Buckwheat Honey

[merhlyn]

Need some advice/help. I have purchased 15 gallons of Buckwheat honey (wife likes it on muffins) and I like the very dark color. Thought I would make some mead out of this. I have done some traditional mead's and cyser's but would like some advise on a 3 gallon or less batch. I have used the Lavlin d-47 and have been happy with this.

So here is the big question. I woud like to us this honey to create just a basic traditional mead, still, sweet and would like some advice on amounts and type of yeast?

Thanks all.

Michael

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

2.5lbs per gallon
yeast nutrients
D-47

Then ferment it out, stabilize and backsweeten to your desired level.

 

[Arpolis]

D47 is a fine yeast and works well in traditionals but works best if fermented on the cool side between 60*F - 65*F. I prefer Lalvin 71b-1112 for traditional meads. Others may argue a great traditional mead yeast is Wyeast 1388 Belgian strong ale.

I think ether will do well so look up your options and go with what sounds good to you.

Some say that fermented buckwheat honey has a grassy or "barnyard" after taste and can be pretty pungent. So take 1 tsp of your honey and dissolve it in a cup of warm water. Give it a few tastes and try and look past any sweetness and see what other flavors your honey has hidden.

If anything is undesirable or questionable then possibly a Bochet is up your alley. It is the same as a traditional but you boil the honey to caramelize it.

1 gallon

2.5lb Honey
1tsp yeast nutrient (DAP)
1tsp yeast energizer (Any tan colored nutrient)
Water to one gallon
Yeast

Process:

Mix honey with 1 cup warm water in a large pot. Turn on a medium flame and be ready with a large clean spoon. When it starts to boil honey will expand nearly 4X its original volume. Stirring it consistently keeps that down. Also start to boil another pot of water for later. Let the honey boil an hour and then take 1 cup of your hot boiling water and slowly pour that into the honey to keep it thin. Let this boil another 15min for light caramelization, another 45 min for medium and another hour and 15 min for heavy. Once done remove heat and mix in another cup of boiling water slowly. Once mixed and thin again let cool. If you have a glass carboy you can add it shortly afterwards. Having an ice bath for the pot helps to cool more quickly. Once in the carboy/bucket/jug then mix up your two nutrients and add 1 tsp of it to the fermenter and top off with water allowing room for yeast of need be. Shake and aerate well and when at room temp pitch yeast. Every 24 hours for the next 48 hours add 1/2 tsp of your nutrient blend. Make sure to rock around or mix the mead daily if not twice daily to degas it some and keep the dissolved CO2 from piling up. You should do that for the first 5-7 days.

You may notice not all the sugar ferments away. Depending on the heat used and the honey you may have an ending gravity between 1.002 - 1.010. That is fine because some sugars just seem to become un fermentable due to the caramelization process. Rack off sediment when fermentation is done and at least 1/4 inch of lees is formed. Add a crushed camden tablet and sorbate once you rack it, wait 12-24 hours and then add honey to desired gravity level. Rack every 30 days till no sediment drops and then feel free to bulk age or bottle.

 

[WVMJ]

If our new friend here roasts up some buckewheat honey to make a bochet in his house his wife is not going to let him buy anymore honey or make mead. If you guys like buckwheat honey enough to put it on muffins then you already know you like it, you already know how to make mead so just make it with buckwheat like your other batches. If you can get your hands on some good real cider why not make a cyser and a traditional, good excuse to get another carboy, though I have never made a buckwheat trad or cyser I have tasted it and if you like good strong honey this would be good both ways. GOOD LUCK! WVMJ

 

[merhlyn]

I never thought about making it as a cyser. I can see in my mind that it will make an interesting combination. I can't wait till the apples to come in.

 

[kev]

I have made buckwheat mead. It is good. Very robust flavor. I make for introducing it to an ale for Braggot. I liked the results so much so that I now add 50% buckwheat to my regular mead recipe. The only draw back is it takes a while to clear. I recommend cold crashing for several days before bottling. It ages real nicely as well.

Cheers
Kev


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