Classification on a Mead + intro

Hello,

I'm new to sharing my brewing ventures with the net, but I'm here to introduce myself only briefly.

As a fan of meads, I wanted to mention the mead that I have in my primary right now, just to join in. I'll get a picture series up, in time.

It's a dry, fruity mead that I desire to call a melomel, but I am open to any more accurate classification if any members here would mention such.

Here is the recipe I put together

5.5 Gallons pasteurized soft water
.5 Gal Organic Berry Essence Waters
1 Quart Organic Apricot and Mango Juices
1 Cup Organic Strawberries, sliced, frozen, thawed.
19 lbs. Organic White Clover Honey
1 Standard Red Star (likely Cote des Blanc) Pack

After mixing the essential must together, I cooled it to a safe temp and added in the activated yeast. I pulled out the Strawberries after two weeks out of personal preference (a less indulgent ripe note)

Nearing two months in, I plan to ensure a shutdown of the fermentation, cautiously bottle the beverage in some rather lovely cobalt bottles I picked up, and allow it to age sur lie (due to the minimal remaining lees being more fruity than yeasty, after the shutdown) in the bottle for the next several months.

Sadly, my carboy will remain thirsting for a chance to be a secondary, as I'm moving across the nation soon and will have an easier time transporting the little bottles than the sloshing glass tank.

Anyhow, that's my deal right now. Thanks for taking the time to read this, a little venture within a close of a chapter of my life.

 

So, now that I've wrapped up the fermentation, I've found that within a month of fermentation, adding sorbate/sulfite (then allowing a month of stagnation), and bottling this run up, the finished product is a sweet, strong (If I had to guess outright, ~15% abv) delight with a fine flavor and a crisp mango aroma. Ironically, my room flooded with a wondrous apricot aroma during the fermentation, but that all brewed out to utter nothingness; I'm afraid.

Would I recommend it? Yes

Would I recommend not misplacing my hydrometer, for the love of the mash next time? Undoubtedly.

I've got the brew (what's remained of it) bottled up in some of those beautiful cobalt 750mL's, and I can't wait to start on my next mead once I unpack here in CO.

I'm elated with the outcome: a crisp, clear fruity knockout, a real surprise and delight with my lack of experience.