Nordic Strawbanawi Mead

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Romulan42

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Nordic Stawbanawi Mead:

things I will use: 5 gallon batch

18# clover honey
18# Frozen Strawberries (thawed) (all natural) (no extra sucrose)
2# Ripe Banana :ban:
2# Kiwi
1 TBSP (8g) Gypsum
1/4 tsp Irish Moss
pinch of Yeast Nutruents
pinch of Yeast Enzyme
Lalvin 71B-1122

Procedure:
Add 18# clover honey, 8g Gypsum, and the Irish Moss to 2 Gallons of water and bring to a boil for 10-15 minutes.
ADD sliced (not diced) strawberries to the cooled 'mead wort'
***Do not boil them, rather bring 'mead wort' down to pasturize temperatures (160 degrees F) and steep berries for 20-30minutes***

Transfer the strawberry 'mead wort' to a large carboy 6gal+ (need some fruit room).
add enough spring water to bring batch to 5 gallons. Lift and Shake ~ to add ample oxygen.
ADD pinch of Yeast Nutruents, Add pinch of Yeast Enzymes...
*Now take the Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast
*rehydrate it in a preboiled (105 degrees F) water just a few minutes before pitching it into mead ~
Pitch rehydrated yeast once 'mead wort' is below 80 degrees F

attach carboy airlock ~

**best at 70 degrees F durring the full fermentation process**

wait 24 hours: ~ day 1
open and stir the fruit mixture slowly ~ to prevent any blockage of yeast
add another small pinch of Yeast Enzymes
add another small pinch of Yeast Nutruents

Wait 2 more days: ~ day 3
open and stir the fruit mixture slowly ~ to prevent any blockage of yeast
add another small pinch of Yeast Enzymes
add another small pinch of Yeast Nutruents

wait 2 more days: ~ day 5
open and stir the fruit mixture slowly ~ to prevent any blockage of yeast
add another small pinch of Yeast Enzymes
add another small pinch of Yeast Nutruents

wait 24 hours: ~ day 6
open and stir the fruit mixture slowly ~ to prevent any blockage of yeast

wait 24 hours: ~ day 7
Investigation day...
take a gravity reading ~
take a look at fruit ~
make judgements ~ is it time to rack 2ndary?
*rack to secondary when you feel it is time ~
Primary fermentation will last 4-6weeks ~
"how long do you want your mead on that fruit that at this point might just be rotten trub"
**I plan to rack secondary anywhere from day 7 to day 10

Rack the mead to a secondary fermenter to seperate mead from yeast abused strawberries which are now sunk or floating colorless~

add water if you feel trub stole too much~

At this point you will add the 2nd fruit batch :)ban:'s and Kiwi:D )
make sure to wash your fruit thoroughly before peeling to remove impurities~

Slice up some chunks of the 2# banana ~ not too small ~
Slice up some chunks of the 2# Kiwi ~ not too small ~

add fruity chunks into secondary ~

again ... leave for 1-3 weeks *or until judgment makes the call ~

Now we will rack to a thirdary -lol-
this will seperate any of the sediment and prepair the Strawbanawi Mead for aging and clarification
This could take several more weeks ~
take note of the apperance and gravity ~

BOTTLE WHEN FG IS REACHED AND WHEN MEAD HAS CLEARED

we are shooting for an FG of 1.020- 1.035 depending on your taste and desired sweetness ~

Prime with a little more clover Honey or corn sugar ~
corn sugar 3.4 oz to a CO2 volume of 2.25

drinkable weeks after bottling ~ aged to perfection in 1-2years!
:eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar: :eek:nestar:
 
Why the gypsum and Irish moss? Why boil the honey? I don't think that is useful at all.

The probable FG would be more like .990-.996, and certainly not in the area of 1.020-1.035.
 
I typically Irish moss (for clarity) on everything ~
The Gypsum was just something incorporated via reading PAPAZIAN~
in his mead section... he used it in every batch!
figured it had something to do with the honey not having the right "stuff" to do what it needs to do~

as for the boil ~ it is just a more convenient way for me to get it all desolved without mixing cold for several minutes ~
~plus i was going to pasturize the strawberries anyway ~

also curious how you came to the .990-.996 FG conclusion ~
if that is the case ... should more honey be added at some point ?

Thanks for feedback Yooper ~
 
I typically Irish moss (for clarity) on everything ~
The Gypsum was just something incorporated via reading PAPAZIAN~
in his mead section... he used it in every batch!
figured it had something to do with the honey not having the right "stuff" to do what it needs to do~

as for the boil ~ it is just a more convenient way for me to get it all desolved without mixing cold for several minutes ~
~plus i was going to pasturize the strawberries anyway ~

also curious how you came to the .990-.996 FG conclusion ~
if that is the case ... should more honey be added at some point ?

