Jack's Apricot Vanilla Mead

[madwilliamflint]

Uncorked a bottle of this yesterday and it sounded like I'd popped a champagne cork. I poured a bit and it was so carbed up it had a full on head.

Far too sweet for me still. I'm considering pouring it back in a carboy with some water to dilute it a bit.

 

[SinginChef]

Uncorked a bottle of this yesterday and it sounded like I'd popped a champagne cork. I poured a bit and it was so carbed up it had a full on head.

Far too sweet for me still. I'm considering pouring it back in a carboy with some water to dilute it a bit.

Haha yeah, might want to stabilize it with potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate if you decide to cut it with water. Otherwise if fermentation decides to kick back up, you might be dealing with bottle bombs, and that's no fun. Just be careful about oxidizing it or you'll end up with mead vinegar lol.

 

[madwilliamflint]

Haha yeah, might want to stabilize it with potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate if you decide to cut it with water. Otherwise if fermentation decides to kick back up, you might be dealing with bottle bombs, and that's no fun. Just be careful about oxidizing it or you'll end up with mead vinegar lol.

Oh if I dilute it it'll be to fill the carboy and let it sit again with an airlock on it. The amount of apricot in there is, a month later, pretty overpowering. So I think it could benefit from a little dilution. If that brings me up to 3 gallons then great.

I'll noodle around with it and see what happens. I'm still at the stage where I assume anything I do is going to end up getting tossed out.

If I end up making apricot honey vinegar then, meh. So be it.

 

[SinginChef]

Oh if I dilute it it'll be to fill the carboy and let it sit again with an airlock on it. The amount of apricot in there is, a month later, pretty overpowering. So I think it could benefit from a little dilution. If that brings me up to 3 gallons then great.

I'll noodle around with it and see what happens. I'm still at the stage where I assume anything I do is going to end up getting tossed out.

If I end up making apricot honey vinegar then, meh. So be it.

That'd probably make a killer vinaigrette if it did turn lol.

 

[madwilliamflint]

That'd probably make a killer vinaigrette if it did turn lol.

Yeah it's hard to see the downside

 

[Zelmor]

I tried a bottle two weeks ago, I think, and the alcohol level was way too overpowering. The mead is dry, as if all the sugar broke down completely. I might try another one in a couple weeks, but I don't know if the alcohol levels will lower over time while the mead is bottled. What are your experiences with that?

 

[madwilliamflint]

I tried a bottle two weeks ago, I think, and the alcohol level was way too overpowering. The mead is dry, as if all the sugar broke down completely. I might try another one in a couple weeks, but I don't know if the alcohol levels will lower over time while the mead is bottled. What are your experiences with that?

Odd. What kind of yeast did you use? Mine is cloyingly sweet.

The alcohol level isn't going to just drop, but the flavor's going to mature and mellow a bit. How long has it been in the bottle?

 

[SinginChef]

I tried a bottle two weeks ago, I think, and the alcohol level was way too overpowering. The mead is dry, as if all the sugar broke down completely. I might try another one in a couple weeks, but I don't know if the alcohol levels will lower over time while the mead is bottled. What are your experiences with that?

Yep, that's what can happen with a wine yeast. Bread yeast is not as tolerant to high alcohol content, so the yeast will die off and leave unfermented sugars behind. Give it another shot using the exact recipe I posted, especially the bread yeast. I promise you won't be disappointed. The yeast strain makes all the difference in the world.

 

[jak1010]

I tried a bottle two weeks ago, I think, and the alcohol level was way too overpowering. The mead is dry, as if all the sugar broke down completely. I might try another one in a couple weeks, but I don't know if the alcohol levels will lower over time while the mead is bottled. What are your experiences with that?

The alcohol level won't go down but, the flavor should mellow with some age. Just like a high ABV mead or beer.

 

[Smoke101]

Just started a batch of this tonight, I look forward to trying this in a month or two after it has fully finished..

 

[SinginChef]

Just started a batch of this tonight, I look forward to trying this in a month or two after it has fully finished..

Right on! Hope it turns out well. Let me know how it goes!

 

[chisena]

I make beer not mead but this looks great and I happen to have 3 lbs local honey, some vanilla beans, apricots, and champagne yeast all kicking around. Do I need to boil anything? The recipe just says combine everything and shake it up! No boil? Also, what container should I do this in? I have tons of glass 1G jugs but with the fruit etc., wouldn't I need a larger primary? Tips are most appreciated! Excited to try this!

 

[buzzerj]

I was going to make this too but haven't yet got around to it. Use a clean and sanitized 2 gallon bucket to do a primary fermentation as Singinchef undoubtedly did. You can stir that must up well to make sure the honey is in solution. No boil is recommended. I was going to make this as a BOMM too using Wyeast 1388 Belgian Ale yeast and 1/4 tsp KHCO3, a 1/2 tsp Fermaid K and 1/4 tsp DAP at must preparation and at the 1/3 and 2/3rds sugar break to make sure I got a good fast fermentation. It's your choice what yeast to use, the bread yeast leaves this sweet and any other yeast gets it dry as a bone. Use your one clean and sanitized gallon jug as a secondary to transfer the mead after one week.

