Strawberry rhubarb mead recipe input

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Goofynewfie

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1.5lb frozen chopped rubharb
1.5lb frozem chopped strawberries
Approx 3.25 lb generic honey
Nutrient
Lavlin kl-v116
Put stawberry and rhubarb in bag in primary and cover with hot water for 2 days. remove bag and let drip into primary overnight.add honey and top up with water to 1 gallon. Pitch yeast and nutrient. Attach airlock and ferment. When fermentation is complete rack to secondary on top of 1/2lb rhubarb and 1lb strawberries

This is an experiment that I am going to attempt, any input is appreciated. Any ideas on what I should expect for final alcohol %? Should I add some oak cubes? This is the first recipe ive made up so hoping it comes out well.
 
Seems you have a pretty good grasp, throw in some aeration at least once or twice a day (a good shake/stir) for first third of the ferment or at least first few days and it should chug along pretty nicely, rhubarb can be a strong almost overpowering flavor so you may want to double up the strawberries in secondary, maybe taste it and see if you will even need the rhubarb at that time. As far as the alcohol content you'll want to used a hydrometer to get an original gravity reading to figure that out, gotmead.com has a calculator that can ballpark it for you as well.
 
1.5lb frozen chopped rubharb
1.5lb frozem chopped strawberries
Approx 3.25 lb generic honey
Nutrient
Lavlin kl-v116
Put stawberry and rhubarb in bag in primary and cover with hot water for 2 days. remove bag and let drip into primary overnight.add honey and top up with water to 1 gallon. Pitch yeast and nutrient. Attach airlock and ferment. When fermentation is complete rack to secondary on top of 1/2lb rhubarb and 1lb strawberries

This is an experiment that I am going to attempt, any input is appreciated. Any ideas on what I should expect for final alcohol %? Should I add some oak cubes? This is the first recipe ive made up so hoping it comes out well.


Your Yeast will rip through that well and you should end with an ABV of around 15.75% depending on the actual sugar content of your engredients. Fermentation should kick back up in secondary with the extra strawberries and rhubarb to get you around 16.00% - 16.25% ABV. I personallty don't think oak is really necesary but some light toasted frech oak for a couple weeks might help to mellow out the alchole bite and add some tannin. Now I would suggest adding in 1tsp of Pectic Enzyme to help break down your fruit and the pectins for smoother clearing and better taste. Also freeze your rhubarb & strawberries and then thaw while adding to your hot water.That will further help with extracting the sugars and flavor. This should ferment real dry so I would also suggest to add in Potassium Sorbate and a Campden tablet after you rack off your strawberries and rhubarb to stop further fermenting & add about a half a pound of honey if not a little less to back sweeten it.
 
Medic - I was thinking the same thing about the strength of the rhubarb flavor in the secondary but I was concerned about losing a lot of flavor to the yeast in the primary

Arpolis - It didnt even cross my mind to use the pectic enzyme. I was so concerened about final taste that the appearance was an afterthought, but you are right.

would you recommend I use a different yeast or do you think this 1 is okay
 
1116 Is a great yeast and will work well. But you are going to have a higher ABV which needs to age longer to be well drinkable and you willalso need to backsweeten a bit. You can go with Lalvin 71B and it will poop out at around 14% ABV and you should not need to back sweeten at all. I think both will work well for you. If you can controle your temps well and keep your must at around 65*F and lower then Lalvin D47 always gives great results and will poop out at around 14% as well.
 
Pitched the yeast an hour ago.tasted a bit first, rhubarb was the stronger taste, but strawberry was definitely present. I think this will turn out ok
 
Yes with about 1/2 tsp nutrient its already bubbling like crazy. Judging by the taste I dont think I will rack it onto any rhubarb, just strawberries
 
I've got my strawberries and rhubarb chopped up and in the freezer today, going to make this in a few days time, I've been looking for a straw/rhubarb mead recipe for a while now, I'm going to use 71B though because that's what I have on hand, and I would like a sweeter finish. Keep us posted!
 
agent44 said:
I've got my strawberries and rhubarb chopped up and in the freezer today, going to make this in a few days time, I've been looking for a straw/rhubarb mead recipe for a while now, I'm going to use 71B though because that's what I have on hand, and I would like a sweeter finish. Keep us posted!

