I wanted to give a melomel a shot, so I decided to do strawberry. Chopped up 6 lbs of thawed strawberries and put into a 3 gallon carboy.I then racked the mead out of primary onto the strawberries. Fermentation started back up immediately and after about 3 hours, all those strawberries floated up to the top. Now, 2 days later, those strawberries are floating above the mead. Should I be concerned about that? Should I try to knock it down or just let it be?
Strawberry Melomel question
- Thread starter CTMike33
- Start date
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My experience has been you can let them be for up to a week or so. If concerned about them getting "funky" you can punch em down or just gently stir them a little. But not really needed if you stick to cooler temps and a week or so. (60 to 70 Deg F)
I do not go much longer than 10 days in secondary as I have found the berrys with small seeds like strawberries will tend to impart some off flavors from the seeds and by then strawberries tend to pretty much give up almost everything they will be able to provide as to flavor.
I do not go much longer than 10 days in secondary as I have found the berrys with small seeds like strawberries will tend to impart some off flavors from the seeds and by then strawberries tend to pretty much give up almost everything they will be able to provide as to flavor.
hello brother
i can recommend to you the "inproved way to do melomel's, search in youtube for the video i dont remember the exact name but it describes a better way to make this kind of Mead, the main point is to let the mead ferment without the fruit in primary and before the first month when the primary fermentation stops then you put the fruit in, the alcohol in it will take more flavor from the fruit and improve the fruity flavor and avoid the risk of get off flavors from the fruit because the alcohol on it will sterilize the fruit skin.
sorry i miss read your post, you already do that XD
Thanx for the replies guys.
I was concerned they would get "funky" not being submerged in the mead. It's in a room that's 60-65 degs, so i'll let it be and rack after 10 days like you suggested. The seeds imparting off flavors is good to know. I'm scared I'll do more bad then good trying to scrap the berries of the glass carboy. Next time I think I'll buy a pail and do secondary in that.
I was concerned they would get "funky" not being submerged in the mead. It's in a room that's 60-65 degs, so i'll let it be and rack after 10 days like you suggested. The seeds imparting off flavors is good to know. I'm scared I'll do more bad then good trying to scrap the berries of the glass carboy. Next time I think I'll buy a pail and do secondary in that.
I have used a pail (don't like them much but have used them.) and would suggest you put the fruit in one of those paint strainer bags you can buy at the hardware store, tie with a string and plunk a handful of marbles in it. Be sure to sanitize the bag, marbles and string by soaking sanitizer first. The marbles keep the fruit / bag from floating and the bag can be plucked out and thrown away when done. (Bags are like $5 for three at the big box stores.)
Some folks say it is hard to effectively sanitize a bag but the few times i did use one have personally never had a problem. I typically just freeze the fruit thaw and push into the carboy. Let her go and deal with the mess.
Oh and here is the guide i use for fruit.
All of these Fruit additions would take place in Secondary (After freezing and thawing) all are for 5 gallons of mead.
24 30 Days
Blueberries, Cherries (Sweet)
Mild Fruit Character 5 to 7 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 8 - 10 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 11 lbs or more
Citrus Fruits
Mild Fruit Character 5 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 6 to 8 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 9 lbs or more
Pears, Apples
Mild Fruit Character 5 lbs to 7 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 8 to 10 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 11 lbs or more
Plums (use skins as well)
Mild Fruit Character 4 lbs to 6 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 7 to 9 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 10 lbs or more
8 10 Days
Raspberries Blackberries - Cranberries
Mild Fruit Character 3 lbs to 5 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 6 to 8 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 9 lbs or more
Strawberries
Mild Fruit Character 5 to 7 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 8 to 10 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 11 to 13 lbs
Some folks say it is hard to effectively sanitize a bag but the few times i did use one have personally never had a problem. I typically just freeze the fruit thaw and push into the carboy. Let her go and deal with the mess.
Oh and here is the guide i use for fruit.
All of these Fruit additions would take place in Secondary (After freezing and thawing) all are for 5 gallons of mead.
24 30 Days
Blueberries, Cherries (Sweet)
Mild Fruit Character 5 to 7 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 8 - 10 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 11 lbs or more
Citrus Fruits
Mild Fruit Character 5 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 6 to 8 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 9 lbs or more
Pears, Apples
Mild Fruit Character 5 lbs to 7 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 8 to 10 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 11 lbs or more
Plums (use skins as well)
Mild Fruit Character 4 lbs to 6 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 7 to 9 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 10 lbs or more
8 10 Days
Raspberries Blackberries - Cranberries
Mild Fruit Character 3 lbs to 5 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 6 to 8 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 9 lbs or more
Strawberries
Mild Fruit Character 5 to 7 lbs
Medium Fruit Character 8 to 10 lbs
Strong Fruit Character 11 to 13 lbs
