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Good afternoon group. I now have 3 meads under my belt. All three are melomels. 1 batch of mixed berry and 2 batches of black currant and blueberry. All three have finished in the 1.015 to 1.020 gravity. Here is my question. All three have a sharp, tart taste on the front end with the...

Good evening folks. I ask your forgiveness in advance for resurrecting this thread from the past. I wanted to give a final update on this project at the 6 month mark. Far too often, I find the detail regarding the beginning of a brewing project with no closure of how the thing ultimately...

I chose to go the crown cap route for simplicity purposes. I found a glass bottle supplier that sells me clear 12 ounce beer bottles along with 375 and 750 ml wine bottles that accept crown caps. I was not able to source the clear bottles locally and the shipping cost as much as the bottles...

Good evening folks. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Recently purchased the silicon venting bung/dry airlock from Keystone Homebrew Supply (I have no affiliation other than being a customer). I wanted to post the results that I have experienced with the dry airlocks in case any...

I am grateful for the feedback. It sounds like I need to make a 5 gallon batch of a recipe, split it into 1 gallon jugs post primary, and do some experimenting on my own with oak and other additions to get a first hand knowledge of the impact to the final product. I have a poor palate and a...

Thanks for the response Miraculix. Can you, or anyone for that matter, tell me what impact the addition of medium toast French oak cubes would have on the mead. Will it add body to the mead? Currently, this mead may be a little thin. Looking for options to add some body. Thanks. Todd...

Good morning folks. I wanted to give an update on my mixed berry project and, in doing so, resurrect this thread. Opened the glass carboy for the first time this morning since initially racking the mead from the fermentation bucket. The mead has been in secondary for a little over 2...

Sounds good. D47 is known to throw hot alcohol flavors and smells if the fermentation temp get too high. I was just curious at what temp you fermented to have a drinkable product without the presence of the fuselage alcohol taste. Todd Peterson

The final product is beautiful. What temp did you ferment at? How low do you have to ferment D47 to avoid fuesels? When you removed the blueberries from secondary, did the remaining fruit smell funky? Todd Peterson

That is beautiful. How does it taste? I think I have figured out that the “wet dog smell/taste” is the berries breaking down in the must. I’m thinking this will go away in bulk aging. I was very encouraged that I didn’t taste hot alcohol. I think SNA and low temp during fermentation helped...

09/28/22 Update I racked the mead to secondary this evening resulting in a full 3 gallon carboy with minimal headspace. The hydrometer reads 1.015. While I believe fermentation is complete, I will leave the mead in secondary under airlock for several months prior to bottling. I am hoping...

Thanks for the feedback. Looking forward to putting a pyment together. Need to figure out which varietal of grape juice and then what I would like the final product to taste like from a residual sugar perspective. I’m confident that I’ll have more questions. Thanks for sharing your...

Thank you both for the input and perspective. What if the SG of the grape juice? How high do you take the starting gravity with your honey addition? Will the must ferment dry? What yeast has been successful in the red wine pyment world? Todd Peterson

Good evening folks. While I wait on my mixed berry mead to come out of primary, I have had some time to ponder what my next mead will be. I’m leaning toward a pyment using the grape juice from a wine kit. Does anyone have a recommendation on a high quality wine kit to get the juice from...

That is a great story. D47 and heat equals paint thinner in my experience. I’m glad your cursed batch is coming around. It’s visually appealing for sure. Todd Peterson

Thanks for the feedback Dan O! We will see how it progresses as the fermentation finishes and the must is moved to secondary fermentation for a while. I am hoping that it drops anther 10 to 15 points in gravity prior to finishing. I will keep you posted. I am not opposed to waiting on this...

At the urging of some of you fine folks, I tried the must from my mixed berry project for the first time this evening. Being fully honest here. It’s not great. Definitely pick up the alcohol along with cherry or fruit flavored cough drop that lingers a long time after the drink. The mead...

Thank you all for the great input! I’ll follow back up with the group post fruit extraction. I’m grateful for everyone’s help! Todd Peterson

Miraculix, fair question. I have not tried the must yet. I was going to pull the berries by Thursday at the latest for the following reasons: 1) Hydrometer reads 1.040 this morning. At the rate the yeast is consuming the sugar, I believe the fermentation will be nearing completion by the end...

Thank you all for the feedback. Hydrometer reads 1.042 tonight. Will pull berries on Thursday.