Prickly Pear Mead

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Its a good season this year for prickly pear fruit. I've never made it before but figured I'd post my progress on it here. I'm going to make the Papazian recipe (actually Dave Spaulding's from Tucson). I just picked the fruit from my front yard. Here's some pics:

10# prickly pears
10lb_prickly_pears.JPG


Burning the prickers off with the 3-tier
burning_prickers.JPG


Pear cut open
pear_cut_open.JPG


Inners scooped out
pear_scooped_out.JPG


More to come another day (I'm making beer right now!)
 
Got to peeling the 10lbs of tunas. 2 hrs to complete. 10# = 5# peeled. Figuratively and literally a painful process. I'd rather bottle beer.

5lb_prickly_pear_peeled.JPG

Sealed and going into the freezer until maybe this weekend if I got the time to get this going.
web_5lb_prickly_pear_sealed.JPG
 
Hey meaders out there, I have some noob questions. I have a question on what yeast to use for this recipe. 1st off I have decided to do the Papazian recipe pretty much verbatim (20# of mesquite honey). My LHBS has this kit that I was going to start out with and buy 5# more honey and use the prickly pear fruit.

My question with only tasting one bottle of mead ever, I want this to not be overly sweet nor too dry. Medium range. As I understand it, the more honey the sweeter it will be but also how far down the yeast will ferment it out is key. This kit comes with two packets of Montrachet yeast. They self describe it as sweet mead and with me adding 5# additional this may not be the right yeast to use. Also this link talks that montrachet gives it an ugly medicinal taste and is not recommened.

I don't have Charlies book in front of me but I think he was rather nonchalant on what yeast to use; or he offered up 3 different styles to use. Any insight? At 20# maybe a champagne yeast?
 
No matter how much honey you have the champagne yeast will attempt to ferment all the sugar up to the high end of its attenuation range.

I've had FGs down to .996. This results in a dry mead.

You can use a sweet mead yeast and take a gravity reading.

If it is too high then you can add some champagne yeast to lower the gravity and add potassium sorbate (PS) to stop further fermentation when it tastes where you want it.

Or you can ferment it out all the way, use PS, then backsweeten.

So many choices...:D
 
Oye, thanks Bill. You just gave me more multiple choice answers to choose from :) and a little better understanding of the ferment process of mead. I'll have to pop that charlie book open again to see what yeast he mentioned when I get home. I know one was sherry yeast which I'd assume to leave it sweeter, champagne and one other that I don't recall to use... I was hoping to recreate that award winning mead; but how can they be so non-descript on the friggen yeast?
 
I don't use Montrachet for Meads. I like to use Lalvin-D47 but with that much honey it would be super sweet. Look at the Lalvin 1118 and Lalvin K1-V1116. The 1116 yeast is fast and can hit 18% and maybe even up to the 20% if you do the additions of nutrients and honey in steps. You can count on 12 lbs of honey being a dry mead, 15 lbs being around the medium range and above that it starts getting sweet. If you are adding fruit, it will also have some sugar that will boost the SG.

I would suggest you not use 20 lbs of honey unless you want super sweet! Start it with about 12 lbs and when you move to the secondary add 1 lbs during that racking and an additional 1 lb for the next 2 rackings if needed. Just check the hydrometer before each racking and see where it is at. You can always add more to backsweeten for taste.
:mug:
 
The amount of sugar in fruit is small, typically 5-10%, so that won't change things much. Fermenting dry & making adds is your best bet.

Never thought about burning the needles off (UA MBA 1981). The few times I messed with them (jelly), I crushed everything and pressed out the juice. Then filtered it to get the rest of the needles out.
 
You have a lot going on with that big mead. If it were me, I'd stick to the initial honey that comes with the kit, and try one of these yeasts.
Lavlin D-47:
Low foaming quick fermenter that settles well. Ferments between 50-86 deg. F. Increases mouth feel of wine and is great in Chardonnay and rose wines. A great choice for mead. Encourages Malo-lactic fermentation. One pack is good for 5 gallons of must.

or Lavlin71-B:
Is a fast starting yeast that ferments well between 59-86 deg. F. It produces a rounder smoother more aromatic wine that tends to mature more quickly. Used by professionals very often for blush wines and residually sweet wines. It produces a significant amount of fruity esters which makes it great for concentrate wines. One pack is good for 5 gallons of must.

