Getting Started With Mead and Melomel

[bernardsmith]

And to you - Happy fermenting.

 

[Stephmon]

Day 43 for the Cherry and Mango Melomels. The Mango shows zero signs of clearing, so I decided to add bentonite, 8 Japanese chilis and take a gravity measurement. The FSG is 0.996, for an estimated ABV of 17.7%

 

[Stephmon]

I got my wife a nice set of wine glasses, as an early Valentine's gift. So, we christened the glasses by opening a bottle from my first wildflower mead batch. It has been in the bottle 5 months and though, it may still be 'young'... It was really quite good. It has an elusive scent of honey, the more you 'chase' it, the more it hides among fruit, floral and (being a bit young) the alcohol notes. The flavor is semi-sweet/semi-dry, very smooth, with a crisp almost pear-like finish. Chilled, it would make a great summer wine.
In the interest of science, I tested the hangover potential and woke this morning feeling a bit out of sorts, but no headache. I can hardly wait, to try at 1 year and beyond.

 

[Stephmon]

This morning, I started two more gallon batches. The first is a Blueberry melomel. The second will be pineapple, but I will wait until the ferment is nearly finished, before adding the fruit in secondary.

From left to right:
Mango and Chili Pepper, in secondary, currently at 63 days.
Dark Sweet Cherry, in secondary, currently at 63 days.
Blueberry (with a lemon), in primary, currently at 1 hour.
Honey 'base' for a Pineapple, in primary, currently at 10 minutes.