Hinermad
Well-Known Member
Fusorfodder's thread about almond honey got me wondering. Would it be possible to ferment on nuts the way we do fruit? The idea of a cherry almond mead really appeals to me.
Dave
Dave
Nuts!
- Thread starter Hinermad
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brrman
Well-Known Member
Nuts typically have oils which are bad for head retention. I am not amead guy so no idea if you even have head on mead. Do you serve mead still or carbonated?
OP
OP
Hinermad
Well-Known Member
All the meads I've had or made (which admittedly aren't many) were still, although I believe there are sparking meads. Mead is a lot like wine.
Dave
Dave
I say go for it with the cherry almond mead. I did a vanilla almond with some raw almonds. Waiting for it to age properly but looks good. I suggest you toast the almonds prior to use. Crush them up after toasting and put in secondary for a few months. Now for a more potent almond flavor I suggest you use 1 pound per gallon. Yes that WILL increase the volume you need. The almonds will absorb a lot of liquid and you may need to press them when you rack to get better flavors. I suggest you do the almond first and then after 2-3 months on the almonds rack on to your cherry. I suggest cherry juice or concentrate this will keep your lees down. You may want to age on 1 oz of medium toasted oak too.
Oh, Also put the almonds in a bag. They are an unholly mess to get out of a carboy. I would suggest that you use a fermenting bucket instead of a glass carboy for that stage.
I only used 1 pound of sliced almonds untoasted. Didn't get much flavor out of it.
You may also want to use pure almond extract too.
Something to note: Almond is a very sweet nut. If you are looking for more earthy flavor I suggest walnut or pecans.
Hmm, Chesnut mead sounds really good right now.
Oh, Also put the almonds in a bag. They are an unholly mess to get out of a carboy. I would suggest that you use a fermenting bucket instead of a glass carboy for that stage.
I only used 1 pound of sliced almonds untoasted. Didn't get much flavor out of it.
You may also want to use pure almond extract too.
Something to note: Almond is a very sweet nut. If you are looking for more earthy flavor I suggest walnut or pecans.
Hmm, Chesnut mead sounds really good right now.
vulture1963
Active Member
The pleasure of almonds in a cherry mead would (for me) be almost entirely the smell. I think you'd do better to do one of two things: Use an almond extract (I like Nielsen-Massey extracts), or rack onto some almonds during a secondary period.
OP
OP
Hinermad
Well-Known Member
How big a batch? I assume it was more than a gallon.
I thought about walnut, but I like the pecan idea. That might be next on my list. Or maybe I'll do some small batches of each and see which ones light my fire.
Okay, there's another batch. I think I need to build some shelves. (Grin)
Thanks for the advice!
Dave
It was a 5 gallon batch. I also used 6 vanilla beans. 20 pounds of honey too, so very sweet mead, not done aging. Something else I forgot to note. I have heard that meads with oils in them do take longer to age because the oils need time to break down. I have heard that coffee and chocolate meads take 2 years to age. I imagine the same could be true with nuts. Hey, I just thought of an idea for a chocolate chesnut mead. Use Nutella. It is basically chesnuts and chocolate. I wonder if they put preservitieves in it that would prevent fermentation. Ah, well.
I have seen on this board someone did a chocolate experiment with different types of chocolate sources. I beleive that they put the chocolates all in the primary though. I would put it in the secondary to keep the chocolate flavor. I wonder if it makes a big diffrence with chocolate or spices. It does with fruit, greatly matters.
But that is not the focus of this thread.
Be sure to let us know how it went. I am personally interested in the processes you used with the nuts and how it turned out. Pics are good too. If you do, it would be great to have a play by play brewlog from start to finish with pics. But that is me just getting greedy.
Atleast let us know how it went and your recipie.
OP
OP
Hinermad
Well-Known Member
I will. I've already decided to give it a whirl, so I'll keep a log here so folks can learn from my mistakes. (grin) First I need to round up a couple more carboys and a bucket.
Dave
I'm brewing a nut brown ale today with 1 lb roasted chestnuts, and pacman yeast. Should be tasty. Any suggestions on when to add the nuts? I figure I'd add the last 5 minutes of the boil in the same manor you'd add fruit...
Brian
Brian