If your fermentation sticks, or the residual sweetness after a month or so is too much, you can add K1-V1116 or EC-1118 (champagne)to kick it in the pants.
 
EC1118. My D47 is taking FOREVER to clear. It has become a real PITA.

The EC1118 fermented 13.5# down to 1.011 in a little over 2 months. Delicious.
It looked like it was taking forever, but I suspect it was just outgassing Co2. Once racked the 2nd time it stopped, and didn't drop any more sediment.
 
Thanks all for the info. I got to absorb the recommendations and go from there. If it helps anyone in providing additional guidance on yeast I'm going to take one of your recommendations and go to the 15# of honey that is in that kit.

Not ever making wine/mead this is interesting stuff. Adding more honey later, tweeking during the ferment process, killing the yeast when you want it to stop. Makes much better sense to me how you can fine tune the mead.

I'm sure I'll have more questions down the road. I appreciate it!

:mug:
 
david_42 said:
Never thought about burning the needles off (UA MBA 1981). The few times I messed with them (jelly), I crushed everything and pressed out the juice. Then filtered it to get the rest of the needles out.

It's an old campfire trick.
I've eaten them on the trail quite a bit.

Prickly Pear are a good barometer for bear activity. Recent partially eaten fruits are a sign to be on the look out.

Believe it or not The Four Peaks wilderness has one of the highest concentration of black bears in the country... an easy trip from PHX.

four-peaks-red-mountain-skyline-scottsdale-arizona-usa-metroshot-photograph.jpg
 
I'm going to give this a go this afternoon with 15# Mesquite honey per that kit. I decided to use the Lalvin ICV D-47 per NurseNan and after reading about the yeast and that my LHBS has it in stock. If it needs a kick, it'll get one if necessary. A couple questions/comments:

I am going to do the 2h boil of the fruit per Papazian recipe. However, I'm curious if I should do a 15 min boil of the honey per his recipe or do the 180 pasturize? Sounds like this is an on-going debate...

I don't have my recipe book handy but I know I'll be topping it off with some cold water as well (I think about 2g?) & pitching at 75 or so after I cool it in my chest freezer. I'll assume the instructions in the kit will tell me how & when to use the nutrients, yeast prep etc.

Oxygenating - I have a pure O2 system. Use it just like my wort?

fermenter - should I just go with a 5g carboy or use one of my 6g ones? I don't know what sort of foam/krausen may occur...

Anything else to add for the mead noob with the process appreciated :).
 
Its a little late as it seems you have already got things set to go but I thought since you were questioning using 20# of honey in this recipe I would give you a little information that I learned during a group brew.

We made a traditional mead with 20# of honey, I used 71-B yeast, followed the SNA (staggered nutrient addition). It ended up at FG 1.012 so its a medium sweet mead. The old hands who were running the group brew recommended using two packs of yeast for the 5.6 Gallon recipe because of the initial high starting gravity of 1.133. It went like gang busters and we never had a problem with it. Its sitting quietly in the tertiary bulk aging now. We also had Nurse Nans vanilla mead going at the same time using EC-1118 yeast with 15# of honey and it also worked out great for us.

The thing is though dont be afraid to go big with your honey it worked out great for us. I dont think I would use the D-47 using 20# honey though as a few guys who did had very slow ferments and a few other problems along the way. BTW the vanilla using EC-1118 finished a bit dry but taste great, its a great yeast that will eat through alot of honey. I know you have already decided on using 15# of honey for this mead but dont rule out more for mead yet to come. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your mead as much as we have ours.
 
Just to let you know, I checked my blueberry mead last night. The airlock had came to a halt for the last 2 days. The gravity was 996. I added 1.5 lbs honey and within 15 minutes it was bubbling about every 4 to 5 seconds. Started with 13lbs and will end with around 18lbs for some sweetness.

Thought this might help when your in the secondary a couple weeks and it slows down!
 
I did the 2 hrs pear boil and 15 for the honey.

I only used 10 lbs, not 20 per the recipe. You really want to skim all the while to remove the "wax and wings", etc.

I also use Pasteur Red yeast. Why? I don't recall why.

For the Barkshack Ginger mead I used the Lalvin D-47.
 
