Berry Mead!

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

NJBlah

Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2012
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Location
Glassboro
So After making a really good 1 gallon batch of Apple Cinnamon Mead, I decided to whip up a new 3 gallon batch of Berry Mead. I am a relatively new brewer so I have some questions

Here is my Recipe:
7 lbs. of Honey
2.4 lbs. of Blue Berries and Black Berries
Yeast: k1-V1116

Should I boil the mixture before? And the Berries? I didn't do it on my last and it turned out okay.

Should I chop up the berries?

Any Tweaks on my recipe?
 
DON'T boil the honey...

For the berries, you can freeze, thaw, then mash them (easily) before adding. I would also add them once fermentation has finished initial fermentation. The sugar from the berries would kick off another fermentation cycle, but not with that much honey in the must.

Actually, I believe the yeast will give you the bird on that one and then die from shock. 7# of honey, PLUS 2.4# of berries, means it's set to go to 30% ABV (OG of about 1.260)... How about dialing back the honey a bit, or increase the total volume? Going with 2 gallons total volume there, and maybe a hair (.5#) more honey will get you to about 18% ABV. You'd probably be better served mixing in about 5# of honey first (2 gallons total volume) and let it get going before giving it some more honey (.5# at a time). At the end, rack it to the berries and let it use up what it can there.

To get a better handle on your forumulations, use this calculation site tool... Of course, I would also do a simple test to determine the sugar concentration of the honey. Easily done by putting 1oz of honey in a measuring cup, then filling it to the 8oz mark with water. Mix completely then take a gravity reading. That will give you the same OG as using 1# in a 1 gallon must mixture.
 
Ok, so my eyes (or brain) were tired... I saw the 1 gallon mentioned and thought it was for the current recipe...

In that case, it's going to go to dry, REALLY dry since that yeast is good to 18% and with 3 gallons volume, that batch will probably only hit 11.5-12%. If you don't want to have to stabilize it, and then back sweeten it too, use a bit more honey and a yeast that stops around 14% (D47 is a good one, if you can keep it in it's temperature range while fermenting). 71B would have a wider temperature range, and also go to 14%, but it requires having the mead removed from it as close to when fermentation has finished as possible (aim for no more than a few days to a week after fermentation has finished before you rack it).

I still stand behind the rest of the info I posted. Use the calc tool on the Got Mead site to figure out the amount of honey needed to get to the level you want. You can also enter in the berries to get the sugars present there accounted for. You could use just honey to get to the strength tolerance of the yeast, and then add the berries to get flavor, and some sugars from them. The berry amount you're talking will only add a few gravity points to the batch (about 3 points)... IF the yeast could go above 14% (every time I've used Lalvin strains, they've stopped at their posted limit) you're only talking less than .5% ABV increase.
 
Okay, well I made this the other night and I guess it will be kinda dry at this level of Sugars. It is fermenting away as I type. I think I am going to add 3 more pounds of honey mixed into a sterilized water solution so I can get it in there easier. That should put me at around 15% abv, with any luck. Thanks for all the advice guys!
 
I would just put the extra honey in a warm water bath to lift it's temperature enough so that it flows better. Pour a pound, or so, into the fermenter, then give it a few days and add another pound. Repeat for the third pound so that you get it all in. If you can get some more in the mean time, do the same treatment. Just be careful to not go too far since you could hit more than the yeast tolerance and you won't know it. Basically, add in 1/2# increments after three pounds, and once it's gotten to a low SG.

Otherwise, you'll need to stabilize it before you add honey to back-sweeten it, if you go that route. IF you do, leave it at least a little drier than you would like it and then let it bulk age. You might be surprised at how it mellows out 6-12 months later. Basically, if you get it to where you want it this young, by the time you're drinking it, the batch could be far more sweet than you had wanted.
 
Back
Top