3 Sisters and a Cousin

[BigKahuna]

Tasted both when I took these gravity samples. The Blueberry is currently at 1.000. It started at 1.102, down to 1.024 at racking . when I took it off of the fruit, it was back up to 1.070(re-pitched with Premiere Cuvee), and now is at 1.000
The Blue Berry is Fantastic, but it burns like a shot of very smooth whiskey. at 22%...It nearly is. It will sure be good someday.

The Strawberry is very good, but still has some yeasty funky stale fruit taste to it that I suspect will mellow and eventually go away. If you can get by that, it has a ton of strawberry flavor.

 

[BigKahuna]

Just to remind everyone. Second Sister is Cote Des Blanc yeast, 1.102 OG. Gravity now is 1.010, and tastes NICE. I have added 6#'s of fresh Plums that I cut up and ran through the food processor. MMMMMM PLUMS.

I think that the third sister is getting Fresh Colorado Peaches come August.

The Red one with fruit is the Second Sister. The others in this picture are Left to Right.
The Cousin, Leap Year Mead, Second Sister, Pomegranate Variation of Apfelwein, and the edge of the ail Pale with Apricot Blond.

 

[rattler_mt]

I do envy you kind sir. I am trying to keep this pretty much Local....we don't have Mulberries.

well there werent any mulberries here till last year when i planted some the way they are growing ill likely have extra next year to experiment with.......if i can get one through our winters most anyone in the lower 48 should be able too........also have arctic raspberries, alpine strawberries, hardy kiwis, 4 varieties of regular raspberries, 2 different currants, goosberries and other things in the ground.....plans on putting some cider apples into the ground at my parents place......a few years down the road i should have all kinds of home grown fruit to experiment with...

 

[BigKahuna]

If you were to make a mead, add Pureed Fresh Plums at the secondary stage, then when a plugged racking cane and many other bad things happen, you decide to strain your mead through a screen sieve, drop the sieve in the bucket, strain again (THUS AERATING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE)...add 3 campdon tabs and call it good...You'd be where I am today.



I think I've probably killed the second sister.

 

[GinKings]

I'm sorry, but I don't understand your ABV calculations. I don't see how 10 oz of blueberries per gallon could raise the gravity from 1.024 to 1.070. 10 oz of pure sugar would only raise the gravity to about 1.052. What am I missing?

 

[BigKahuna]

What am I missing?

I don't know. What I do know, is what I have on hand. I can assure you that I am competent at taking a hydrometer reading, and I can assure you that I did take a second reading to reaffirm the 1.070 reading. I would have assumed a more viscus liquid due to potentially unfermentable additions leached from the Dry blueberries, but I took a gravity reading today and it's 0.996

Also worth mentioning....DoN"T run your plums through the food processor.

 

[Revvy]

I love this thread...I had to post in it just so I have it in "subscribe."

 

[BigKahuna]

I think I've probably killed the second sister.

Tonight I racked this mead off of it's 2 layers of junk at the bottom...>SORRY for the lack of pictures....You can thrash me later.

This stuff tastes pretty fair for having been poured through a spaghetti screen....twice.

I'm not sure this will be a good long term mead, but I'm now a BIG Fan of what Campdon can do for you.

Now it's safely in the basement with it's sister, cousin, and awaiting the fresh peaches that'll be added to the third sister come the middle of next month.

 

[Loweface]

SORRY for the lack of pictures....You can thrash me later.

No pictures!!!

You Fail

(But you're forgive if you've been )

 

[claphamsa]

post, just to follow!

 

[BigKahuna]

Here She is....and just to refresh...She started out on 5-26-08 As a 1.090 Must pitched with Premiere Cuvee. She is now down to .996 and has ben racked onto this fruit:

This is 6# of Sliced and diced Peaches, and 1 oz chunk of Ginger. Not as visible is the juice from 1 good size lime. I wish I could make this one a Scratch and sniff!

Just in case you can't picture how much 6 # of Peaches are...it fills a 3 gallon carboy to the first ridge.

And here she is racked and ready to sleep for a month or so. The Premiere Cuvee will likely kick back in with all the sugar from the peaches....we'll see how that goes.

 

[MikeFlynn74]

sexy

needs more characters

 

[claphamsa]

yeah that looks hot... Im still trying to get mine to ferment!

 

[jds]

Looks great, Kahuna. I'm fixing to start up my own peach melomel this week. I'll be doing it a bit differently, with the fruit in the primary as per the recent BYO article. Here's my plan -- please critique:

[edit] Found a link for the article text: http://www.bjcp.org/mead/melomel.pdf [/edit]
Ingredients (for ~ 3 gallons)
3 # Colorado Wildflower Honey
3 # Colorado Clover Honey
6 lbs Palisade Peaches.

Slice peaches and freeze. Remove frozen peaches, squish around in the bag to mash them, add to 6 gal. bucket. Mix honey with hot water to 3 gal. total volume, add to bucket. Add 3 campden tabs to kill off nasties and let the must sit for 24 hours. The author of the article has had no problems with wild fermentation even without the Campden treatment, but I'm still concerned about it.

Next day, aerate, pitch yeast and nutrients. Following that, punch down the fruit cap daily and follow staggered nutrient addition schedule until fermentation slows. Rack off lees into CO2 purged carboy, and rack monthly until clear.

Am I missing anything? Currently, I have montrachet in the fridge, but I hear Montrachet can generate some bad flavors in mead, so I may hit the LHBS at lunchtime for some alternatives.

 

[BigKahuna]

Am I missing anything? Currently, I have montrachet in the fridge, but I hear Montrachet can generate some bad flavors in mead, so I may hit the LHBS at lunchtime for some alternatives.

