My take on pineapple melomel

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Jackstraw207

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So Ive made up a 5 gallon batch. Ingredients were 10 lbs honey and just over 2 gallons of pineapple juice, and topped off the difference with water. Gravity started at 1.095 ish. Added yeast nutrient and energizer and 5 Camden tabs. Will be pitching D47 yeast tomorrow at breakfast. Has anybody used this yeast for a pineapple melomel? This is only my second run ever.
 
Couple of things:
The Camden tabs will prohibit yeast from doing it's job. The yeast will be busy fighting off the Potassium Metabisulphite and you will end up with fusal smells and a slow or stuck fermentation.
You need more honey. 3-4 lbs. per gallon, and that's for a dry to medium sweet mead. So 15 to 20 lbs depending on your taste for a 5 gallon batch.
The pineapple juice: did it have preservatives? That is going to mess with your yeast as well.
I've made pineapple ginger mead with great success (and also fell short one or two times, so learn from my mistakes.)
Looking over my notes from the last time I made it and here's what I did.

Use a food grade plastic bucket. Cut up 6 lbs of pineapple into chunks. That's about two and a half medium sized pineapples from Costco. (getting those out of a glass carboy is a chore and a half. Use the bucket to save time and $.)
The nutrient, energizer and yeast portion is spot on. I've used D47 and it's my go-to yeast. Step feed the nutrient.
Careful with the fresh sliced ginger, that's strong stuff. 8 oz. is plenty for 5 gallons.

I'm guessing you want to purify the water because you're using so many tablets in the beginning. So why not some Reverse Osmosis water? Down here in Texas, simply using a Brita water filter on tap water works fine.
My SG was 1.115 and ended up with 0.99 as FG

My 2c is don't put the Camden tablets in. Only when you want the yeast to be killed after fermentation.
When the bubbling stops, after you have removed the fruit, then do the five Camden Tablets to kill any wild yeast off.
 
The juice was chemical free, Camden tabs were to sterilize the must. Yeast was pitched a day and a half later. I use bottled water...Will it hurt me to add 5 to 10 pounds of honey in secondary?do I have to repitch?I always step feed my nutrients. Fermentation seems fine as of now.
 
Jackstraw,
You could always let it ferment dry, and then back sweeten. Another option is to use a yeast that cuts out at a lower ABV.
There are a few benefits to fermenting at lower gravitates in my opinion. Ferments fast, ages faster, and you can drink more in a single sitting without feeling to guilty.
 
You'll be fine. 1.095 will give you a 12.5% dry mead, nothing wrong with that. Campden won't hurt you but it's not necessary for mead, as honey doesn't have much bacteria or wild yeasts to contend with. Let it ride and good luck.
 
This melomel has been in secondary for a month and is still slowly fermenting.( I added some brown sugar when I racked it...1/3 cup per gallon. I split this into a three gallon carboy and gallon jug. Lost a gallon to fruit pulp and lees... It is crystal clear already.my hydrometer broke in sanitation process so I have no clue on gravity currently. Also I apologize for the sideways picture

image.jpg
 
I take it the Seasonal Brew (Paper? Logo) is on the other side to show clarity. That's great! If the lees is 1/4 inch or more, I'd recommend racking and filtering. Other than that, let it ride. Buy another hydrometer. Breaking one is almost a right of passage. I've lost count of how many have rolled off my workbench.
You've said this is your second run at making mead. Please be patient. I know it looks good now. You've done everything right so far. Now comes the patience game.
We've all been there. It looks so good, you want to try your creation. You might even convince yourself that it doesn't taste all that bad.
Understand mead reaches a new level of awesome two years after you cork the bottle. Two years!
Rack it, filter it. When it stops bubbling (even the tiniest bubbles) then you bottle it. And the waiting game begins. The longer you wait, the better it tastes.
Depressing, we know.
The most I've been able to wait is one year. I'm hoping to improve that record. For now, the best advice I can give is to wait. You are not going to bottle this until October. Next Christmas you can think about cracking a bottle. Show off to your friends in spring or summer 2018.
 
Haha the wait... Yeah I've got a gallon of blueberry melomel that turns a year old on Christmas and three gallons of show that is also a year at Christmas. The blueberry has been bottled and tasted and is wonderful now but is still young overall. No major honey flavor, all berries and seriously dry!The show mead will be bottled when I quit being lazy and learn proper back sweetening methods or ratios. All in due time.
 
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