff....

Hence the problem with just using the term "yeast nutrient."

Have your read hightest's FAQ's in the mead forum here? He breaks it down really well....

I try to make the distinction between DAP and "nutrient" - and then of course, there is also "energizer" marketed....

If you really want to get into mead - I strongly recommend Ken Schramm's book "The Compleat Meadmaker" - it's an awesome book and covers a lot of this...

So I have 1 lb of Fermax yeast Nutrient = fermaid K?
1oz yeast energizer = DAP?
I have Making Wild wines and meads by Vragas and Gulling. But it talks of Acid blend and pectic enzymes and most of the recipes ssay to use Chanpagne yeast? Good or bad idea?
Sorry to hijack the thread.

Knight03 said:

So I have 1 lb of Fermax yeast Nutrient = fermaid K?

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likely.

Knight03 said:

1oz yeast energizer = DAP?

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Nope. Energizer is usually more complex than just DAP.

You can literally buy DAP, Fermax, Fermaid K, Yeast Nutrient, Yeast Energizer; and they all may be sorta different....

Hence the reason to read the ingredients, read Schramm's book, and read hightest's FAQs.

Knight03 said:

I have Making Wild wines and meads by Vragas and Gulling. But it talks of Acid blend and pectic enzymes and most of the recipes ssay to use Chanpagne yeast? Good or bad idea?
Sorry to hijack the thread.

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Acid blend is something that can be used at various times in the process to adjust the acidity of the mead.

Pectin enzyme is only needed if you use fruits (and many argue it's not needed if you don't boil the fruit) - it helps with clarity; won't affect the taste, etc...

Yeast choices abound....

EC1118 is a fast, strong yeast that has a high ABV tolerance.

D47 is good one for fruits

KV1116 makes a great wine

There's lots of info out there - I strongly recommend (again) Schramm's book....

Thanks. Off to read some more and plan a trip to my LHBS

1116 is THE preferred yeast for this recipe..as it really ups the alcohol content in this mead, yet still lets almost ALL of the great strawberry taste and flavor and aroma come through to the end. I would not want to use any other.

I am on my 3rd 5 gallon batch of this stuff now.

I made mine with dry mead yeast and am happy with the results. Sweet may turn out better though. I don mind as I can always back sweeten.

i am not sure how much "clearer" it will get. Anyone cold crash theirs? I have had it dry and sweet, room temp and cold. The only real preference I have found so far is having it cold.

I am curious how this will turn out over time. I plan on bottling this weekend.

Strawberry Mead 5 gal
Started 7/18/10
Rack 8/11/10
Rack 12/18/10 1.004
Degas 1/15/11



•Yeast: d-47 (2 packets)
•3 Gallon Spring Water
•15 pounds honey
•8 pounds Strawberries
•The juice from 3 lemon
•The juice from 3 lime
•2.5 teaspoons of yeast energizer
•5 teaspoon of yeast nutrient

I am going to jump in on this one too.... It just sounds like such a delicious recipe batch that I gotta do it!

Thanks

I plan to make this as my second mead. But I have a question regarding the OG/FG. Per the OP, this is supposed to start out at 1.14-1.15 before fruit and then 1.125-1.130 after fruit. It is supposed to finish at 1.015-1.020.

Since we are using an 18% ABV tolerant yeast shouldn't the yeast just keep going until they either run out of sugar or hit 18% ABV, whichever comes first? Starting at 1.130 and finishing all the way down to 1.000 doesn't hit 18% so why does the yeast stop at 1.015-1.020?

Mine fermented down to 1.005 by the time I racked. I haven't checked it recently to see what it's at....which if it started at 1.140, is close to 18%...

AZ_IPA said:

Mine fermented down to 1.005 by the time I racked. I haven't checked it recently to see what it's at....which if it started at 1.140, is close to 18%...

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That's exactly what I would have expected which is why I was wondering how it's supposed to stop at 1.015-1.020 when the OG is ~1.13 after adding the fruit.

When racking this from primary to secondary could you just pour the mead through a screen to help seperate the mead from the strawberry's?

Gatoreye said:

When racking this from primary to secondary could you just pour the mead through a screen to help seperate the mead from the strawberry's?

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You really don't want to add oxygen at that point or you'd oxidize the heck out of the mead...

I pitched my yeast 2 days ago, yesterday I added my nutrients got a little foam. This morning I punched it down and started stirring and this stuff started coming unglued........foam everywhere, what a mess. I'm going to have cleaning supplies ready tonight when I add the last of the nutrients.

Next time I'm gonna split everything in half and use 2 buckets intil it's ready to rack.

It sure does smell good.:rockin:

Took a gravity reading and it was already down to 1.02 so I racked it into a glass carboy. Racking it off the berries wasn't nearly as bad as it looked but it was a sticky mess around the bucket from it over flowing a couple of times. It smelled so good I had to shoo my littlest one away, she kept trying to grab a berry out of the bucket. Still getting good activity from the air lock. Now the waiting begins.

The lee's are dropping and looks like I'll be racking again soon.

With the amount of berry sludge and lee's that will be racked off, what should I top up with?

Looks like there will be too much space to top up with all water.

Bottled 4/17/11. Best mead!
I'm ready to do this one again this summer.

may try this one myself
always been planing a mead

Yeh sounds good I was too late to start last 1 but if I can find strawberrys at good price I'm in this time

I just racked mine after 8 months of bulk aging- it came out at .998. I decided to put it on five more pounds of strawberries to give it an extra boost of that flavor.
I stole a little bit for tasting and I'm amazed. It still has quite a bit of alcohol burn but the strawberry shines through nicely. I can't wait until after it sits on the fruit for a while.