DesertBrew,
LOL, HightTest is the leader of our traditional group brew and if you go back to his page you can see the tab, "Traditional 4-21-07". Click on that link and you can see for yourself a spreadsheet of how all the different yeast did using 20# of honey. The results were a bit varied but still worth reading to give you a really good look at how the fermentations progressed with I think 5 different yeast and different conditions relating to abient air temp. You cant really draw any scientific conclusions because of so many variables but it does give you a good general overview of the entire process.
BTW Yes, I would have to agree HT knows his mead........Have fun and let us know how it comes out.:mug:
Oh yeah, I really like your avatar, Fingers was a treat to see on the mound when I was a kid.
 
On the way home from work the HBS says they don't have any mesquite honey currently :(. So he tells me of the wholeseller called SW Bee Supply where he gets his from. About 5 miles away and it was $2.25 a lb. Nice! If I make mead in the future which is probable 1-2 times a year, I now know where to go for bulk honey.

Missed making it today (forgot to thaw the fruit) but all set for tomorrow.
 
I'm brewing my first mead this Saturday (Make Mead Day). Attempting for a traditional semi-sweet sparkling mead using 1-gallon (? #s) wildflower honey from Prescott Valley and 10#s of misc honey. I haven't the slightest idea what kind of yeast to use. Any thoughts?

Wild
 
wild said:
I'm brewing my first mead this Saturday (Make Mead Day). Attempting for a traditional semi-sweet sparkling mead using 1-gallon (? #s) wildflower honey from Prescott Valley and 10#s of misc honey. I haven't the slightest idea what kind of yeast to use. Any thoughts?

Wild

I am very partial to using Lalvin ICV-D47. It can also develop some spicy aromas if left on the lees. It will get you in the 14% ABV, it needs nutrients and I would step them in 3 parts. I enjoy this buttery mouthfeel it imparts with traditional meads and haven't had any issues with it even when fermenting at 78 degrees. I would not use sweet mead yeast. they tend to stick on you.
 
Question on fermentation temp for mead. In the beer world, I usually manage the temp at about 66-68 with my temp managed chest freezer. What about mead, what's the optimum temp (using D-47).

Since mead takes a good long time to ferment, I'd rather not take up the space in the chest freezer. The house is kept at about 77 in summer. Or, would during the most active phase of the ferment be best to be lower than 77 and the clearing phase be ok in this range? Educate me since I can't find too much on this topic. Do lower/higher temps affect flavor much like beer?

thanks!
 
DesertBrew said:
Question on fermentation temp for mead. In the beer world, I usually manage the temp at about 66-68 with my temp managed chest freezer. What about mead, what's the optimum temp (using D-47).

Since mead takes a good long time to ferment, I'd rather not take up the space in the chest freezer. The house is kept at about 77 in summer. Or, would during the most active phase of the ferment be best to be lower than 77 and the clearing phase be ok in this range? Educate me since I can't find too much on this topic. Do lower/higher temps affect flavor much like beer?

The temperature affecting flavour in beer is due to the yeast functioning differently at different temperatures. We use yeast in mead, ergo...

I would keep the ambient temperature below 70 degF during active fermentation, to cut down on production of esters and fusel oils.
 
flowerysong said:
The temperature affecting flavour in beer is due to the yeast functioning differently at different temperatures. We use yeast in mead, ergo...

I would keep the ambient temperature below 70 degF during active fermentation, to cut down on production of esters and fusel oils.

Yep on the temp and yeast, but I was questioning the wide range than NurseNan stated. But in looking at Lavlin's site they state 59-68 as optimal so I'll head there. Thanks

NurseNan said:
...
Lavlin D-47:
Low foaming quick fermenter that settles well. Ferments between 50-86 deg. F. Increases mouth feel of wine and is great in Chardonnay and rose wines. A great choice for mead. Encourages Malo-lactic fermentation. One pack is good for 5 gallons of must.
....
 
DesertBrew said:
Yep on the temp and yeast, but I was questioning the wide range than NurseNan stated. But in looking at Lavlin's site they state 59-68 as optimal so I'll head there. Thanks

Oh, the range that she cited is the range at which it *will* ferment, which is larger than the optimum range. Go higher and the yeast die, go lower and they go dormant.
 
yeast nutrient question. The site link below talks of the evils of urea based. And now I see what I picked up is Monoamonia, Urea. Should I use it? If so, how much? Papazian says 1/4 tsp. and 1 Tbsp pectin enzyme. By the way, I don't know if that is the only nutrient my HBS has, the guy picked it off the shelf for me.

http://home.comcast.net/~mzapx1/FAQ/Urea.pdf


Also, I was going to do the Staggered Nutrient Addition per this:

http://home.comcast.net/~mzapx1/FAQ/SNAddition.pdf

It's good to be a noob again :eek:
 
Where in phx is a good place to get wildflower honey? Im gonna be doing prickly pear mead soon. Has anyone tried different kinds of honey? I went and picked about 15 or 16#s the other day so I think im going to try to do it a few different ways.
 
