Blueberry Mead

[HeavyHandedBrewing]

Thanks for all the info. I was able to get the campden from a LHBS. Do you not need to use the campden on the fruit that goes into the secondary because of the alcohol and CO2 which is present after fermentation? Sorry for all the questions, but besides making good beer and attempting to make a fruit mead, I like to understand the reasoning and principles behind why certain things are done/not done.

 

[HowlerMonkey]

Today I started the mash for this melomel. Based on comments in this thread, I went with 14 pounds of honey and 10 pounds of blueberries. I'll take the specific gravity tomorrow, when I pitch the yeast. This will be my first brew. I'm excited!

 

[opus345]

I'm in the middle of the second batch and may start a third in the next month or two. Update the thread with your progress.

 

[HowlerMonkey]

I pitched the Lalvin D47 yeast today following the original directions, covered with muslin, and tied down the muslin to the fermentation bucket.

I don't have a testing tube for my hydrometer (though I now understand why I would want one of those and a wine thief), so I just let the thing bob right in the must. The floating blueberries were in the way, and I was worried that they would affect the buoyancy, so I jostled them around a bit and forced the hydrometer to bob up and down several times while taking measurements to hopefully minimize the impact of the blueberries. The measurement was 1.120 at a temperature of 64F.

I did an estimation of the SG using just the volume of honey and water (as per the directions in the mead FAQ), and came to a value of 1.135, so that's certainly in the ballpark, which is reassuring. I have no idea what is the SG of blueberries, so I don't know how to improve that estimation.


So, I have a question about this recipe. What is the purpose of step-adding honey over the first four rackings?

I understand that this could be a dry mead without adding more honey (depending on your original gravity readings and at what percentage of alcohol per volume the yeast will effectively stop and based on the amount of starting sugar), but why add the honey on each racking? Why not add it to the 4th racking, when you have seen no more sediment in the previous one? Is the concern that the yeast would stop fermenting due to lack of sugar but survive and reactivate during the last racking? I'm curious about this strategy, and want to avoid making this mead too sweet.

Cheers!

 

[opus345]

For me, the rackings and step feeding allowed me to push the D47 to its alcohol tolerance limit and then go one more to sweeten it out of the dry range. The rackings also helped with clearing the mead.

 

[HowlerMonkey]

So I guess the key to avoid making it too sweet when step adding is to check the gravity readings at the beginning and ending of each racking period to see if there is still fermentation going on. If the fermentation stops, then just sample how sweet it is to know if I want to add any more.

I guess I'm just concerned that adding as little as a pound of honey could make it too sweet, based on comments from mgayer at the start of the thread.

 

[opus345]

Use your Hydrometer and Tongue.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/dry-semi-sweet-sweet-33724/#post331174

FWIW, According to Ken Schramm in Compleat Meadmaker:

Dry:0.990-1.006
Medium:1.006-1.015
Sweet:1.012-1.020
Dessert:1.020+

 

[HowlerMonkey]

Oh wow! Great reference! Thanks for the info.

I have a friend who has opposite tastes in wine from me (I like dry reds and sweet whites, and she's opposite, though our tastes meet in the middle that is Argentine Malbec). It didn't occur to me that I could actually measure the SG of wines that people like to have a good target to aim for.

Anyway, thanks for the information.

Cheers!

 

[JustinCider]

So I guess the key to avoid making it too sweet when step adding is to check the gravity readings at the beginning and ending of each racking period to see if there is still fermentation going on. If the fermentation stops, then just sample how sweet it is to know if I want to add any more.

I guess I'm just concerned that adding as little as a pound of honey could make it too sweet, based on comments from mgayer at the start of the thread.