SpanishCastleAle said:

I plan to make this as my second mead. But I have a question regarding the OG/FG. Per the OP, this is supposed to start out at 1.14-1.15 before fruit and then 1.125-1.130 after fruit. It is supposed to finish at 1.015-1.020.

Since we are using an 18% ABV tolerant yeast shouldn't the yeast just keep going until they either run out of sugar or hit 18% ABV, whichever comes first? Starting at 1.130 and finishing all the way down to 1.000 doesn't hit 18% so why does the yeast stop at 1.015-1.020?

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Finally got around to making this about 3 weeks ago, racked it over the weekend. As expected, FG was 0.996. I still don't get how this is supposed to finish so much higher using 18% tolerant yeast.

it's suppose to finish at about 1.020 or 1.015 because you are SUPPOSE to stop it...this bit of info was left out, because this recipe isn't intended to be a step by step guide for new mazers....but rather people who have brewed many meads, and understand that this particular yeast will take it to dryness, but if the directions say take it down to 1.015...you will need to cold crash at that S.G.

SFYeti - Yep...even down around 1.000 it'll still taste Great...but this stuff is unbeatable at about 1.015..it is just SOOOOO GOOD. You should also try the same recipe with fresh raspberries. YUM YUM

Dan

flyweed said:

it's suppose to finish at about 1.020 or 1.015 because you are SUPPOSE to stop it...this bit of info was left out, because this recipe isn't intended to be a step by step guide for new mazers....but rather people who have brewed many meads, and understand that this particular yeast will take it to dryness, but if the directions say take it down to 1.015...you will need to cold crash at that S.G.

SFYeti - Yep...even down around 1.000 it'll still taste Great...but this stuff is unbeatable at about 1.015..it is just SOOOOO GOOD. You should also try the same recipe with fresh raspberries. YUM YUM

Dan

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I believe some different verbage would help clear things up

flyweed said:

Fements down to about 1.015 - 1.020...then you can rack into secondary and bulk age for at least 6 months.

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Maybe put to "ferment it down to 1.015 and cold crash/stabilize blah blah" ?

I made it dry and am happy with the results so far. It is still rather young but drinkable to me. I filled about 12 beer bottles with it so that I wouldnt feel too bad about sampling over time. (1 for each month till i reached a year)

Mine fermented so fast I didn't even catch it before it got down to 1.005!

I have it kegged right now and it's good stuff with a little fizz to it.

Daugenet...you are right..I should have corrected that....I wish the EDIT function would work...but it only lets you edit for so long..then the edit option is gone..so I couldn't go back and add that into my first post.

But you are correct..this stuff is very drinkable young..but a bit hot...it improves every week with age..trust me.

AZ - yeah..she goes quickly..I took gravity readings twice a day after I pitched the yeast...each time I punched the cap, I'd pull a thief full and test SG.....I took her down to 1.020...racked into secondary...then let that sit for I can't remember how long..until it hit about 1.012...and then into a tertiary and into the fridge to cold crash and bulk age......after it cleared I siphoned into a 5 gallon corny...put the co2 on and carbed it up..and served it....GOOOOOOODDD STUFF!!!!

I have now tried this one with fresh Raspberries too...give it a try..it's also GOOOOOD

Dan

So I could actually for a third, place in a corny in my fridge and just cold crash it until I was ready to throw it in the kegerator I take it. Would I need to worry about releasing the pressure etc while its in the fridge?

SpanishCastleAle said:

I plan to make this as my second mead. But I have a question regarding the OG/FG. Per the OP, this is supposed to start out at 1.14-1.15 before fruit and then 1.125-1.130 after fruit. It is supposed to finish at 1.015-1.020.

Since we are using an 18% ABV tolerant yeast shouldn't the yeast just keep going until they either run out of sugar or hit 18% ABV, whichever comes first? Starting at 1.130 and finishing all the way down to 1.000 doesn't hit 18% so why does the yeast stop at 1.015-1.020?

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I just wish that, in the three months between making the post above and actually making my Strawberry mead, someone could have posted what you did below flyweed.

flyweed said:

it's suppose to finish at about 1.020 or 1.015 because you are SUPPOSE to stop it...this bit of info was left out, because this recipe isn't intended to be a step by step guide for new mazers....but rather people who have brewed many meads, and understand that this particular yeast will take it to dryness, but if the directions say take it down to 1.015...you will need to cold crash at that S.G.

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I understood that it should take it to dryness but the conspicuous lack of any mention of stopping it, combined with no answer for my question above made me think it was somehow magically supposed to stop or something. I could have easily done this but until you posted the above there was zero mention of it in this thread (unless I missed it, very possible). Also, many of the experienced mazers that post here say they much prefer to NOT try to stop fermentations but to just back-sweeten. So the combination of all the above made it seem obvious to just let it go. I can easily back-sweeten though, it's not like it's a huge deal.

I'm surprised how clear mine is already after only ~1 month. My first mead, a Traditional brewed early March, isn't much clearer. Both taste good already but I have so much beer to drink plus some extra mead leftover from a competition I can wait.

flyweed said:

I have now tried this one with fresh Raspberries too...give it a try..it's also GOOOOOD

Dan

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I was considering doing another soon with peaches. I'm trying to use fruits that are somewhat local. I got about 18# of raw OB honey that I need to use up and my Trad Mead should be ready to come out of that carboy (I only have two 3 gal carboys).