Thanks for feedback Yooper ~

Irish moss coagulates proteins, but you won't get any protein haze with honey and fruit, so it's not necessary. Gypsum as a flavor enhancer is a possibility, but it won't give the yeast the nutrients it needs. I'd leave both of them out, unless you absolutely know why you would need gypsum.

I would NEVER boil honey. You'll drive off the wonderful aromatics that honey brings. If you really want to dissolve it well, then you can add it to hot water or warm water and stir well.

FG is a function of several things, primarily yeast attenuation and alcohol tolerance and ingredients. Sugars from honey and fruits are 100% fermentable, so the only way to get the fermentation to stop before the fermentation is finished dry is to either overwhelm the yeast's alcohol tolerance (generally around 14% for that yeast strain) or to bottle and let it carb and then pasteurize. Both are risky propositions, and I'd really suggest reading up on that. Since your probable OG is around 1.124 (not even including the fruit), you may end up with a FG of 1.015 or so (if it does stop where predicted), but then the yeast will be overwhelmed and you will not be able to bottle carbonate. If you use a different yeast strain, say, EC-1118, the FG will go to .990 or so, and you could bottle carb but the mead would be dry.

Getting a sweet but carbonated mead is extremely tricky, and I would caution you to consider lowering the OG of the mead and try incremental feeding if you want to end up with a mead that you can carb up.

While I'm thinking of it, make sure you read the mead "stickies", as they discuss adding nutrients at the proper time and what to add. I don't make all that much mead, but I make tons of wine. Wine is a different animal in that you generally don't need much (if any) nutrients because fruit has more nutrients in it than honey.
 
Sugars from honey and fruits are 100% fermentable, so the only way to get the fermentation to stop before the fermentation is finished dry is to either overwhelm the yeast's alcohol tolerance (generally around 14% for that yeast strain) or to bottle and let it carb and then pasteurize. Both are risky propositions, and I'd really suggest reading up on that. Since your probable OG is around 1.124 (not even including the fruit), you may end up with a FG of 1.015 or so (if it does stop where predicted), but then the yeast will be overwhelmed and you will not be able to bottle carbonate. If you use a different yeast strain, say, EC-1118, the FG will go to .990 or so, and you could bottle carb but the mead would be dry.

Getting a sweet but carbonated mead is extremely tricky, and I would caution you to consider lowering the OG of the mead and try incremental feeding if you want to end up with a mead that you can carb up.

well, this is why I was excited to get this up on the forums ~
I need advice like this!!!
I will not boil and just heat the jugs of honey much like I heat my malt cans ~
I will also discard the Irish Moss ~
Think I will stick with the gypsum ~ its a small amount anyway... and I need to get my feet wet with it to start building a better understaning of its use!

BUT now I am a bit worried ~
I never even thought about the yeast hiting the point where they wouldnt want to cooperate in the CO2 process ~
makes a ton of sense though ~

and I want to keep it sweet ~
hmmm ~

you suggest switching yeast /.?

I desire a sweet sparkling Mead
FG 1.020-1.035

as for incremental feeding... do you mean feed it honey over time ?
if so... where do you suggest to do it in luo with my current schedule ?

If anyone can give some advise on altering my recipe! I would very much appreciate it!

Yooper, I cant thank you enough... keep it coming... I want to get this brewed up soon to have ready for 2013 Xmas ~
Saturday is the day I am shooting for! (12-1-12)
 
Gypsum from what i have read is for adjusting ph and tds on your water profile [palmers book]. I usaually used distilled water so it is useless to me, and I have no experence with it.

If you want a carbonated slighly sweeet mead you are wither in for alot of work or alot of waiting.

First when making a carbonated fruit flavored mead I generally shoot for a low OG between 1.040-1.060. It will give you between 5-8% abv That is more in the beer range than the true mead range.

I have brewed around what you want
Strawberry bananna mead- as always use proper sanitation

Add honey to distilled water to og of 1.050-1.060

fill fermenter and pitch yeast with yeast nutrient.
day 2 add yeast nutrient, day 3 add yeast nutrient.
1/3 sugar break add yeast nutrient.
One it ferments out let it sit for a couple of days and settle.

In a bowl add over ripe bannanas and strawberrys mash them well with a potato masher. Put them in a secopnsary fermenter with a little water to covr and a crushed campden tablet. Let sit for 24-48 hours [until the sulfur smell goes away after stirring] Add pectic enzyme and rack your mead on top of the fruit mix.
Allow it to secondary for 2-4 months [the longer it dose the more fruit you will pick up.
Rack to bottling bucket and bottle as with beer. Alow it to carb for one month and age for a couple more and some of the honey sweetness will come back.
 
Am I the only one wondering about the "Nordic" part? What makes a banana and strawberry mead... Nordic?
 
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