Another noob question

[Ocracok3lite]

I would like to make a quick loq gravity sparkling blueberry melomel. I am going to force carbonate and put it into bottles when done. WHat would someone suggest be the yeast type and amounts of the blueberry and honey?

 

[fatbloke]

I would like to make a quick loq gravity sparkling blueberry melomel. I am going to force carbonate and put it into bottles when done. WHat would someone suggest be the yeast type and amounts of the blueberry and honey?

Well it depends on what it is that you're aiming for.

Like a wine cooler type thing ? or something like that ?

I suspect that you'd have to be thinking along the lines of blueberry juice and honey for the primary, then adding blueberry fruit to the secondary. Ferment dry, back sweeten, then clear.

That'd be to achieve the sweetness and fruit flavour you're thinking of, then the force carbonation afterwards.

As for yeast ? Well I presume you'd be wanting to maintain as much of the fruit characteristics as possible, so something like Lalvin RC-212 - just remember it's a nitrogen hungry yeast, so proper nutrient levels need to be maintained, otherwise you get the stinky/rotten egg/H2S smell from the fermentation......

Dunno if that's any use or not.......

regards

fatbloke

 

[Ocracok3lite]

Thank you this helps greatly. Course i still need amounts for the juice, honeyand juice amounts. I am planning on making a wine cooler. I have only made braggot and dry mead so i am a lil lost on the amounts.

 

[fatbloke]

Thank you this helps greatly. Course i still need amounts for the juice, honeyand juice amounts. I am planning on making a wine cooler. I have only made braggot and dry mead so i am a lil lost on the amounts.

Well, if you can work out the mead calculator over at Gotmead, then that might help.

Me ? I'd probably mix juice with water 70% juice and 30% water, then allowing to a norm of 3lb honey per gallon, or thereabouts, I'd add an initial 1lb per gallon and take a gravity reading. Now it depends on what you define as "low alcohol", as to what you want as starting gravity. An 80 point drop in gravity from start to finish, is about 10.8% ABV, 70 points is about 9.5%. So you can work out what you want to mix the honey and juice/water (or whatever levels of juice to water ratio you want.....hell all juice if you want to).

Don't forget, proper management will probably ferment this dry.........

 

[Ocracok3lite]

Perfect thanks. Once i get it going i will post some pics and the recipe here. Thanks

 

[Ocracok3lite]

after looking at the calc ( thankyou by the way hadn't seen that yet) I am going to do 4 gallons of blueberry juice, 5 lbs of honey and then soak a few lbs of whole berrys in it for a week. I am guessing by doing it this way i just add the blueberry juice at the end of the heating of the must to cool it to the temp to pitch the yeast. Sounds great.

 

[fatbloke]

after looking at the calc ( thankyou by the way hadn't seen that yet) I am going to do 4 gallons of blueberry juice, 5 lbs of honey and then soak a few lbs of whole berrys in it for a week. I am guessing by doing it this way i just add the blueberry juice at the end of the heating of the must to cool it to the temp to pitch the yeast. Sounds great.

What heating ???

If the blueberry juice is from cartons, it will have been pasteurised and the honey will already be fine. I never, never heat honey, except in the circumstances below.

If the honey has crystalised, then I'd just put it into a sink of hot water, as that's about as hot as you'd want it.....

Oh and I'd still double the honey, to make it 2 lb of honey per gallon.....

If you find, at the end of the ferment, that it lacks in blueberry fruit flavour, then you'd be wanting to steep about 1 or 2 lb of fruit per gallon as well.

 

[Ocracok3lite]

So how do you get the temp of the must up to the level it needs to be for the yeast?