Input requested...

Hey all. I have a 5 gallon batch of melomel that just completed ferment. I started the batch off as a traditional show mead and after ferment was all but finished I added 4 lbs of a fruit mixture of sliced strawberries, mangos, peaches, and pineapples and left it in for 1.5-2 weeks.

I sampled it today as I racked off of the fruit. It was dry and gravity read 1.002. I needed to top off when I racked back into a 5 gallon glass carboy for bulk aging so I got into a stash of really sweet mead I bottled in December last year (gravity was 1.040). Sweet-sweet-sweet!

I used 3 champagne bottles of the sweet stuff to top off the 5 gallons of relatively dry melomel. What overall effect do you think this will have on this batch if I bottle mid-Seprember???

Thanks for your oppinions in advance.

Mike

Hello Mike,
To give you any useful input, we may need to know more about both batches. What was the SG of the current batch (and the ABV)? What yeast are you using? What is the ABV of the mead you added? Depending on what you have, sugars in the old mead that you just topped up with may or may not ferment.

Medsen

MedsenFey--This batch went dry (1.002). It started with a gravity of 1.106. The really sweet stuff I used to top up with only fermented down to 1.040. I had used 20 lbs of honey in that one and no SNA.

I used D47 in both of the batches. The ABV of this most current batch was at ar a little above 15%. The sweeter batch was around 12%.

After adding the fruit, The gravity went up to 1.004. I just racked off of the fruit yesterday and there is some activity going on at this point. I don't know if it has restarted ferment or if it is just degassing. Hold on I will check the gravity... Actually right now it is showing a reading of 1.008! There are some tiny bits of fruit flesh in the sample, but I assume the added sugar from both the fruit and the sweeter mead made most of the difference.

Taste at this point--Way sweeter than before. Tastes very young obviously, but not bad. It seems all went well. Hydrometer shows 1% PABV. The fruit is coming through surprisingly well. If some of this sweetness ferments out I would be happy, I don't necessarily want it as dry as a bone though.

What do you think this will do from here???

Thanks

Mike

It is likely that the alcohol level is high enough that fermentation will not kick up again, but you'll have to watch if for a few weeks to be certain. It sounds like that blend should work well.

Thanks Medsen. I'll keep an eye on it for a bit. I plan on letting it bulk age for a few months anyway before bottling.

Just a quick update on this batch of melomel... I bottled it up about a week ago. I popped open a bottle last night and I really like it. The fruits seem to have blended quite well and it has a smooth flavor. The ABV is right around 17%.

After adding the fruit and letting it sit in there and topping off with some really sweet mead from a previous batch gravity is at 1.004 which I think is great. I gave a couple of friends a bottle and I'm anxiously waiting on their reviews. Either way, I'll be trying to duplicate this one.

Thanks for the input along the way.

Mike