Hibiscus mead

[reapernazara]

I want to try a one gallon batch of hibiscus mead. My wife can already make really good hibiscus tea, or Agua de jamaica, so I'm wondering how much to use for one gallon? So if anyone has attempted this before or thinks might know please chime in. I don't think I want to add anything else just hibiscus and honey, and then I'll back sweeten a bit as well.

 

[CKuhns]

I have used Hibiscus both in primary, secondary and both primary and secondary.

Get real hibiscus flower tea from a tea shop. Don’t buy hibiscus tea from the grocery store, as it’s usually mixed with black teas and other things; it’s also never going to deliver the right potency you’ll need. You’ll need a 300 gram (10 oz) packet of hibiscus

In Primary:
In a medium-sized pot, add 1 litre (Quart) of your water and the hibiscus, and bring to a strong simmer (try not to boil). Note that you’ll want to let this sit at least an hour to get a strong tea. Add to 1.5 litres of cool water and your honey and top up with more water if required in your jug.

In Secondary:
Add your tea to a sanitized brew sock or cheese cloth bag with a couple of marbles to sink it. After racking from primary just drop it in your Mead. I prefer 20 days. But check it after each 5 days to ensure it tastes as you would expect, don't be afraid to go longer if you want to. It will "mellow" a bit with age I like it slightly stronger than you would think.

I personally have settled on using both primary and secondary techniques above using 400 grams (14 oz) and splitting the tea equally between the two.

On a side note - I have found that for Melomels Hibiscus tea in primary brings great mouth feel and color that pair very well with Blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries when added to secondary.

 

[reapernazara]

Do you add the regular amount of honey, like 3.5 lbs? Thanks fit the help, im going to start it this week or next. Do you think there would be any reason this wouldn't work as a BOMM?

 

[CKuhns]

Yes "normal" OG startiing gravities would apply. I personnaly target 3.5 pounds per gallon, and roughly 1.120 OG.

No reason it would not work with a BOMM at 1.100. No personal experience with that , but feel that the aggressive ferment in primary might blow out some if the flavors. I would consider using hibiscus in both primary and secondary to account for that.

 

[TheSkipinator]

I just put up a Hibiscus Short Mead a few days ago. I have a simplified recipe of 11 pounds of Honey to 3 gallons of water. I use 1 oz of dried jamaica per gallon of must. I make a tea out of the leaves using just enough water to cover the leaves in the pot. They steep for about 15 minutes and after being drained and a quick cooling, into the fermentor goes the tea. You can see the color I get with that combo in the pic below. It also seems to be the sweet spot for me for balancing the bitter/sweet flavor easily.