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brauhausjoe

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I am new to mead making, I have brewed up one five gallon batch and it came out well. I would like to test out different flavors. Could I: brew up a 5 gallon batch, pitch the yeast, stir, and then divide up into my one gallon jugs with different flavors? I have seen several 1 gallon recipes, but I have not seen making one 5 gallon and then dividing it up. Is there a reason I should not do it this way? As always, any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Yes, you can easily do that. There is a few posts about folks different experiments in the mead forum.

Ok, BigKahuna, your turn to jump in on this.
 
Your wish is my command.

Actually, I don't have a lot of input here other than just to encourage you to DO IT! There is a great deal about flavor compounds to be learned by doing this, as well as keeping true to the scientific "control Group" method. You will know exactly what each addition did to the flavor, because the base of all of them will be the same.
 
Yes you can....Go watch the basic brewing video podcasts on the Mead experiment.

http://cdn1.libsyn.com/basicbrewing...02&nva=20080811225202&t=0f36908901693b867955c

Start above, then go to the website for the rest of them...http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=video

Have fun experimenting!!!

Oh I will...

Exactly!! Thanks! I did not think it would be a problem, but I figured I would ask the pros. I am planing to give Vanilla, Tamarindo, Logan Berry, Strawberry and Peach. I will keep you guys posted...brewing starts this week.

Thanks Again
 
I am planning on doing the same thing only blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, maybe a combination, and a traditional. I was thinking using a clover honey as the base because I don't know where to get good honey at a decent price around where I live. Should clover honey work fine?
 
Oh I will...

Exactly!! Thanks! I did not think it would be a problem, but I figured I would ask the pros. I am planing to give Vanilla, Tamarindo, Logan Berry, Strawberry and Peach. I will keep you guys posted...brewing starts this week.

Thanks Again

Hi brauhausjoe: I was curious as to the tamarindo you mentioned. Is that an extract, or just raw tamarind pulp/pods? also, where do you get it? I've been contemplating use of tamarind in meads for a while now, but it's not a common item anywhere I've looked. Any suggestions as to where I can find it? Thanks in advance, GF. :)
 
This is what I am going to do: bring 2 ½ gallons of water to ~185 degrees stir in 12 pounds of honey, 5 tsp Acid blend, 2 tsp Pectic Enzyme, 1 tsp wine tannin, and 5 tsp yeast nutrient. I will let it cool to room temperature, pour into a priming bucket and add enough water to give me 5 to 5 ¼ gallons. (Dont know if I need to treat it like beer and get it down to temp in under 15 min?) Mix well with all sanitized gear. This will be my base Mead.

I will then add flavoring to the 1 gallon jugs as listed. The fruits I will leave frozen, blend in a blender and put in a bowl to thaw before I add to the 1 gal fermenter:

001 - 12 oz raspberries ( I could not find Loganberries )
002 – 16 oz strawberries
003 – 1 vanilla bean
004 - Laxmi Brand Natural Tamarind Concentrate 14 FL OZ
005 - 16 oz Peaches
006 – What is left as a base?

Sound like a plan?
 
Hi brauhausjoe: I was curious as to the tamarindo you mentioned. Is that an extract, or just raw tamarind pulp/pods? also, where do you get it? I've been contemplating use of tamarind in meads for a while now, but it's not a common item anywhere I've looked. Any suggestions as to where I can find it? Thanks in advance, GF. :)

I thought of adding the natural fruit (lots of work!) but then asked some friends and they turned me on to Neera's Tamarind Paste 5oz and Laxmi Brand Natural Tamarind Concentrate 14 FL OZ. I found them at Whole foods; but I have been told they are common items in most stores?

I am going to use the 14oz in a 1 gal batch. what do you think?
 
I thought of adding the natural fruit (lots of work!) but then asked some friends and they turned me on to Neera's Tamarind Paste 5oz and Laxmi Brand Natural Tamarind Concentrate 14 FL OZ. I found them at Whole foods; but I have been told they are common items in most stores?

I am going to use the 14oz in a 1 gal batch. what do you think?

Thanks for the info! I should be able to locate the tamarind paste and/or concentrate online. At 1st 14 oz of concentrate sounded like a lot, but I know you WILL lose a certain amount of the aroma & flavour from the fermentation process in primary, and the flavour will change, but I honestly couldn't even guess as to how with the tamarind... I've gotten cinnamon notes from plum melomel, so it could do anything. I think you should have something quite interesting & would guess tasty. I've been thinking along the lines of a high alcohol sweet mead with tamarind used to compliment the honey; something along the lines of an apertiff. Thanks again for the tamarind info! Regards, GF :)
 
Yes you can....Go watch the basic brewing video podcasts on the Mead experiment.

http://cdn1.libsyn.com/basicbrewing...02&nva=20080811225202&t=0f36908901693b867955c

Start above, then go to the website for the rest of them...http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=video

Have fun experimenting!!!