Keep me posted as well, when done we can compare notes and pics
 
On the left is strawberry rhubarb
On the right is joes quick grape

ForumRunner_20120702_091833.jpg
 
Over the past 2 days I've frozen and thawed my chopped strawberry and rhubarb twice, just to make sure the ice breaks up the cell walls for extra flavor and juice, the fruit came out mashed like a pulp from the second freezing, I then blended added 1/4 tsp of peptic enzyme and added a couple cups of water into a bowl and am letting sit on the counter. My question is, should I let it sit with peptic enz at room temp, or put in the fridge so it doesn't start growing any baddies, I will strain the pulp tomorrow and start this mead with 3.4 pounds of honey and 71B. My question is, should I add more peptic enzyme for a one gallon batch, or is a quarter tsp enough for 3 lbs of fruit?
 
Added another 1/2 tsp of nutrient and shook a little today
Also added about half a dozen cut up strawberries
 
I just bottled some strawberry rhubarb mead. I never used any yeast nutrient and the yeast did fine. Anyways it tasted great. Slightly tart up front, rhubarb I think, and then a wonderful after taste of strawberries. I can't wait to see what happens as it conditions in bottle.
 
Will you share your recipe for comparison ? Ive never done this one before so im not sure how it will turn out
Also do you have a pic for comparison
 
Just pitched my yeast this afternoon on mine, I'm going to stagger the nutrients in three amounts. It's bubbling away nicely last I checked, I will post gravity readings tomorrow, but I think it will end up a little sweet
 
My must came in at 1.129 so if I'm right that puts me between 17.5 and 18%, please correct me if I'm wrong. I was a little surprised at how high it was, but I did juice my straw/ rhubarb mix so that could be why, but because I used 71B I'm guessing I'm going to have a sweet mead on my hands. sorry I haven't got any pics up, but I'm fermenting in green glass anyhow, so the color wouldn't be true anyhow.
 
Just tranfered into a larger carboy on top of 2lb of strawberries and 3 stalks of chopped rhubarb. After a quick taste I think thid will be very good with a little aging. Has a nice deep red color right now
 
Wow looks great, I hope mine looks as good when it's done, but man that was fast, I think I may bulk age mine six months before I bottle. I just have more one gallon glass bottles then I do wine bottles at the moment :)
 
I was going to bulk age for awhile but when I got int work a friend told me they hsd won a wine kit but had no idea how to make it so they were giving it to me as long as I sent a few bottles over when it was ready. I needed the space, so into bottles it went. I plan on opening a bottle every 6 months and see how it ages
 
Just racked mine into secondary onto one pound of cut up strawberries and then topped off with 50/50 honey water mix, tasted a sample and oh my goodness it was so good, i would almost say it is drinkable as is, I can't wait to see how it tastes at six months!
 
How is the color? Before I racked mine onto the strawnerries mine was a light red, similar to schwepps cranberry ginger ale
 
Haha yeah that's exactly how it looked, a light pink color. Your pic looks quite red, I'm hoping the fresh strawberries add some more red to the final product.
 
I'm not familiar with that, I just bottled my straw/rhubarb mead a few days ago, it's sweet but has a nice flavour, it's still young tasting, needs some time.
 
Didn't bother with a pic cause I bottled in Howe sound swing top bottles, it would be a pic of a brown bottle lol
 
Do you have an update Goofynewfie? Just wondering how your turned out, I just chopped up a ton of strawberries for a five gallon batch I'm going to start soon, mine turned out great, I was making it for a gift, and the recipient shared it with a bunch of her friends at a party, they all loved it so much they want me to make a larger batch
 
Mine turned out good, I think next time I may stsbilize and backsweeten with just stawberry since my yeast took it a little drier than I prefer. My friends all liked it though.
 
So I'm interested in this recipe, but I am a bit confused on some of the details. I know it's been since 2013 since anyone's done this so hopefully someone still gets an alert, or some new folks see this and chime in.

