Dried Elderberry Melomel Help

[Hrahn1995]

Hey when im done with my current batch i plan on starting a gallon of an elderberry melomel. heres the tenetive recipe

2lbs Raw Honey
8oz Dried Elderberries
1/2oz Dried Elderflowers
1 Packet Premier Cuvée Yeast

Im aiming for a brilliant dark purple color, possibly with slight carbonation. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on getting the color out of the dried berries. I was planning on cutting them finely and putting them into boiling or near boiling water until they were reconstituted and then using an emulsifier to finish it off, then letting the elderflowers steep in the mixture for probably 30-60 minutes. after that transfer everything into the carboy put in the honey, let cool, oxygenate, give about the neck of head room and let go for 3-4 weeks then rack into a secondary.

Does anyone have experience working wiht dried elderberries, and know if the color will come out? Any suggestions are greatly apprieciated.

 

[odinsgift]

No clue on dry hyldebær, but I get almost a red wine color from my mjød with them fresh. I would rehydrate them, and heat until you see the color you aim for.

 

[fatbloke]

just pour a couple of pints of boiling water on them, cover and leave to cool. Once at room temperature, hit them with pectolase (pectic enzyme) and leave them for a day or two before actually mixing the fruit and it's water into the batch.

Oh, and you will just end up with a dry, still mead with that ingredient list. You may need more elderberry, it depends on the level of colouration that you get from that weight of fruit.

 

[Hrahn1995]

Yeah im aiming for a Dry Mead, i may prime lightly at bottling, Thanks for the advice.

 

[Goblet]

I too have been planning a dried elderberry melomel, once some space opens up in my fermenter. I've use dried elderberries to make sauces -- goes great with duck, or mix with strawberries to serve over cheesecake. Yum. Love the flavor.

I've read that elderberries contain a chemical that can be toxic to some people, but which breaks down on cooking, so I always cook them, just in case. I've also read that the seeds can be nasty to deal with in fermentations (green slime?!), so I leave the berries whole. The color comes out a dark red without breaking up the berries.

I've also read that some winemakers use a small amount of elderberries to increase the red color of their wine. I recently used 3 tbs of dried elderberry in a 5 gallon batch of strawberry-kiwi, just to pump up the color. I put the berries in a mesh bag with the strawberries. Worked very well at changing a pink lemonade color into a more strawberry red, and I don't think it affected the flavor noticeably.

I like the idea of using elderflowers too. Your plan sounds good, except cutting & emulsifying might release nasty stuff from the seeds. I would skip that step, but if you do it, please post a follow up on whether you got any green goo in your must. Maybe it only happens with fresh elderberries. I've only heard about it second hand. Definitely use pectinase if you heat the fruit. Good luck!

 

[fatbloke]

All parts of the plant do indeed contain toxins.......except the ripe fruit. It's why the fruit should be de-stalked completely, and any green, unripe fruit removed -which it is before drying.

 

[Goblet]

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[Hrahn1995]

Yeah i think i will try the cutting them up and seeing if that creates a "goo." is this goo detrimental to the final productor is it just nasty looking in the primary? i plan on running it througha tea strainer as i rack from primary to secondary. Thanks for the advice on the color, it is one of the most important parts to me besides the taste haha. I like my Melomels to resemble their ingredients. I've actually never used Elderflowers or seen them in any recipes, What type of taste do they empart on the Melomel.

Side note: im thinking about calling this Mead Mimisbrunnr water. I use the Beer Labelizer to make labels http://www.beerlabelizer.com/ if anyone wants to make some custom labels.

 

[fatbloke]

Yeah i think i will try the cutting them up and seeing if that creates a "goo." is this goo detrimental to the final productor is it just nasty looking in the primary? i plan on running it througha tea strainer as i rack from primary to secondary. Thanks for the advice on the color, it is one of the most important parts to me besides the taste haha. I like my Melomels to resemble their ingredients. I've actually never used Elderflowers or seen them in any recipes, What type of taste do they empart on the Melomel.
-----%<-----

No, don't chop them up or anything like that. Just rehydrate them with the hot water. They do contain seeds, which can impart some bitterness if broken up/crushed/chopped.

Plus they create less debris in the brew, which can be a bit of a bugger to remove. The yeast will get to the sugars anyway.

Whether you'll actually taste any of the elderflower, I don't know. The fruit gives a sort of generic fruity/berry taste, the tannins in the fruit can give quite a hint of red wine. The elderflower on it's own, usually gives a hint of sort of sweet floral notes. That may be masked by the fruit, but might also come out with ageing.......

 

[Hrahn1995]

Ok Thanks for the advice. I'll follow it. I looked at a couple recipes for Elderflower Meads and they say that with 1/4 oz of dried flowers you can get a very strong flavor so i think the 1/2 will work to remain in the forefront of the nose.

 

[Hrahn1995]

Hey everyone i started this mead tonight. i havent pitched the yeast but im giving the pectic enzyme a day to work and i used half the amount of elderberries so i can adjust it for flavor later.