This comment really raised my eyebrows as i just racked for the third time and added the last pound of honey. It is crazy good right now as my wife and i shared a glass of it as we racked it last friday. Its just as good as our local meadery sells right now! (Bnecter) I'm seeing very little airlock activity...maybe a bubble every few minutes. Also after adding the honey and topping up it clouded up again. It was pretty clear before we racked. I'm starting to be concerned that i could take the shine off of this gem. Should i check the gravity and possibly rack a few weeks earlier and bulk age?
:fro:

 

[rideincircles]

I have 14 lbs of blueberries and 12 lbs of honey and plan on doing a 3 gallon batch of this next. Based off my friend who brews crazy amounts of mead, he said 4 lbs of blueberries a gallon for big blueberry taste.

I am thinking I might do 10 lbs of each to total 3.5 gallons in my bucket then rack to a 3 gallon carboy. Then see if it needs any more flavor afterwards. Plan is EC1118-71b and staggered nutrients and aeration.

Would that be too much blueberry, or is there such a thing as too much?

 

[HowlerMonkey]

Here's an update on my melomel.

2-17-2013 Made mash of 14 pounds of honey, 10 pounds of blueberries, and 2.5 gallons of water in a primary bucket.

2-18-2013 Pitched yeast. Measured OG at 1.120 (but I'm now suspicious that it might not have been mixed well, so that might be low).

2-28-2013 Punched down and stirred to degas every day so far, but realized on this day that I was not being aggressive enough stirring with my spoon, and there was still a lot of gas. I now understand why people use the lees stirrer with a drill.

3-02-2013 SG down to 1.015. Put 1 pound of honey in 5-gallon carboy, skimmed most of the blueberries out of the bucket, and then racked melomel into carboy (swirled it a bit to mix the honey). I had about 3.5 gallons of liquid in the carboy. Filled up the rest of the volume with a mixture of water and Everclear with a ratio of 6 to 1 to make a 14% alcohol liquid. Mixed with my racking cane and retested SG at 1.014. Tested sample, and it was slightly fruity (but not specifically blueberry) followed by a wine flavor. Warm in my stomach. Not particularly appetizing.

4-06-2013 SG down to 1.000. Sample tasted very dry, hot alcohol with a very slight fruit flavor. More like fruit skin rather than juice. Still not pleasing. Added one pound of honey to my primary bucket. Racked the melomel to the bucket and stirred with my spoon to mix the honey. SG tested as 1.009. Cleaned and sanitized carboy. Racked back to carboy.


I don't see any activity in the carboy yet. I'll check it the next couple of days to see if it starts again, but I estimate that this melomel is already at about 16% alcohol, so I would imagine that it could crap out at any time.

I'm disappointed with the lack of blueberry flavor. I think I'm going to follow what flyweed and Opus recommend and add some blueberry flavoring to it.

 

[opus345]

Here's an update on my melomel.

2-17-2013 Made mash of 14 pounds of honey, 10 pounds of blueberries, and 2.5 gallons of water in a primary bucket.

2-18-2013 Pitched yeast. Measured OG at 1.120 (but I'm now suspicious that it might not have been mixed well, so that might be low).

2-28-2013 Punched down and stirred to degas every day so far, but realized on this day that I was not being aggressive enough stirring with my spoon, and there was still a lot of gas. I now understand why people use the lees stirrer with a drill.

3-02-2013 SG down to 1.015. Put 1 pound of honey in 5-gallon carboy, skimmed most of the blueberries out of the bucket, and then racked melomel into carboy (swirled it a bit to mix the honey). I had about 3.5 gallons of liquid in the carboy. Filled up the rest of the volume with a mixture of water and Everclear with a ratio of 6 to 1 to make a 14% alcohol liquid. Mixed with my racking cane and retested SG at 1.014. Tested sample, and it was slightly fruity (but not specifically blueberry) followed by a wine flavor. Warm in my stomach. Not particularly appetizing.

4-06-2013 SG down to 1.000. Sample tasted very dry, hot alcohol with a very slight fruit flavor. More like fruit skin rather than juice. Still not pleasing. Added one pound of honey to my primary bucket. Racked the melomel to the bucket and stirred with my spoon to mix the honey. SG tested as 1.009. Cleaned and sanitized carboy. Racked back to carboy.


