First homebrew recipe for melomel - am I overdoing the herbs/spices?

[dvi]

I've recently gotten into mead making recently. Most of my batches so far have been traditionals and cysers, but I had an idea for a melomel that I'm excited to try out and want to get some feedback on.

Recipe:

• 2.5 pounds clover honey
• Water to one gallon
• 4 pounds frozen blueberries
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 1/2 packet of yeast (K1V-1116)

Process: Honey and blueberries combined in primary fermenter, with berries removed and strained after one week. Additional week for things to settle and then racked to secondary, where the vanilla and thyme would be added to steep. Secondary for 2-3 months, then rack again, and bottle if it has sufficiently cleared.

My worry is, am I using too much or too little of the spices? I've done some reading and vanilla and thyme should pair well with blueberries and honey, but I don't want them to be overpowering or so faint as to be barely noticeable. Do you think I should decrease the amount of either? Increase? Open to all suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[CKuhns]

Blueberries unless either frozen and thawed or mashed a bit to break the skin will likely not give up all their flavor in a week. Consider 2 weeks or more before removing them. Most fruit will not give much up after 2 weeks but in primary certainly doesn't hurt to go longer as long as you manage the fruit cap.

Vanilla Bean(s) and Thyme.
Consider waiting until secondary fermentation is nearly complete before adding them.

The bean I would split it lengthwise and just add it whole. Thyme, seriously consider using whole leaves dried or fresh and place in a small sanitized mesh bag or tied cheesecloth or emptied tea bag.

Then check the flavor after a few days 3-5 and each day after until you hit the flavor profile your looking for. Just remove the bean(s) and for the bag of Thyme when you hit your flavor. Without the bag it makes it almost impossible to remove the leaves. They will keep adding flavor long after you want them to.

As far as amount to use. Its really up to you as you know what you are looking for. You can always add more, but cant remove once the flavor has been added.

 

[AzOr]

^that and
My rule for meads is always add more fruit than asked for and less spice.

Years ago I made a basic mead with 2 tbsp of herb de Provence per gallon. I used a store bought spice mixture and to this day I still have some left because the oregano completely took over and overwhelmed it.

I refer to it as oregano mead. Not very drinkable. I only use it for cooking.

Since then I always use a fraction of spice In the secondary and if it’s lacking flavor I will make a tincture and add after the fact.

 

[dvi]

Much appreciated to you both! Sounds like I should definitely leave the blueberries in primary for longer and use a very limited amount of the herbs/spice to start with for secondary via a tea bag (maybe 1/3 tsp of whole thyme leaves?), and increase later if needed.

For checking the flavor, do you have any recommendations for doing that without running the risk of oxidizing? I'm thinking using a sanitized turkey baster could work, but if there are better approaches I can use those instead.

 

[Seamonkey84]

I leave my berries in for up to 10 days, longer and the skins/seeds can make it bitter or too astringent. If you want more flavor, add more fruit, or use less water. Freeze and thaw the fruit, then put it in a bag and mash them enough to break them open.

 

[AzOr]

I usually leave fruit in primary for 1-2 weeks. Depending on how lazy I’m feeling.
I usually perform a taste test with fruit.
I open up my hop bag and grab a sanitized fork. Taste the fruit, if it tastes like nothing, it’s time to remove.