I'm planning a 5gal batch. Based on what I've read here's what I'm going to do:

8lb frozen chopped rubharb
8lb frozem chopped strawberries
17lb raw clover honey
Lavlin KL-V116
Spring Water

I'm planning to puree/juice the Rubarb and Strawberries and mix them directly in with raw honey and spring water. I don't see the need to boil/skim off my honey so I'll just warm it up enough to pour easy and pour this all together in one concoction.

I'll dry pitch the yeast and give it a shake with some nutrient, but otherwise I'm planning to just let this thing take off on it's own. With that much raw honey it should be ok without any staggering (not quite sure what that even means besides putting in some more nutrient stuff everyday).

Let it complete it's primary fermentation and once the bubbling starts petering off, I'll rack it into secondary.

At this point I'm not quite sure what to do. A few folks mentioned in previous post adding more strawberries and rubarb. I figure another 5lbs of strawberies and rubarb should be enough to add in additional flavors (puree/juice again). Let it clear out, then rack into a new carboy for bulk aging.

Just curious what folks think, if that would work/be good, and if I should add or do anything else?

Thanks!
 
So I'm interested in this recipe, but I am a bit confused on some of the details. I know it's been since 2013 since anyone's done this so hopefully someone still gets an alert, or some new folks see this and chime in.

I'm planning a 5gal batch. Based on what I've read here's what I'm going to do:

8lb frozen chopped rubharb
8lb frozem chopped strawberries
17lb raw clover honey
Lavlin KL-V116
Spring Water

I'm planning to puree/juice the Rubarb and Strawberries and mix them directly in with raw honey and spring water. I don't see the need to boil/skim off my honey so I'll just warm it up enough to pour easy and pour this all together in one concoction.

I'll dry pitch the yeast and give it a shake with some nutrient, but otherwise I'm planning to just let this thing take off on it's own. With that much raw honey it should be ok without any staggering (not quite sure what that even means besides putting in some more nutrient stuff everyday).

Let it complete it's primary fermentation and once the bubbling starts petering off, I'll rack it into secondary.

At this point I'm not quite sure what to do. A few folks mentioned in previous post adding more strawberries and rubarb. I figure another 5lbs of strawberies and rubarb should be enough to add in additional flavors (puree/juice again). Let it clear out, then rack into a new carboy for bulk aging.

Just curious what folks think, if that would work/be good, and if I should add or do anything else?

Thanks!

That's a lot of Rhubarb. This will be very tart.

Recommendations: Put the Fruit in the secondary, that is after you rack it for the first time about 1 month after it starts.. Just chop into cubes or bits about 1/2 inch size and put in a mesh bag, no need to puree, the alcohol and time will render it to pulp. The bag is for ease of removal. I would increase the Strawberry to 12-14 pounds and decrease the Rhubarb to 5 pounds, you will still end up a bit tart. I would also reduce the honey to the primary to 12 pounds and after you take out the fruit and about 2 months of settleing, stabilize (add Postassium Sorbate 1/4 Tablespoon per gallon, and wait 2 days) then add a 1/2 honey and 1/2 water mix to "Backsweeten" with 5 pounds. That is about 5-6 pounds of honey in 1/2 gal of water. Lastly, when it is nearly clear "Oak" it. That is put 1 oz of oak chips or cubes in for about 3 weeks, lightly toasted oak. I like to put the chips or cubes into a hops bag for ease of removal. When you remove your oak you then are just waiting for it to clear. Once cleared, age for 6-8 months, then bottle and enjoy or if you bottle age, just enjoy.

Matrix4b
 
Oh, and Step Feeding is putting your total nutrients in stages. Like if you were using say 1 oz of nutrients (yes that is high but number is for example purposes) then you would put in 1/3 oz in the primary, add another 1/3 about a day or two later, then add the last 1/3 at the sugar break point.

Sugar break point is where the yeast has eaten about 1/2 the honey it's going to eat. That requires figuring out the gravity and expected gravity with a Hydrometer. Trust me, when starting off, you are fine with all the nutrients "Up Front", meaning all at once in the primary.

Matrix4b
 
Thanks very much for the reply Matrix!

That's a lot of Rhubarb. This will be very tart.

