So I started my 2nd mead today. I am going to make it a raspberry melomel. Just wanted to toss out my recipe and see if anybody thinks I should change something before it's too late.
-Wildflower Honey- ~15-16lbs-my scale sucks but I think it's close to that.
-Water to 5gal
-OG-1.110
-2 packets of 71b(I know 2 packets is overkill, but honey is expensive and 71b is not)
-Raspberries-we picked about 2 gallons of wile raspberries in our back yard last summer(I believe).
I do not boil my honey, but rather heat water to mix. I plan on fermenting without the raspberries and adding them add into secondary. I will ferment using 3 staggered nutrient/energizer additions and daily oxygenation until bulk of fermentation is done.
Then rack to 6gal carboy and add raspberries. I guess this is where some input is needed. With fruit is secondary done best with a BB, glass, or bucket? I only have one bucket and am fermenting in it right now, but for ease of handling I could always rack to something and rack back it it means it's easier to get berries in/out. I was thinking that a BB would also be nice due to wide mouth. If people have not had issues either way then I will just use what's available to me. Also could I even add raspberries after fermentation has halted/after campden & sorbate? Are there any risks/down side to doing that?
After 2 weeks on berries it's tertiary/bulk aging time. Stabilize with campden/sorbate. Then sweeten and bottle. May also add acid/vanilla beans but haven't decided.
-Wildflower Honey- ~15-16lbs-my scale sucks but I think it's close to that.
-Water to 5gal
-OG-1.110
-2 packets of 71b(I know 2 packets is overkill, but honey is expensive and 71b is not)
-Raspberries-we picked about 2 gallons of wile raspberries in our back yard last summer(I believe).
I do not boil my honey, but rather heat water to mix. I plan on fermenting without the raspberries and adding them add into secondary. I will ferment using 3 staggered nutrient/energizer additions and daily oxygenation until bulk of fermentation is done.
Then rack to 6gal carboy and add raspberries. I guess this is where some input is needed. With fruit is secondary done best with a BB, glass, or bucket? I only have one bucket and am fermenting in it right now, but for ease of handling I could always rack to something and rack back it it means it's easier to get berries in/out. I was thinking that a BB would also be nice due to wide mouth. If people have not had issues either way then I will just use what's available to me. Also could I even add raspberries after fermentation has halted/after campden & sorbate? Are there any risks/down side to doing that?
After 2 weeks on berries it's tertiary/bulk aging time. Stabilize with campden/sorbate. Then sweeten and bottle. May also add acid/vanilla beans but haven't decided.