I don't see any activity in the carboy yet. I'll check it the next couple of days to see if it starts again, but I estimate that this melomel is already at about 16% alcohol, so I would imagine that it could crap out at any time.

I'm disappointed with the lack of blueberry flavor. I think I'm going to follow what flyweed and Opus recommend and add some blueberry flavoring to it.

I used something like this

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_21_74&products_id=482

 

[tommyg595]

How many gal recipe is this. How would I make it a one or 2 gal recipe.

 

[Booyacht]

I love blueberries! Started this last week. Here are my notes so far. I plan on racking on to 1 lb honey and 3 lb pureed blueberries next week. One question, now that the lid is on should I open the lid daily to push the blueberries down? I'm just curious of the danger of leaving the blueberries floating on top once I'm past the point of aerating.

Notes:

5-23-13 Blueberry Melomel started at 3pm. Put 6 lb frozen then thawed berries in ferm bucket. Crushed them then added 15 lb raw clover honey and 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulphite. Spring water to 5.5 gallons and mixed with drill. Added 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme and step fed 1.5 tsp energizer and 3 tsp nutrient. Sat lid on top and put away for 24 hours.

5-24-13 pitched yeast (3 packets of D47) on 70 degree must. Rehydrated yeast in spring water and a couple ounces of must after 15 min. Put fermenter in 65 degree ferm room. Original Gravity is 1125 Aerated for a few minutes with drill and put a towel on top.

5-25-13 not much activity. Stirred with a drill. Is 1120.

5-26-13 aerated and stirred, gravity is 1110. Bubbling now.

5-28-13 Stirred, then checked SG which was 1060 so I put the lid and airlock on.


Thanks! Will

 

[opus345]

Booyacht,

I'm on my second batch and I did not have a lid on the whole time during the primary. You do want to punch down the berries and mix during primary (10-12 days).

 

[opus345]

How many gal recipe is this. How would I make it a one or 2 gal recipe.

Tommy,

On the first page of this thread is the batch size (5 Gal).

To do a two gal batch, you would need to multiply all the quantities by .40 (40% or 2/5).

 

[Booyacht]

Thanks Opus! Here is my update from last night:

6-5-13 racked into 5 gallon carboy secondary on top of 3 lb puréed blueberries and 1 lb clover honey. SG was 1000 at racking. Tasted very hot and was fruity (and good) but not a discernible blueberry flavor. Planning to let it sit in secondary for 2 months on top of all that new blueberry juice. My calculations say its around 16% alcohol.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

So i have a question about this.

I am doing a 1 gallon batch so i just divided everything by 5. This puts my starting 13# of honey at 2# 10oz, berries at 1# etc, etc.

Before i added my blueberries while i was waiting for them to thaw, i tested my honey/water mixture and it only came out with a Refractometer reading of 17 Brix, which puts it at around 1.070? Granted thats before the blueberries and before i stagger add more honey over the coming months, but does that sound right or too low? I mean thats half of the listed OG...i dont understand how i can be that far off though.

 

[bigelowsbest]

If you still have a bunch of honey to add at subsequent rankings, then yes you should be fine. Your 42oz of honey is pretty close to the 48oz/gallon that is typical for mead, so factor in your fermentables contributed by the blueberries and you should be right on target.
I made this stuff about two months ago and the first week of fermentation was downright volcanic

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I'll have to go looking around for info on the factoring in for the blueberries.

Ive found my fermentation to be pretty tame though, there doesnt appear to be a huge krausen or anything. Maybe its because im keeping it in my chamber @ 64F?

 

[adagiogray]

Is there a reason you can't just put in all of the honey on the front end? The yeast reaches its saturation point regardless of when it is added, right?

 

[Dick_Demon]

Hey guys, newb here with some questions:

- To do a gravity reading, I mix the water+honey+blueberries with my lees stirrer (with a power drill) and take a measurement? I assume the addition of my nutrients Fermaid-K doesn't change the gravity level of the must.

- Should I use a muslin bag to keep the blueberries in? I figure this will make it easier when I do my daily de-gassing with my stirrer.

