Blueberry Mead - thoughts and questions

Ok, just started a blueberry mead. I had a 3lb bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer (the tiny baking kind) and I didn't figure they were enough for even a gallon batch of wine, but throw in 5lbs of honey, and a gallon and a half of water, and a blueberry mead it will be.

This is my first batch of mead, and therefore highly experimental. I added yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme, and sulphite, and I'll let it sit till tomorrow night, when I'll add a pack of Lalvin D47.

I measured my OG at 1.088 or so, damn blueberries weren't as sweet as I was hoping. My volume is currently a little under 2.5gal. I'm looking to finish up with a semi-sweet to sweet mead. Am I better off to add another three pounds of honey in steps (pound at a time till I overwhelm the yeast), or should I let it ferment out dry and backsweeten? If I'm better off to backsweeten, should I use sugar or honey?

Any other comments, suggestions, or rants are more than welcomed!

I would say backsweetening with honey would be the safest bet. It isn't easy to "overwhelm" the yeast unless you want super-high ABV (18+% depending on the yeast, also yeast in mead is more tolerant to higher ABV). Also the yeast will sometimes "reawaken" after you think they are done (that happened to me on my last blueberry mead after 1 1/2 years of fermenting).

That said, the blueberry mead I made was positively the best drink I ever had and I recommend anyone with any patience to brew some, its great stuff! Good luck with yours, I hope it turns out great.

I have made a blueberry mead as well that I kegged and made sparkling. Very good..well worth the long process and aging.

rustang44, I'd love to hear your recipe..as I'd like to try another variation. can you give us info??

Dan

Well, it's been going for about a week now. Smelled absolutely horrendous the last time I poped the lid off to punch down the blueberries. Here's hoping for the best!

My recipe was as follows for a 5.5gal batch:
2lb 4oz Blueberries
12lb Clover Honey
3tsp Yeast Nutrient
Red Star Pasteur Red yeast

I crushed the blueberries before they went in, then funneled them into the carboy, put the airlock on and let it sit. Didn't touch it for over a year (with the exception of having to move houses halfway through, having it strapped in with the seat belt in the front seat of the car). It had a light pink color and a very very delicate but noticeable blueberry flavor.

As for the horrendous smell, I can't help you other than to say just be patient with it, let it do its thing. I try not to mess with brews if it isn't necessary, so the punching down the blueberries might just be a way to let the bad into the bucket. If you leave the blueberries in the mead for the full ferment, they will leach out all their sugars and color on their own. In any case I hope it works out great.

you SHOULD only need to punch the cap until about the 1/3 sugar break..then you can airlock it and let it go...definitely do not keep punching throughout the entire fermentation process this is just asking for trouble.

rustang..what's your recipe taste like? what is the FG? I'd love a bottle if you got one..I'd be willing to trade one of mine, for one of yours.

I only punched it down the first three days or so. Haven't touched it since. It will need to be transfered to a couple of 1gal jugs soon, need the bucket for a batch of cherry I'm getting ready to do (got a few pounds of tart cherries for free).