Blackberry mead

[Demelza28]

I would like to give making a blackberry mead a go but can't seem to find any good recipes to follow.
Can anyone recommend one at all

 

[Frognostic]

Hmm well i have not made it myself but i have a bunch of blackberries in the freezer for that purpose - if not then blackberry white sugar wine.

I, personally, would be inclined to try and juice the blackberries in the fruit press i use for cider, add some water to reduce acidity, and then add about 2 or 3 lbs of honey to it to make a gallon.

Another option would be to get matching weights of blackberries and honey, crush the blackberries, put them in a big pulp bag stretched over a bucket rim, and pour on a certain volume of hot water to get the juices out then melt the honey into that water. Might be worth macerating the crushed berries, contained in the pulp bag, in the manner that you might macerate grape skins in a red wine.

I'd add nutrients, too, because even with the blackberries the honey probably doesn't have enough nutrients in it for a decent fermentation.

 

[loveofrose]

Make a JAOM with 12 oz blackberries. No orange, no clove, cinnamon optional.

Recipe courtesy of Chevette Girl over at gotmead.com. She knows her blackberry mead.

 

[fuelish]

I made a black- and blueberry sparkling hydromel, turned out pretty well.... I just tossed fresh frozen then thawed fruit in primary (something along the lines of 4 lbs black berries, 2 lbs blueberries and a couple quarts of preservative-free blueberry juice for 5 gallons) when primary ferment settled down a bit, let it sit a few weeks, and racked a couple times....final product was lighter in color than expected, but if I think "blackberry" when sipping, I can taste blackberry....same with if I think "blueberry." Wife, kid, and birds ate up this summer's blackberry crop in the backyard, so am gonna harvest a LOT next summer and shoot for a non-hydromel next time.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I would like to give making a blackberry mead a go but can't seem to find any good recipes to follow.
Can anyone recommend one at all

Depending on how much fruit flavor you want, add more or less fruit. If you want a balance of fruit & honey flavor, I'd go with 2-3lbs honey/gallon, with 1-4lbs fruit/gallon. Two lbs of fruit/gallon will likely give you a good balance, you can always add more if you want. Now you can add fruit in primary or secondary or both. Adding fruit to primary will give you a more "wine-like" flavor, adding to secondary will give you more of a fresh fruit flavor, adding to both will give you both.

You'll want to use yeast nutrient/energizer & DAP, pectic enzyme will help with the fruit. I'd freeze/thaw the fruit twice, this will help to breakdown the cell walls & give you better juice/flavor extraction.
Regards, GF.

 

[Demelza28]

When you say add fruit in secondary, do you mean when it is in demi John? If so do I separate it out when I rack it after it has stopped bubbling

 

[gratus fermentatio]

When you say add fruit in secondary, do you mean when it is in demi John? If so do I separate it out when I rack it after it has stopped bubbling

Secondary is when you rack the mead off the sediment/fruit in primary. Don't go by how many bubbles are going thru the airlock, go by what the hydrometer tells you. If you add fruit to primary, then yes, you will need to remove the fruit after a week or 10 days. If you use a bucket fermenter, it's easy to contain the fruit in a mesh sack & remove it. Be sure to "punch the cap," meaning push the floating fruit down into the must at least once a day, preferably twice a day.

When you rack the mead to another vessel, this is considered secondary. After pulling the fruit, rack it. The fermentation is still going, but it's slower. You can rack onto fruit in secondary if you like, though with a carbouy (demijohn) it's a bit more difficult to deal with fruit than it is when using a bucket, but people do it all the time. You can also add fruit in tertiary, which is just about anything after secondary.
Regards, GF.

I like to add fruit to both primary & secondary. I think it adds more depth of flavor to a melomel.

 

[Demelza28]

Thank you for going into detail, it makes a lot more sense now