Just watched the videos, they added the flavorings to the secondary in 1 gal jugs. I was going to add the flavorings to the primary in one gal jugs. Is it better to add flavorings in the secondary?
 
I was curious as to the tamarindo you mentioned. Is that an extract, or just raw tamarind pulp/pods? also, where do you get it? I've been contemplating use of tamarind in meads for a while now, but it's not a common item anywhere I've looked. Any suggestions as to where I can find it? Thanks in advance, GF. :)

I've got a really good Tamarind/Vanilla/Cinnamon Mead doing right now that I used fresh Tamarind pods for. I haven't seen them at most chain supermarkets, but the local Mexican markets have them for pretty cheap, along with Hibiscus flowers (which I've got going in another mead right now). Sure, they were a bit of work, but i think it turned out tastier than the pulp stuff I've used in the past. Be careful with the amount of Tamarind though, as it seems to give a sherry-like character to the mead if used in high concentrations, this flavor might be seen as a fault if you're not a big sherry fan.
 
I've got a really good Tamarind/Vanilla/Cinnamon Mead doing right now that I used fresh Tamarind pods for. I haven't seen them at most chain supermarkets, but the local Mexican markets have them for pretty cheap, along with Hibiscus flowers (which I've got going in another mead right now). Sure, they were a bit of work, but i think it turned out tastier than the pulp stuff I've used in the past. Be careful with the amount of Tamarind though, as it seems to give a sherry-like character to the mead if used in high concentrations, this flavor might be seen as a fault if you're not a big sherry fan.

I was thinking about using the pods, but I thought I would try the paste first. When using the paste, how much would you use? And did you add it in the primary or secondary fermenter?
 
I was thinking about using the pods, but I thought I would try the paste first. When using the paste, how much would you use? And did you add it in the primary or secondary fermenter?

Well for pods it was 10 or so to the gallon, so that's probably equivalent to 1/8 cup of paste per gallon. The primary didn't have any spices, all of the vanilla/tamarind/cinnamon/chili (forgot to mention that's in there, ancho to be exact) was simmered (not boiled) in a honey/water mixture for 20 mins then put into the carboy, with the mead racked on top of it. It's still bulk aging, but from hydrometer samples, it's fantastic, best mead I've made so far.

EDIT: I strained the simmered mixture before adding it to the carboy
 
Just watched the videos, they added the flavorings to the secondary in 1 gal jugs. I was going to add the flavorings to the primary in one gal jugs. Is it better to add flavorings in the secondary?

I add fruit to either primary or secondary, or sometimes both; all depending on what I want for the end result. The primary fermentation alters the flavour of most fruits significantly, and you usually lose a lot of flavour & aroma in primary, but I think it's worth it sometimes, just to get that particular flavour difference. For more delicate or expensive fruits I usually put them in secondary. This gives you more flavour & flavour that's closer to the original flavour of the fruit. I made a plum melomel & put fruit in both primary & secondary; this gave me some light, almost "cherry-like/cinnamon-ish" notes in the finished product, right along side the fresh plum flavours from the secondary. If I'd put the fruit just in primary, it would've added that cherry-like/cinnamon-ish note, but it would've had a weaker flavour. If I'd put it just in secondary, it would've been closer to fresh plums, but no depth of flavour from the fermented plums. I can't advise you on the use of tamarind, as I've never used it before, but I'd suggest either drawing a sample & doing some measuring & taste testing with adding small amounts of the concentrate until you find the ratio that best suits you; Or you could try adding it to the mead as you would add it to water (as per directions) or maybe add 1/2 of the concentrate, wait a few months & taste it to see if it needed more or not. Hope you find this info useful, GF.
 
I've got a really good Tamarind/Vanilla/Cinnamon Mead doing right now that I used fresh Tamarind pods for. I haven't seen them at most chain supermarkets, but the local Mexican markets have them for pretty cheap, along with Hibiscus flowers (which I've got going in another mead right now). Sure, they were a bit of work, but i think it turned out tastier than the pulp stuff I've used in the past. Be careful with the amount of Tamarind though, as it seems to give a sherry-like character to the mead if used in high concentrations, this flavor might be seen as a fault if you're not a big sherry fan.

