Hi all! I visited Starrlight Meadery here in NC about a month ago and tried their off-dry blackberry mead and it was the best thing in the world (off dry, tangy, medium body), but also very expensive (almost $30/bottle!). Talking to some of the employees, these are the ingredients I got from them:
Honey
Blackberry JUICE (not store bought, but home made) INSTEAD of water
Yeast Nutrient
Yeast
Now a few questions:
1) It seems all the berry mead recipes use whole fruit so is it even viable to use the blackberry juice?
2) What kind of yeast would I use for this? Wine yeast?
3) What quantity of honey would be ideal? Blackberries don't seem to have a lot of sugar content so maybe around 11 lbs.?
Thanks in advance!
Instead of juice, you might try this:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/blackberry-vintner-s-harvest-puree.html
Though you might still want to add a bit of water to it; or not, your choice.
As for the yeast strain, I think I'd go with one of these:
"Lalvin RC212 (Bourgovin) : This yeast is traditionally used in the Burgundy region for full red wines and is a favorite of home winemakers seeking similar big reds. Naturally, it is perfect for Pinot Noir. It has good alcohol reach (14-16%) and high temperature (68-86° F.) tolerance and excellent color stability. This yeast requires high nitrogen nutrient additions to avoid the potential development of H2S. It is quite suitable for use with non-grape black and red fruit (plums, prickly pear cactus fruit, pomergrantes) and berries (blackberries, raspberries, dewberries, mulberries). It is quite tolerant of concurrent malolactic fermentation."
"Lalvin 71B-1122 (Narbonne) : This yeast metabolizes more of the malic acid during fermentation than most other yeasts and should be considered for wines which are high in malic. It is noted for producing "fruity" reds such as vin nouveau and works well with high-acid native North American grapes, producing rounder, smoother, more aromatic wines that tend to mature quickly. Because it is also known for making blush, rosé and semi-sweet wines with a tropical fruit character, it promotes these styles with Cabernet Franc, Gewürtztraminer and Riesling. For obvious reasons, is often the yeast of choice for a great many malic fruit and berries and for vegetable-grape concentrate blended wines. Alcohol toxicity is predictable at 14% and its temperature range is 60-85°. F."
I've had some good results using Cote de Blanc for blackberry wine, I'd think it would do well in a melomel with proper nutrient additions.
"Côte des Blancs : Formerly known as Epernay 2, this is another slow fermenting, very low foaming and low flocculating yeast tolerant of low temperatures. It tends to bring out floral and fruity qualities in wines and can be useful in both grape--especially fruity German style whites-- and non-grape wines--such as peach or raspberry--where a bouquet is especially desired. This yeast will not push alcohol production over 13% in a cool fermentation but has a range of 12-14%."
Now for honey quantity. This depends on your batch size & what you want for an end product. I'm thinking you want to clone the Starrlight melomel. I'd go with the Cote des Blanc yeast, 1-2 can(s) of blackberry puree, 12 lbs honey & water to 5 gallons for a 5 gallon batch. Ferment @ 60-62*F. Be sure to use yeast nutrient/energizer & DAP. You might follow SNA as well:
http://home.comcast.net/~mzapx1/FAQ/SNAddition.pdf
That's what I'd do. Hope this info helps.
Regards, GF.