Black Mead?

[Jebu1788]

Blackcurrant mead. Anyone tried it?

I've done one batch of mead so far, and I'm going to start two 1-gallon batches this Friday, so I'm looking for ideas.

 

[MedsenFey]

One of the winners at the Mazer Cup International this year was a recipe by wayneb (filleul de la nuit) using elderberry and black currants and blueberries. The currants were a smaller amount.

A prior recipe of his called "occult noir" used about 50% black currants and was quite tart, probably needing much longer aging.

The recipes for both of these are posted on GotMead.com (in the Patron's area). Bottom line, black currants can make a fantastic melomel, but too much and they will leave excessive acidity.

Medsen

 

[Jebu1788]

I'm not sure I have access to elderberries right now, or even raw blackcurrant. But I can get blackcurrant juice. Do you have an idea of what would be an appropriate amount to add to a one gallon batch? (Then maybe add some other berries, since just blackcurrant could be too tart)

 

[Goblet]

Funny timing. I've been planning a black currant mead ever since I saw a recipe for it on the Northern Brewer website. The recipe:
12 lbs honey
1 can Vintner's Harvest Black Currant juice
water to 5 gallons
2 packs K1V-1116 Montpelier yeast
back sweetened with 6 lbs honey and two months on dark roasted oak chips.

That's a lot of back sweetening! Yesterday, what I did was
take 2.5 gallons of 1 week old must from a 5 gallon batch of Raspberry Honey Traditional Mead (12.5 lbs honey, water to 5 gallons, yeast nutrient, D47 yeast, specific gravity yesterday at 1.010)
96 oz. can of Vintner's Harvest Black Currant juice
1 lb dried black currants (not zante grapes), rehydrated in 16 oz. boiled water
2.5 lbs more raspberry honey
pectic enzyme
yeast nutrient

Came out to about 4 gallons. It's bubbling vigorously out the airlock today, sitting at 65 degrees. When it's done, I'm planning to back sweeten with more raspberry honey, and then put it on heavy toast oak cubes for a bit.

Hope I didn't go overboard on the black currants. I used to have a few black currant bushes -- compared to red currants, they're almost sweet.

 

[Jebu1788]

That does seem like a lot of back sweetening. I tend to prefer not so sweet drinks, so I'm planning on keeping it dry. Do you think just shy of 20oz of blackcurrant juice would be about right for a one gallon batch? Maybe a little less and add half a pound to a pound of blackberries in secondary...

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I found out the hard way that black currants have something like 210% the USRDA of vitamin C, that makes them VERY TART, especialy after the sugar has been fermented out. You could always make a dry/medium show mead, wait till it's crystal clear & rack onto the black currant juice, but I wouldn't add 20 oz to 1 gallon, I think you might want to keep it at about 4 - 8 oz, depending on how much fruit flavour/tartness you like, you may want more or less. It's a lot easier to add more than it is to try to remove what's already in there. I'd also cold crash prior to racking onto the juice, as a precaution to prevent refermentation. You could also stabilize with sorbate if you wanted; I don't use sorbate, I think it tastes nasty, but there are plenty who think otherwise. Oh BTW, not sure what juice you plan on using, but this is what I used: http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/just_juice/just_black_currant
Regards, GF.

 

[MedsenFey]

20 fluid oz of juice is probably the equivalent of 2-2.5 pounds of currants. For a 1-gallon batch, I definitely wouldn't use more than that initially or it may wind up requiring a lot of backsweetening. GF's advice to start with less and add more to secondary if it needs it is sound.

 

[Goblet]

Going slow and adding more is probably sound advice. You'll probably have to stabilize it though if you add more juice.

In the discussion I read (from 2007) containing the original recipe I quoted, the poster said he liked his results and was planning to double or triple the juice next time. Most of the posters agreed the currants should go into the primary. Also, the wine recipe on the black currant juice can suggests adding both acid and tannin (I didn't add either).

I guess it is what it is. There are plenty of very good wines that balance acidity with sweetness. But if you don't like sweet wines, then that could be a problem.

 

[Jebu1788]

Thanks for the advice (keeping me from going way overboard). I guess I'll start out and add 4-6oz in the primary, and see how it turns out in a few months. I'll adjust then, and hopefully can keep it pretty dry.

 

[Jebu1788]

Ok. Started it off today. But one problem, I thought a store nearby had blackcurrant (since it had a bunch of Knudsen juices) but didn't. So the OG was about 1.115, using dry champagne yeast. If I find some later, can it be added in secondary? There is a bit of head room for it.

Also, I saw some orange blossom honey on sale, and figured, what the heck, one packet of dry wine yeast is good for 3 gallons right? (I hope) So I started a straight mead too. But I made some miscalculations and OG was 1.144! Will this be too much for mead with champagne yeast or will I just have to wait a year or two before it's drinkable?

Edit:
I found the blackcurrant, and have added 5 to 6oz. Man, this stuff is tart!

 

[Goblet]

Just an update that I racked my melomel off the black currants today. The specific gravity was .998. Strong black currant flavor, but not overly acidic -- I confirmed this with a friend who is also into wine. I'll back-sweeten up to 1.015 - 1.020, semi-sweet. So far I'm pretty happy with my version of the recipe. Hope yours is working out well too

 

[Jebu1788]

Oh, it's chugging away! I'll probably let it go for a month or so in primary, then rack over to secondary for another couple months before bottling. Glad to hear it wasn't too tart!

 

[Goblet]

Just thought I would update, since the original recipe I quoted used A LOT of back-sweetening. I used a little less than 1.5 lbs of honey to bring the SG up to 1.016 and that's where it has stayed for the last ten days. I might back-sweeten up to 1.020 later, if it seems it needs it. Before back-sweetening it seemed pretty acidic, but at 1.016 the acidity seems fine.

1 oz of heavy toasted oak cubes have added a slight charred taste, but not overly so. I've already removed them, since I really dislike too much oak.

Anyway, this is going to bulk age in a soda keg until Christmas and then I'll rack & check on it again. I think next time I would add more black currants, and maybe some blueberries for complexity.

I tasted it next to pre- and post- back-sweetened samples from my Northstar cherry Riesling pyment, and the black currants are kind of one-dimensional next to my homegrown pie cherries. Okay, the Riesling juice might have had something to do with that too. But since these cherries also have an eye-popping acidity, it was interesting to compare the resulting wines. The black currants seem smooth & subtle, next to that bright cherry fruit. I'll definitely be making black currant melomel again... after this one is bottled.

 

[Goblet]

Oh, yeah, forgot to mention another change: the raspberry blossom honey has a bit of a white chocolate taste. So I tried some chocolate extract in one of my hydrometer samples -- it's great! Really accents the semi-sweet berry taste. I'm planning to add some chocolate extract too, when the black currant melomel is done. And maybe cocoa powder in future batches.

 

[Goblet]

Another update: I just bottled this melomel, and it's wonderful! Not too sweet, not too tart. The black currant fragrance and flavor is very strong. The color is black. It's been sitting in a keg in my garage all this time, and there's not even a hint of oxidation. The fruit seems very fresh. I'm very happy with this recipe.

 

[Jebu1788]

Hah, I had forgotten about this. I bottled it quite a while ago, and still have a few bottles, but it's not good. Way too dry and thin, the fermentation temperatures I think were too high, so combined with using dry yeast, it has a very yeasty taste.

If I ever try it again, I'll be more careful and seek out better quality ingredients.

Glad yours has turned out well!