Craft a Brew Question

[Wolf357]

So I am…really new to Mead brewing…just finished my first brew with one of those Craft a Brew Kits…
I have a few questions for my next batch can I replace apple juice or tea for the water for extra flavour? Is there somewhere for recipes for the craft a brew?
Thanks?

 

[bushpilot]

I have never used a kit, so may miss something in my response.

That said, I have made really nice cysers by using apple juice instead of water in meads. Keep in mind that the juice has fermentable sugars as well, and will boost your ABV by about 5% (assuming it goes dry), so plan accordingly.

Tea adds tannins, which are desirable in cysers. You could add that as well.

 

[bernardsmith]

You can always use fruit juice or tea to replace water when making a mead (apple juice will give you what is known as a cyser), but you need to be aware that fruit juices generally have a gravity of around 1.045 - 1.055 or the equivalent of about about 1 lb of sugar per gallon of juice. If you are adding say 2 lbs of honey per gallon (1.070) then your starting gravity is going to be around 1.120 (or a potential ABV of about 16%. Mead and wine making is all about balance and balancing a 16% mead is not an easy task for a beginner. You want to look for an ABV closer to 12% so you may want to reduce the amount of honey you use to about 1 lb per gallon. (reducing the amount of juice is a possibility, too but only if you enjoy drinking diluted juice - which in my opinion is close to crap.