It's not how I would do it, but it is sound practice. Due to the antiseptic nature of honey, that Campden is really unnecessary, but certainly won't hurt anything if it makes you feel better.
Do you have your honey yet? I'd almost recommend against WildFlower honey. I've never heard anyone say anything good about it, and the one mead I have with it is kinda funky (Not sure if it's the honey, the fact I used Windsor Yeast, or the fact that it's still not even 2 full months old?) But as 1/2 of the bill, it could be very good.
If you're following a recipe though, I'd just stick with it.
D-47 or Cotes Des Blanc will also be a good yeast.

You headed to the Brew Hut?

 

[jds]

It's not how I would do it, but it is sound practice. Due to the antiseptic nature of honey, that Campden is really unnecessary, but certainly won't hurt anything if it makes you feel better.
Do you have your honey yet? I'd almost recommend against WildFlower honey. I've never heard anyone say anything good about it, and the one mead I have with it is kinda funky (Not sure if it's the honey, the fact I used Windsor Yeast, or the fact that it's still not even 2 full months old?) But as 1/2 of the bill, it could be very good.
If you're following a recipe though, I'd just stick with it.
D-47 or Cotes Des Blanc will also be a good yeast.

You headed to the Brew Hut?

Thanks for the info on the honey vs. campden. Maybe I'll just skip the campden then. As for the honey, I know wildflower can be pretty powerful stuff, hence the idea of using 1/2 wildflower and 1/2 clover. I don't mind a long aging, so I'll go with it, since I already have the honey. As for the yeast, I went with Lalvin 1122, which is supposed to ferment out with some fruity aroma, which I thought would go well with the peaches.

And, unfortunately, I'm too far west to make it to the Brew Hut at lunch. I usually end up at Beer & Wine at Home, which is a decent LHBS, if not as well-stocked or involved as the guys at TBH.

 

[summersolstice]

And, unfortunately, I'm too far west to make it to the Brew Hut at lunch. I usually end up at Beer & Wine at Home, which is a decent LHBS, if not as well-stocked or involved as the guys at TBH.

I too like Beer and Wine at Home and the Westminster store is usually where I drop off (or have one of our trucks deliver) my mead entries for the International Mead Festival. I prefer Stomp Them Grapes though because it has a more "homey" feel.

BigKahuna - those peaches sure make me want to try another peach melomel but the last one I tried took forever to clear and now I'm kinda gun shy when it comes to peaches.

 

[claphamsa]

whats the easiest frout to work with (all ive ever done is generic meade....)

 

[summersolstice]

whats the easiest frout to work with (all ive ever done is generic meade....)

I prefer blackberries but, with a liberal application of pectic enzyme, I've never had any problems with any fruit other than peaches. They're notorious for being difficult to clear.

 

[BigKahuna]

I prefer blackberries but, with a liberal application of pectic enzyme, I've never had any problems with any fruit other than peaches. They're notorious for being difficult to clear.

That is what I was thinking of the peaches! Perhaps a double deuce of Pectic Enzyme when I rack off of the fruit.

 

[summersolstice]

That is what I was thinking of the peaches! Perhaps a double deuce of Pectic Enzyme when I rack off of the fruit.

If all else fails, I've never seen Super Kleer fail to clarify a wine or mead.

 

[claphamsa]

I prefer blackberries but, with a liberal application of pectic enzyme, I've never had any problems with any fruit other than peaches. They're notorious for being difficult to clear.

fresh? frozen? how much?

 

[summersolstice]

fresh? frozen? how much?

At the risk of highjacking kahuna's thread:

I use 4-5 lbs of berries per gallon, canned, fresh or frozen. If they're fresh, then I freeze them first to help begin breaking down the fruit.

 

[BigKahuna]

I use 4-5 lbs of berries per gallon

HOLLY CRAP!
I used what...about 7# total of Strawberries for 3 gallons. What are you making? Berry Extract for Baking?

I'll bet that is some super fruity juice! I'd like to try it...Do you still taste any of the honey, or is it mostly fruit?

 

[summersolstice]

HOLLY CRAP!
I used what...about 7# total of Strawberries for 3 gallons. What are you making? Berry Extract for Baking?

I'll bet that is some super fruity juice! I'd like to try it...Do you still taste any of the honey, or is it mostly fruit?

Sorry for the confusion. I posted right at quitting time and I had one eye on the clock and the other on the door! I should have said 3-4 lbs, with 3 lbs per gallon being the norm. I'll sometimes add the extra pound to the secondary and, once it ferments dry, I backsweeten with honey and that provides plenty of honey aroma and flavor. The fruit in the secondary is what really imparts the essence of the particular fruit you're using. As for trying sometime, we'll have to arrange that!

 

[BigKahuna]

That's why I didn't take any Pictures.
It was a pretty uneventful Racking, but I racked the First and Second Sisters. Both Taste Fabulous. The Plum sister was less fruit flavor, and extra rocket fuel, but much better than I'd figured since it's the one I poured through a strainer in my last fit of anger.

I did use 1 campden tab per gallon on both when I racked.

 

[BigKahuna]

Time to rack the cousin....just for good measure.
Taste is mild and fantastic. Very nice flavor that is not really what I'd call distinctly Blueberry...surprisingly enough. It is still a tad HOT, but not extremely so. The alcohol Flavor is still very strong, but come on...we're only like 7 months from Brew Date. Color is nice and well represented in the pictures. It's clear, but not what I'd call "Star Bright"...YET!
The Pictures show a slightly higher gravity, as this was racked in the basement at around 48 F
This project has been SO MUCH FUN! I can't wait for another 6 months to go by.

 

[Loweface]

From colour alone I want some!

 

[Tusch]

Mmmmm, well done Kahuna

 

[SHvanBommel]

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