Recommendations: Put the Fruit in the secondary, that is after you rack it for the first time about 1 month after it starts.. Just chop into cubes or bits about 1/2 inch size and put in a mesh bag, no need to puree, the alcohol and time will render it to pulp. The bag is for ease of removal. I would increase the Strawberry to 12-14 pounds and decrease the Rhubarb to 5 pounds, you will still end up a bit tart. I would also reduce the honey to the primary to 12 pounds and after you take out the fruit and about 2 months of settleing, stabilize (add Postassium Sorbate 1/4 Tablespoon per gallon, and wait 2 days) then add a 1/2 honey and 1/2 water mix to "Backsweeten" with 5 pounds. That is about 5-6 pounds of honey in 1/2 gal of water. Lastly, when it is nearly clear "Oak" it. That is put 1 oz of oak chips or cubes in for about 3 weeks, lightly toasted oak. I like to put the chips or cubes into a hops bag for ease of removal. When you remove your oak you then are just waiting for it to clear. Once cleared, age for 6-8 months, then bottle and enjoy or if you bottle age, just enjoy.

Matrix4b

Just so I know I read all of that right...

5gal Batch of Strawberry Rhubarb Mead:

5lb frozen chopped rhubarb
14lb frozen chopped strawberries
12lb raw clover honey
Lavlin KL-V116
Spring Water
Postassium Sorbate
Oak Chips

Primary: 5lbs of frozen chopped rhubarb + 12lbs of raw clover honey + spring water + Lavlin KL-V116 + Nutrient. Let it bubble out, then transfer to secondary.

Secondary: Primary liquid + 14lb of Frozen Chopped Strawberries. Let it age for 2 months, then remove Strawberries. Add Postassium Sorbate. Add 5 pounds of honey and 1/2 gal of water. One it clears add Oak Chips. Wait 3 weeks. Move to bulk aging.

Does that sound right?
 
I don't see the point in adding the rhubarb prior to fermentation.
It's not going to add anything to your ABV since it is very low in sugar.
The fermentation process will scrub away much of the rhubarb flavor and aroma.
I'd make a base mead, when its done (and aged) put the rhubarb in a better bottle , about 1 lb per gallon, and then add the mead. I would then rack the mead off the rhubarb and on to the strawberries or use a strawberry flavoring. Strawberry flavor is somewhat delicate and I've had better results using a strawberry concentrate vs/ real strawberry.
I haven't done this with a mead, but have done it with a cider and the results were good.
 
Just so I follow... you are saying I just make a base mead: Water + Yeast + Honey + Nutrient. Once that's done fermenting move it to secondary with Rhubarb and Strawberries... then move to bulk age?
 
Just so I follow... you are saying I just make a base mead: Water + Yeast + Honey + Nutrient. Once that's done fermenting move it to secondary with Rhubarb and Strawberries... then move to bulk age?

Correct on the Primary: Water+Yeast+Honey+Nutrient. Secondary as yeast is nearly stopped, one bubble a minute or less. Should be about 2 weeks, sometimes a month at most.

Secondary: Rack off lees and on to Rhubarb and Strawberries for a month to let fruit flavor into the mead.

It may be too much volume so you may wish to Rack onto Strawberries or Rhubarb...Leave for a month, remove mesh bag of fruit and then rack off on to the other fruit for about a month or so. Again don't forget to put fruit in a mesh bag for ease of removal.

Tetriary: Remove Fruit, rack off of lees, add Potassium Sorbate

Wait 2 days at least for potassium sorbate to work, this stops the yeast and stops active fermentation so that your back sweeting wont be for nothing.

Backsweeten with the honey and water. This will cloud up the mead again.

Rack off the lees as necessary (about 1/4 inch or so, should be once every 2-3 months depending on desire and lees level, some judgement here)

When nearly clear and very little if any lees: add oak for 2-3 weeks.

Remove oak. Wait til Clear. Sometimes a clarifying agent can be used here, depending on your desire.

Now Bulk Age or bottle age for 6-8 months at least.

Hope it turns out well.

Matrix4b
 
I appreciate it, Matrix. I plan to get this started in the next few weeks so we'll see where it goes!
 
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