So this is just kind of a crazy experiment, since I've been reading about kvas lately, which is a soft drink made with bread 
. Asked about it on the soda forum and was pointed to a blog that talks about some hard kvas/beer hybrids, so then I had the idea to try it with a mead.
Right now I have 2 loaves of sourdough bread cubed up and sitting on the counter, tonight I plan to stick it under the broiler for a minute to toast it, then drop it into a gallon of boiling water and let it sit, covered, overnight. Tomorrow I'll drain the liquid from the bread, dilute it to 2.5 gal, and add 5 lbs honey. Not sure how many SG points the bread will contribute, but this will be a fairly low gravity mead.
Still debating the recipe after that point, I normally add fruit to the primary but this is my first time using cherries and I'm thinking about adding them to the secondary instead. Though once my mead goes into the secondary it has a tendency to stay there, right now I have six 3 gal carboys in my closet, five of which haven't been touched in over a year other than to top up the airlock. Is it ok to let fruit sit in the carboy for long periods?
Also, what yeast to use? First instinct is 71B-1122, but I also have Montrachet and Nottingham on hand. Or what about using bread yeast?
And finally, should I re-boil the "bread juice" in the morning or just let it be? I never heat the honey and use jugged spring water which I don't bother boiling anymore either.
. Asked about it on the soda forum and was pointed to a blog that talks about some hard kvas/beer hybrids, so then I had the idea to try it with a mead.Right now I have 2 loaves of sourdough bread cubed up and sitting on the counter, tonight I plan to stick it under the broiler for a minute to toast it, then drop it into a gallon of boiling water and let it sit, covered, overnight. Tomorrow I'll drain the liquid from the bread, dilute it to 2.5 gal, and add 5 lbs honey. Not sure how many SG points the bread will contribute, but this will be a fairly low gravity mead.
Still debating the recipe after that point, I normally add fruit to the primary but this is my first time using cherries and I'm thinking about adding them to the secondary instead. Though once my mead goes into the secondary it has a tendency to stay there, right now I have six 3 gal carboys in my closet, five of which haven't been touched in over a year other than to top up the airlock. Is it ok to let fruit sit in the carboy for long periods?
Also, what yeast to use? First instinct is 71B-1122, but I also have Montrachet and Nottingham on hand. Or what about using bread yeast?
And finally, should I re-boil the "bread juice" in the morning or just let it be? I never heat the honey and use jugged spring water which I don't bother boiling anymore either.
