Off-dry Blackberry Mead Help!

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!

1. yes you can ferment blackberry juice
2. yes wine yeast, maybe something like red star cote be blanc or lalvin d-47
3. That would bepend on the gravity of the juice, Someone who is bbetter at calculating gravity could help you more

Since fruit can have a range of sugar content from crop to crop, and sometimes even plant to plant, it's best to determine the SG of the juice BEFORE adding the honey. It's actually pretty easy to do if you have a refractometer.

I've seen advertisements for Blackberry Juice in Winmaker magazine, I think Walker's out of New York somewhere if you're interested, or if you have access to a fruit press. I'd probably just go whole fruit, depending the strength of flavor I'd go 4-5lbs of fruit per gallon and 3-4 lbs of honey per gallon, but I have no idea how it tasted so you can increase/decrease based on your feeling.

DaSwede said:

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!

Click to expand...

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.

Brewkowski said:

I've seen advertisements for Blackberry Juice in Winmaker magazine, I think Walker's out of New York somewhere if you're interested, or if you have access to a fruit press. I'd probably just go whole fruit, depending the strength of flavor I'd go 4-5lbs of fruit per gallon and 3-4 lbs of honey per gallon, but I have no idea how it tasted so you can increase/decrease based on your feeling.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I found this calculator:
http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=745&Itemid=16

How does the attached look?


EDIT: I got the sugar content from the Walker's website about their blackberry juice.

I wouldn't advise using 71B or RC-212 for your initial mead batches. For one thing RC-212 is VERY nutrient needy, and can easily go to 16%. 71B typically needs to be watched closely and removed from primary once you confirm fermentation is complete. Lalvin D47 would be my suggestion for a first shot yeast strain. Goes to 14% reliably and has the "E.V.C.: ENHANCES VARIETAL CHARACTER" sensory effect. Something what you're making will benefit from. While it's temperature range (listed) is 59-68F, you should be able to keep it there if you're brewing ales.

Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it! So here's what I'm thinking:
- 12lbs local honey
- 2 cans of blackberry puree (from Midwest Supplies)
- Lalvin D47 yeast (10g, doing a starter with GO-Ferm)
- Ferm-K and DAP

Is the process the same as a basic mead? (e.g: heat water, add honey + puree, top off with water, cool down, follow SNA)

DaSwede said:

Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it! So here's what I'm thinking:
- 12lbs local honey
- 2 cans of blackberry puree (from Midwest Supplies)
- Lalvin D47 yeast (10g, doing a starter with GO-Ferm)
- Ferm-K and DAP

Is the process the same as a basic mead? (e.g: heat water, add honey + puree, top off with water, cool down, follow SNA)

Click to expand...

Pretty much except do NOT heat the must above 100-110F. Simply put, there's zero need to do so. Also, a single yeast pack is good for up to about 6 gallons. If you're making a 5 gallon batch, then a single, rehyrated pack will be fine.

Golddiggie said:

Pretty much except do NOT heat the must above 100-110F. Simply put, there's zero need to do so. Also, a single yeast pack is good for up to about 6 gallons. If you're making a 5 gallon batch, then a single, rehyrated pack will be fine.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I was going to heat ~2 gallons to 110 before adding the honey.

I'm really looking forward to making this ever since I found a supplier of unprocessed, local honey!

DaSwede said:

Thanks. I was going to heat ~2 gallons to 110 before adding the honey.

I'm really looking forward to making this ever since I found a supplier of unprocessed, local honey!

Click to expand...

I go for raw, local/regional, wildflower honey for my meads. IMO/IME it's really great stuff. Lots more flavors compared with a singly honey type.

I would only heat the must IF the honey is really thick and you need it to mix better. Last batch I made had chunks of honey floating in it when I mixed it up. I used warmer water (kept it under 110F) since the honey was pretty well crystalized. I've been warming the honey up for a while now, with a heating pad on the bucket, so that it will be easier to mix up. Actually, I care more about having it easier to scoop the honey out of the [5 gallon] bucket.

Now that I think about it, if I taste and it's too dry after fermentation (before bottling) could I back-sweeten with a bit of honey (maybe .5lb or so)? And if I do, would I need to add something like potassium sorbate to inhibit yeast growth?

DaSwede said:

Now that I think about it, if I taste and it's too dry after fermentation (before bottling) could I back-sweeten with a bit of honey (maybe .5lb or so)? And if I do, would I need to add something like potassium sorbate to inhibit yeast growth?

Click to expand...

If you choose to backsweeten once this is dry, or as far as the yeast will go, then you always add k-meta/campden plus sorbate. Failing to so so will cause refermentation, unless the yeast are at toxicity point. Do tasting trials before you backsweeten...some like 2-4-6 oz per gallon or any amount above/beyond.

I recently had some of the same blackberry mead and also would like to try making my own. The goal is a full 6 gallon carboy using tupelo honey and that blackberry puree linked above. What Im confused about is the ratio of honey/puree per gallon.

Using the calculator I chose a target ABV of 12.5%, which is the same as the original mead, and 15# of honey which the amount I used in my previous fruit mead which was an apple cyser using apple cider in place of water. This gave an fruit amount of 46.2 oz which is just under one can of the puree. Im worried that that amount wont give enough color or flavor to the mix but Im not sure how to figure out the optimal amount of fruit. Any advice would be appreciated.

epyonxero said:

I recently had some of the same blackberry mead and also would like to try making my own. The goal is a full 6 gallon carboy using tupelo honey and that blackberry puree linked above. What Im confused about is the ratio of honey/puree per gallon.

Using the calculator I chose a target ABV of 12.5%, which is the same as the original mead, and 15# of honey which the amount I used in my previous fruit mead which was an apple cyser using apple cider in place of water. This gave an fruit amount of 46.2 oz which is just under one can of the puree. Im worried that that amount wont give enough color or flavor to the mix but Im not sure how to figure out the optimal amount of fruit. Any advice would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry about hitting the 12.5% ABV exactly. The mead is 12.5% +/- 1.5% so 11 - 14% ABV. The meadery uses the same amounts of base mead and fruit with every batch, but the fruit sugar content isn't completely consistent from batch to batch. By law they have to be +/- 1.5% so putting 12.5% on the bottle is the safest.

I haven't made this yet, but it's spring time, so soon I'll be able to get local, raw honey for a reasonable price!

If I go with the blackberry puree should it be added during secondary or primary? The oringal mead had a strong fruit flavor and colorwith a good tangyness but it was also dry.

how long before this will be drinkable?

Any update on this?