Google finds [ame="http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS206US207&q=phoenix+Robson+Bee+Products"]Robson Bee Supply[/ame] in Phoenix. Probably a lot like the store I found where they sell equipment for those that have their own hives and also sell honey? FYI, I read somewhere that wildflower honey isn't always the best choice for mead. had to do with not knowing the source where the bees are getting the pollen can create a wide range of honey flavors. Mesquite was recommended by Papazian for the prickly pear mead.
 
bigjon88 said:
Where in phx is a good place to get wildflower honey? Im gonna be doing prickly pear mead soon. Has anyone tried different kinds of honey? I went and picked about 15 or 16#s the other day so I think im going to try to do it a few different ways.
One of our club members just made a run up the Prescott Valley to pick up some honey. I had him pick up a gallon of wild flower for $27. Let me know if you're interested and I'll get you the info.

Wild
 
Does anyone know if a pure prickly pear extract would work instead of the fruit?
I don' t really have it available to me in fruit form but found a website that sells extracts and other products. I had no preservatives that I was aware of.
 
40 days in, still bubbling away. OG 1.095 and last FG check was 1.033 about 10 days ago. Is it rack time or do you wait unfil FG is hit like beer?
 
How did I miss this thread for so long?

Out of the three meads that I have made, this one impressed me the most.

I racked after about a month, and bubbling continued in the secondary, I aged it in a tertiary for about 3 months before bottling.

Does anyone know if a pure prickly pear extract would work instead of the fruit?
I don' t really have it available to me in fruit form but found a website that sells extracts and other products. I had no preservatives that I was aware of.

Where in Texas are you Hell Brew? If you have a fruiteria around you they will have the fruits.
 
I racked this bugger about a week ago. gravity at 42 days was 1.009. Seems to be clearing and also still bubbling and I suspect going lower then. I'm using Lalvin ICV D-47. Taste to me at this gravity still seemed a bit sweet.

What do you think from the FG standpoint, will this go below sea level (it's not a champagne yeast). I want a drier taste but not too dry.
 
This sounds awesome. I drive by a house down my street every day that has a prickly pear cactus and I am always tempted to stop by and ask them if I can have the fruit off of it for a mead.

What does the fruit taste like? In my 6 years in Arizona I never tried one.
 
Really kind of hard to describe. Not something that you'd chow down on. It has this subtle sweet taste and then goes a little bitter in your mouth. Slightly kiwi'ish in texture. In the mead, I can't really identify it yet with the rack taste test. still too much honey taste/nose.
 
I find that the prickly pear tunas have a taste and texture of a fig and or strawberry.
Just remember that they have some vicious small thorns on them and should be picked and prepared with care. I pick mine with bar-b-que tongs and burn off the thorns over my propane cooker.
I have batch in primary now and it is the most active brew that I have ever encountered. My OG was 1.134 and I used 2 packs of D-47.
This is my first attempt at making mead with them as I have only prepared jam with them in the past. The jam is unlike any other.

QUOTE=Dude]This sounds awesome. I drive by a house down my street every day that has a prickly pear cactus and I am always tempted to stop by and ask them if I can have the fruit off of it for a mead.

What does the fruit taste like? In my 6 years in Arizona I never tried one.[/QUOTE]
 
Lazy to read so asking my buds :eek:. (Actually just really friggen busy at work).

It's been a month since I last reported and this has cleared nicely. I'm going to test FG and if stable for a week should I bottle or is it best to rack one more time and let it hang out in a carboy for another month?
 
Dude said:
This sounds awesome. I drive by a house down my street every day that has a prickly pear cactus and I am always tempted to stop by and ask them if I can have the fruit off of it for a mead.

What does the fruit taste like? In my 6 years in Arizona I never tried one.

You ought to go ask if you can nab a couple off. Probably ripe now.
 
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