What an interesting flavour combination, tamarind & cinnamon go together well, but I never would've thought of adding vanilla to them... This should be a VERY interesting metheglin. Are you making it sweet, medium, or dry? And many thanks for the heads-up on the sherry-like notes with the tamarind! If I'm able to find some here in MT, I'll have to experiment a little; sounds like it would work well (in moderation) with a high alcohol cyser (18.75%) I've got aging. Regards, GF.
 
What an interesting flavour combination, tamarind & cinnamon go together well, but I never would've thought of adding vanilla to them... This should be a VERY interesting metheglin. Are you making it sweet, medium, or dry? And many thanks for the heads-up on the sherry-like notes with the tamarind! If I'm able to find some here in MT, I'll have to experiment a little; sounds like it would work well (in moderation) with a high alcohol cyser (18.75%) I've got aging. Regards, GF.

It's a really complex flavored mead actually, let me get my brewing notes out here:

Mayan Gold Mead
3# Mesquite honey (primary, the rest is steeped/simmered then put in secondary)
1 dry medium chili (Ancho)
8 tamarind pods
2 large cinnamon sticks
1/4c grade B maple surup (for a woodsy flavor)
2 TBS pure Tihatian vanilla extract

Yeast was Lalvin 1118

I went through a few stages of adding more honey at rackings untill no more fermentation happened (I forgot to take a OG reading) so it ended up sweet at 1.015 once the yeast hit it's alcohol tolerance, which as it is 1118, should be somewhere around 18%

I only wish I had made more, this was an experimental batch (hence the 1 gallon size) as it had so many ingredients, but they really blended well from what I can tell at hydrometer samples.
 
I add fruit to either primary or secondary, or sometimes both; all depending on what I want for the end result. The primary fermentation alters the flavour of most fruits significantly, and you usually lose a lot of flavour & aroma in primary, but I think it's worth it sometimes, just to get that particular flavour difference. For more delicate or expensive fruits I usually put them in secondary. This gives you more flavour & flavour that's closer to the original flavour of the fruit. I made a plum melomel & put fruit in both primary & secondary; this gave me some light, almost "cherry-like/cinnamon-ish" notes in the finished product, right along side the fresh plum flavours from the secondary. If I'd put the fruit just in primary, it would've added that cherry-like/cinnamon-ish note, but it would've had a weaker flavour. If I'd put it just in secondary, it would've been closer to fresh plums, but no depth of flavour from the fermented plums. I can't advise you on the use of tamarind, as I've never used it before, but I'd suggest either drawing a sample & doing some measuring & taste testing with adding small amounts of the concentrate until you find the ratio that best suits you; Or you could try adding it to the mead as you would add it to water (as per directions) or maybe add 1/2 of the concentrate, wait a few months & taste it to see if it needed more or not. Hope you find this info useful, GF.

Thanks! I appreciate the pointers! This is going to be fun....! I am going to love this sport!
 
It's a really complex flavored mead actually, let me get my brewing notes out here:

Mayan Gold Mead
3# Mesquite honey (primary, the rest is steeped/simmered then put in secondary)
1 dry medium chili (Ancho)
8 tamarind pods
2 large cinnamon sticks
1/4c grade B maple surup (for a woodsy flavor)
2 TBS pure Tihatian vanilla extract

Yeast was Lalvin 1118

I went through a few stages of adding more honey at rackings untill no more fermentation happened (I forgot to take a OG reading) so it ended up sweet at 1.015 once the yeast hit it's alcohol tolerance, which as it is 1118, should be somewhere around 18%

I only wish I had made more, this was an experimental batch (hence the 1 gallon size) as it had so many ingredients, but they really blended well from what I can tell at hydrometer samples.

WOW! I think "complex" might just be a bit of an understatement for this recipe. I'm intrigued by this recipe, though I must admit I'm hesitant to use chilis; though i can see where the mix of flavours would work quite well, I use similar ingredients in food & I do enjoy the sweet/savoury/spicy-hot blend of flavours in food. I remember the taste of raw mesquite honey from a roadside stand in AZ, ain't nothin' like it. I think I might just give this a shot when I'm able to get my hands on a suitable quantity of mesquite honey & when I'm able to free up some space in the fermentation closet. Thanks for sharing this recipe, it sounds like something to sip slowly & analyize, with each sip bringing more to the palate. :)
 
On brew day we brought 2 ½ gallons of water to ~185 degrees stir in 12 pounds of honey, 5 tsp Acid blend, 2 tsp Pectic Enzyme, 1 tsp wine tannin, and 5 tsp yeast nutrient. We let it cool to room temperature, about 80 degrees using an ice bath , poured the must into a Fermentation bucket and add enough water to give us 5 to 5 ¼ gallons. Pitched in White Labs Sweet Mead yeast starter we made, mixed well with all sanitized gear. I checked this morning and it is fermenting like mad! This will be our base Mead.