 

[SinginChef]

Chisena, No boil necessary. Just combine everything and shake it up! I made a batch of this with D47 and it wasn't very good, even after a year of aging, so be careful with yeast selection. It makes a huge difference. Bread yeast works great for mead.

 

[BlackIce]

Had to make this yesterday. This is my 1st mead.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...o/PART_1437175345796_.IMG_20150717_192204.jpg

 

[chisena]

I made mine around July 10th. Still hanging out in the fermenter at 68F.

 

[chisena]

Here she is. Going on one month. So when will it taste good?

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1438821982.974178.jpg

 

[Zelmor]

In 6 months after bottling. Age it, it is really alcoholic at the beginning.

 

[BlackIce]

Here is an update on mine. Almost 1 month. Going to move to secondary soon

 

[chisena]

Looking good @BlackIce

 

[chisena]

In 6 months after bottling. Age it, it is really alcoholic at the beginning.

So this is still in the secondary now at five weeks. All visible fermentation stopped around three weeks which is when I transferred. When should I bottle it?

 

[BlackIce]

Just took a taste of this over the weekend and its still hot. Its been about 2-1/2 months, but I think its going to turn out well

 

[Zelmor]

So this is still in the secondary now at five weeks. All visible fermentation stopped around three weeks which is when I transferred. When should I bottle it?

Don't take my word for it, as I am a newby myself. However, I go mostly by the hightest faq, and I would clarify before bottling: http://home.comcast.net/~mzapx1/FAQ/SparkFine.pdf

I just made 2 batches with this recipe in 10 litre demijohns.

Lime honey OG was 1.1
Rape honey OG was 1.084

I aim to have primary fermentation done in 2 weeks, however, temperatures are at 16 celsius, so it might drag out. After 2 days, Lime is coming around nicely, so staggered nutrient addition started. Rape is soon to follow, as I made them with 2 days of diff.

 

[chisena]

Don't take my word for it, as I am a newby myself. However, I go mostly by the hightest faq, and I would clarify before bottling: http://home.comcast.net/~mzapx1/FAQ/SparkFine.pdf

Mine is certainly clear. Looks gorgeous. I finally tasted it and it's really nice. Has a bit of a strong alcohol taste but as I understand, that will mellow with age. I've never even tried mead and therefore, have nothing to compare to.

 

[Sadcheese]

Quick question from a beginner:

I made a batch of this using 1118 and it's been popping for three weeks straight every second. I topped it up to the neck because the surface area on the apricots made me worried it would grow some aliens on it. I used dried apricots (wont have any here in Seattle until next summer) and two vanilla beans split. My question is this: There is a ton of pulp floating about as the yeast and water has gone to town on them. I read elsewhere to try to get the mixture off the fruit to prevent decomposing off-flavors, but since primary fermentation is clearly still in full effect, this seems like a terrible idea as I don't want to stall the yeast. Do I just wait until it calms down and the SG stays stable and then rack off the fruit or do it sooner?

 

[chisena]

Quick question from a beginner:



I made a batch of this using 1118 and it's been popping for three weeks straight every second. I topped it up to the neck because the surface area on the apricots made me worried it would grow some aliens on it. I used dried apricots (wont have any here in Seattle until next summer) and two vanilla beans split. My question is this: There is a ton of pulp floating about as the yeast and water has gone to town on them. I read elsewhere to try to get the mixture off the fruit to prevent decomposing off-flavors, but since primary fermentation is clearly still in full effect, this seems like a terrible idea as I don't want to stall the yeast. Do I just wait until it calms down and the SG stays stable and then rack off the fruit or do it sooner?

I say definitely wait until primary fermentation is visually over. Mine went strong for weeks as well. I think I racked it off the dried apricots and vanilla beans after 1-1.5 months or so. Haven't noticed any off flavors. There's still some yeastieness going on in there otherwise it tastes pretty good to me. If I were to rewind, I probably would not have used bread yeast.

 

[Zelmor]

Mine recently stopped from 1.1000 sg at 1.042. Doesn't look good, so I racked it, topped with some water as I was afraid to top with more honey-water, added yeast nutrients and yeast after 3 days as fermentation did not restart. Any ideas or tips on what I am doing is right?

 

[chisena]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1448248162.605409.jpg
8 months and I finally bottled today! Probably going to let it go a full year and see how it tastes before consuming any substantial amount beyond sampling. One of three bottles is shown above.

 

[Bjfunke]

Is all I can say. I just started a JAOM and traditional and will be doing a raspberry in a couple of days. After reading this thread I may leave the raspberries in the freezer and find some dried apricots in the store. I don't want to wait for spring for fresh apricots when I could start this one now and do another one with fresh in the spring! I think I'm going to start getting the stink eye from the wife..... whaddya ya mean "just ONE more" one gallon jug/batch! Lol!

 

[AkTom]

I used dried mangoes. At 4 months very hot. Not good. At 6 months, totally different animal. Smooth and mellow like me, ;-). Time for anther batch.