TacomaHomeBrew
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Want to try a 1 gallon batch of Chocolate mead, any easy recipes out there that yall had success with?
It is about 6 months in the carboy,
http://www.washingtonwinemaker.com/blog/2008/03/25/lord-rhys-chocolate-mead-recipe/
I've made this recipe, and it is excellent, but as gamrchick said, chocolate mead takes a minimum of 2 years before it's really ready, and (I think) benefits from some residual sweetness, so consider backsweetening a little if necessary
I've made this recipe, and it is excellent, but as gamrchick said, chocolate mead takes a minimum of 2 years before it's really ready, and (I think) benefits from some residual sweetness, so consider backsweetening a little if necessary
The Lord Rhys recipe mentions that the oils in the cocoa powder slightly inhibit the yeasties from doing their thing. I'm wondering if it might be a better idea to just make a traditional mead and throw in the cocoa powder in the secondary (or tertiary). Since cocoa powder is essentially non-fermentable, the alcohol the yeast have already produced in secondary should make it easier to draw out the oils and flavors from the cocoa.
I also read that the yeast might have a hard time, so when I tried this recipe I added some extra yeast nutrients.
Well, in my case that was totally unnecessary. I set the batch in the evening and I happened to wake during the night. I thought I'd check to see if the fermentation had kicked in. Lo and behold, I had a chocolate fountain!!
The rather firm foam that was created from the cocoa powder had pushed through the water lock and poured down the sides. Really messy, but it smelled nice!
Once I had the mess cleaned up and managed to have most of the solid foam dissolve by stirring, it was bubbling away like mad. I've never had a batch that fermented as violently.
I read in another forum that others had had the same experience, so maybe it depends on the kind of cocoa powder used. I don't know.
I dunno...when you rack to secondary there's still a lot of outgassing potential, so is stirring it up all that big a deal? All you gotta do is shake it up a little and CO2 will come bubbling out, displacing the O2.you'd end up with an aerated mess, and would certainly risk screwing up the mead by oxidation. The nibs would certainly be a better choice for late addition.
huesmann said:I dunno...when you rack to secondary there's still a lot of outgassing potential, so is stirring it up all that big a deal? All you gotta do is shake it up a little and CO2 will come bubbling out, displacing the O2.
That could work--you're essentially creating a cocoa slurry to use as the water in your must?There are a bunch of chocolate threads going on so forgive me if this has already been mentioned. assuming y"all are using a good quality pure cocoa powder and not swiss miss hot chocolate (im sure someone has, we all know it). I have read a bunch of posts about having issues with getting the powder to incorporate with room temp must and such. What would be the problem with adding it before the must is a must? figure out how much you want in it, take some of your water JUST THE WATER nothing else in it yet, bring it to a boil, add the cocoa powder, remove from the heat and wisk the bajebus out of it, effectively disolving the cocoa thoroughly and starting a little bit of aeration, let it cool down to a reasonable temp to add honey and continue on with your normally prefered process
That could work--you're essentially creating a cocoa slurry to use as the water in your must?
The other comment I have is this: cocoa is not really soluble. You can create a slurry and some of the oils/alkalloids can dissolve into water, but the powder itself will eventually settle out, no matter how hard you beat it.
I make a Chocolate Cherry mead that I get raves on, but my recipe is for a 5 gallon batch. There are quite a few people who make chocolate meads around here, so I'll let someone else post a tried and true one gallon recipe.
I just wanted to warn you that chocolate meads take a long time to age. One year before you even want to think about bottling and another 6 months (closer to two years) before it hits its stride. The oils take a long time to break down and it is gawd awful bitter in the meantime. When I made my first batch it took the whole first year for me to convince my DB that it was going to be great. Fact is, I even started to doubt it. Now it is one of our favorites and I try to make at lease one batch every year so we stop running out.
Good Luck.
Rebecca
Would u be able to shoot me that recipe for the 5 gallon also have u tried to back sweeten this before aging so long to kill the bitternessWhat is the recipe?
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