I will let you folks know how it turns out..Thanks for the help and motivation to get this going!
 
Ok, we are down to 2-3 bubbles a min in the airlock. I posted a couple videos of the fermentation here http://www.swampwaterbrewery.com/2008/08/first-set-of-mead-experiments.html

My question is: when we rack it into the 1 gal jugs with the fruit / flavorings will the fermentation kick in again with the addition of the fruits / sugars? Do we want this to happen? If not should we add some Potassium Sorbate to stop it?

As always you comments are highly regarded.
 
First an update:

We added the flavorings on Day 14 as listed below:

001 – 2 ½ Tablespoons Tamarind Paste
002 – 1 vanilla bean cut into small pieces
003 – 1 Orange sliced into pieces that fit into the bottle, peals left on and a cinnamon stick
004 – 20oz cut fresh peaches
005 – 20oz cut fresh strawberries
006 – Plain, nothing added

Here is a picture of what we have:
mead07_800x600.jpg


Is there a normal amount of time to leave it on the secondary?
 
i wanted to know how this turned out, i did somethign similar with an apple wine and the only one that was worth keeping to age was the origional and one with honey added. the blackberry, dark cherry, and cinnamon ones were smelling a little ripe and i tossed them.
 
First an update:

We added the flavorings on Day 14 as listed below:

001 – 2 ½ Tablespoons Tamarind Paste
002 – 1 vanilla bean cut into small pieces
003 – 1 Orange sliced into pieces that fit into the bottle, peals left on and a cinnamon stick
004 – 20oz cut fresh peaches
005 – 20oz cut fresh strawberries
006 – Plain, nothing added

Hi brauhausjoe: I'm curious as to just how you arrived at the rate of 2 1/2 tablespoons tamarind paste per gallon. I finally found some tamarind paste (Tamicon brand) but it's a concentrate & the so-called directions on the label are a bit sketchy, but it's all I could get. I got the last jar on the shelf. I'm not quite ready to start a new fermentation yet, still waiting for the lcl apple harvest & pressing to start; so I've been trying to do some flavour tests with apple juice & tamarind soda, but it's a far cry from using the concentrate & there's a lot of guesswork involved. Is the stuff you used just the straight paste, or is it also a concentrate? BTW, nice pics of your experiments, thanks for sharing. Regards, GF.
 
Well for pods it was 10 or so to the gallon, so that's probably equivalent to 1/8 cup of paste per gallon

I got the above info from Freezblade earlier in the thread. so I went with it. I am very new at both Mead and Tamarind, I am going with the adjust as needed method. I will keep this thread alive with the results. After tasting it, I might add 3 tablespoons of the concentrate. I might also try to find a better way to get it in the jug. I probably lost 1/2 Tablespoon stuck to the side of the jug. I think next time we will warm it up a bit to help it pour.

Tonight we are racking off the fruit/flavorings for a clearing stage and then off to bottles for a few months.

We are also going to do the exact same experiment but add the fruits to the primary, if you want I can post the results here or start a new thread?

I have more detail here: Swamp Water Brewery: The First set of Mead experiments.
 
We racked to 6 more 1 Gal Jugs for a clarifying step. We added 1.5 Tablespoons Chitosan and .25 Teaspoon Potassium Sorbate to each 1 Gal Jug and racked the mead into it. We tasted each one in the transfer (Yes, we know it is way to early (-:) Here is what we discovered:

Tamarind – Slight flavor, but good.
Vanilla – Wow! That unexpectedly nice.
Orange / Cinnamon – Good, light on the cinnamon
Peach – good but a little weak
Strawberry – Good as expected
Plain – Good as expected

Here is day 1:

mead53_800x600.jpg
 
Thanks for the updates, I'll keep an eye on this thread, or another if you decide to post it thus; as I'm curious as to how the tamarind turns out. I'm wondering if you left the fuzzy skins of the peaches on?
 
My "Aztec gold" mead (the one with all the cinnimon/ancho/tamarind in it) was bottled 3 months or so ago, I'm planning on opening one once it gets a year old, which should be sometime in April, I'll post notes at that time.
 
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