- How much headspace is a lot of headspace? I have a 6.5 bucket for primary. Something like 6" is good?

- I bought my yeast on eBay but left it in the cupboard. I noticed they say "Keep Refrigerated". Has it spoiled?

When I transfer to a glass 5-gallon secondary carboy, I will add a large can of blueberry puree. Very excited to get this going; this will be my second batch of mead (first of this volume).

 

[noblesquirrel]

Hey guys, newb here with some questions:

- To do a gravity reading, I mix the water+honey+blueberries with my lees stirrer (with a power drill) and take a measurement? I assume the addition of my nutrients Fermaid-K doesn't change the gravity level of the must.

- Should I use a muslin bag to keep the blueberries in? I figure this will make it easier when I do my daily de-gassing with my stirrer.

- How much headspace is a lot of headspace? I have a 6.5 bucket for primary. Something like 6" is good?

- I bought my yeast on eBay but left it in the cupboard. I noticed they say "Keep Refrigerated". Has it spoiled?

When I transfer to a glass 5-gallon secondary carboy, I will add a large can of blueberry puree. Very excited to get this going; this will be my second batch of mead (first of this volume).

If you have a 6.5 gallon bucket, I'm assuming it's one of the narrower ale pail types, not the broader wine making buckets. I'd guess 6" would be sufficient, particularly if you're paying attention to your mead. I will regularly degas and punch the cap a few times a day to ensure the heat is released. I'd also recommend using a paint strainer bag or grain bag to minimize losses and to make degassing simpler. It will also help to reduce the cap as well. My last melomel, which was just three gallons, was a gallon of honey, 2 gallons of water and 9lbs of berry blend. I lost a gallon in the primary due to fruit sludge. Should have used a bag to minimize those losses.

 

[jmuni454]

Hey so do you have a final recipe you would use?

 

[RegarRenill]

What ABV are you shooting for?

 

[Dtkubitski]

Looking at the recipe, I'd love to try this. I can get amazing blueberries from Eastern Market in Detroit. My question is, do you need to continue to punch down the fruit in the secondary fermentation? I haven't done this type of mead yet and want to try it out.

 

[BSmith33]

[quoteI made a batch which is still perking with 18 pounds honey and 12 pounds frozen fresh blueberries. The flavor is delightful! Right noww it is like a desert wine but I want tit to ferment a little further to see what happens.
=mgayer;425351]Everything went into bottles this last weekend. It is a very sweet Melomel. Changes I would make are to add more berries. I will go with about 10lbs next time. I would also not add the last pound of honey. I believe this would be a better table Mead or one which more could be drank in one setting. Where now it is almost a dessert drink.

My niece and her friends from college loved it and went through a bunch very quickly. They then became very wild for some reason. Could it be that the 17% ABV was masked by the sweetness!!!! Anyway it was a great bonfire and the Melomel was a hit.

The nose had both the blueberry and honey with a stronger overtone of honey. The flavor gives some great honey tones at the begining with the blueberry in the middle and then the two different honeys give both undertones in the after taste. I used Texas wildflower and cranberry. I am sure different honey would produce some great flavors.[/quote]

 

[BSmith33]

I used the extreme fermentation yeast from Wyeat and have used the white labs both with good luck. The 18 # of honey still ferments fully.

 

[Weaves]

So I’m about to start this this weekend, gonna do 10 lbs blueberries with up to 4 gal water for them, my question is when going into secondary has anyone tried adding more honey and some champagne years to pump the abv a bit?

 

[Munchies]

Hello everyone. A little help if you would please.

My wife is begging me to make a blueberry or strawberry mead but I am a newbie at this (this will be my second attempt) . Have a gallon JAOM fermenting as of this moment.
So if I was to make a 1 gallon batch of this what would be the numbers I would need ingredient wise?
Just divide by everything by 5?

I have a couple 1 gallon glass carboys and a 2 gallon bucket. I would like get get my feet wet a little before jumping in head first and trying a 5 gallon batch.