Considering a use for some aged honey

[cluckk]

I have about 10 pounds of honey bought from a friend almost ten years ago. It is Wild Flower honey harvested from my friends hives when we lived in Northern Idaho. I thought I had used it years ago, but my wife pulled it out when I told her I was going to buy some honey to make a mead. The honey has gotten dark brown (I mean truly deep dark rich brown). It tastes amazing! Lick your mustache off amazing! It has a syrupy, almost molasses like quality to it.

I am considering using it for either a mead or for a braggot. The thing is, this is something I will likely never be able to replicate since I don't plan to store giant jars of honey for decades at a time--though if it turns out it might be a good idea. I also want to make sure the flavor of the honey is highlighted and comes out. This is likely something I will make and hopefully enjoy slowly over the rest of my years. I am considering a straight still mead. I think the braggot would bury the honey flavors and any addition of fruit or spices would also likely get in the way.

Any advice out there? Make five gallons with the addition of some local honey or use the ten pounds to make a smaller batch--perhaps a three gallon batch? I haven't made a ton of mead before (I mostly homebrew) so this will be a slow and deliberate labor of love. It would be a real shame to pour out something with this much character. So once again, advice?

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

If you want the honey to be the star, make a traditional! Adding stuff takes away form that honey. I also recommend back-sweetening with a bit of that honey as well.

I also say 3 gallon batch. You will get like 20+ 375ml bottles you can slowly enjoy at your leisure

 

[fatbloke]

if you want the honey to be the star, make a traditional! Adding stuff takes away form that honey. I also recommend back-sweetening with a bit of that honey as well.

I also say 3 gallon batch. You will get like 20+ 375ml bottles you can slowly enjoy at your leisure

+1.......

 

[Bearmaul]

Its very popular in Indian cuisine to have the same spices in both raw and cooked forms to highlight all the flavors of the spices. If you have a honey you really like why not apply that same methodology? Make a traditional mead, ferment it dry, stabilize and backsweeten with the same honey lightly caramelized.

Of course there's always the possibility that heating the honey will destroy its mustache-licking characteristics. Who knows?

 

[cluckk]

Thanks guys. I think this gives me a good plan of attack--preserve a bit of the honey and back sweeten is a good idea. It's off to the homebrew store to get the rest of the stuff I'll need! "Come on! I know it's only 6AM! Just open the door, please!"

 

[cluckk]

The honey turned out to be about 9 lbs. It was almost all crystalized with only a small amount of liquid--it looked on the bottle as if about an inch and a half had evaporated over the years. I assume the lid on the jar is not perfectly airtight, though it was almost cemented on by honey. Here's a picture of the reserved honey showing just how dark it got over the ten years we had it:



I ended up making about 3 gallons at 1.098. I saved back a cup of the honey to back sweeten with. I won't just use the whole cup, but will calculate how much to use, after fermentation.

Because I didn't want to lose any of the honey character I decided not to heat it. Instead I doused with sulfite to prepare the must and then after a bit over 24 hours later I aerated, pitched yeast along with the appropriate amount of Go-Ferm and Fermaid-K. This morning, it is fermenting nicely. I plan to make other staggered additions as it ferments down.

If nothing else, it will be a learning experience. I'd hate for it to be a lesson on "what not to do," but hopefully I end up with a nice mead to enjoy over the next many years to see how it ages--while seeing how I age.

 

[On-target]

good luck, sounds like i need to plan a trip in a couple of years to help you sample it.

 

[cluckk]

I'm using staggered nutrient additions. During the first such addition I pulled a small sample to see how it tasted--I didn't taste it before I pitched.

It was quite nice and my wife loved it.

 

[fatbloke]

Well as dark as that, I'd say the honey has oxidised some.

I've got some honey that dates back to the early to mid-90's. While it darker than freshly harvested honey, the industry standard buckets it was stored in have meant its crystalised but that's a "non-issue" anyway.......

Good luck with the batch.......

 

[cluckk]

Since I've had to open the fermenter to add nutrients at stages, I have had the opportunity to taste it each time. It tastes amazing and my wife loves it. You are right that it is probably oxidized, but my favorite way to learn is to try and see what comes out.

 

[fatbloke]

Since I've had to open the fermenter to add nutrients at stages, I have had the opportunity to taste it each time. It tastes amazing and my wife loves it. You are right that it is probably oxidized, but my favorite way to learn is to try and see what comes out.

Good news then.....

Just remember, tastes etc taken during the ferment, aren't a good gauge of potential.

Once the ferment is complete, young meads often taste hideous. Keeping that bit of honey was likely a better idea than you realise....

Good on ya Matey......

 

[cluckk]

I understand that. These early tastes are more an example of the unfermented honey diluted with water. I plan to back-sweeten with the left over. It has been going strong for days now and I expect that it tastes very different. I plan to age it quite a while before drinking.

 

[jungatheart]

I want to stick my finger in that jar of honey and put it in my mouth.

 

[cluckk]

OK guys. The mead has been fermenting for about four months. It turned out great. It was still a bit sweet so I treated with a bit of acid blend to taste and it gave it a nice finish, knocking off some of the sweet finish. I'm not a big fan of the real sweet stuff, but like a dry finish.

I bottled today because it tasted beautiful and was crystal clear. For some reason, my computer is complaining about uploading right now, so I'll have to post them later.

 

[fatbloke]

OK guys. The mead has been fermenting for about four months. It turned out great. It was still a bit sweet so I treated with a bit of acid blend to taste and it gave it a nice finish, knocking off some of the sweet finish. I'm not a big fan of the real sweet stuff, but like a dry finish.

I bottled today because it tasted beautiful and was crystal clear. For some reason, my computer is complaining about uploading right now, so I'll have to post them later.

Well presumably you have stabilised etc too, just for a sensible/safety approach ?

Plus using a bit of acid to knock some of the sweetness back is a good idea.

Looking forward to seeing any pics and TVM for the update........

 

[WVMJ]

So glad you went against your brewing nature and didnt heat this up. We tasted some 14 year old mead made by a beer brewer, it had been brewed, standard store bought honey, it had oxidized a bit over time, it was smooth as silk, like well aged burbon, but on its downhill slide, but what a good way to go out. You are already starting there with the smooth taste from aged honey, this should be very good. Isnt it funny how your wife has been waiting for you to use that honey for 10 years? Whenever I need to get something new my wife already seems to have an inventory of what we have, some of which I forgot I had and I am on the one using it! WVMJ