As the yeast eat through the honey and sugars in the grape juice, the dividing line in the separation will go away. It's actually a fascinating thing for me to watch. I'd say, so lonng as your tenps are good, sit back and watch the amazing things happen.
Joe's Quick Grape Mead
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Doed
Belching Dog Brewery
This is my first mead. What is the optimal fermenting temp? Right now this is at 68
Doed
Belching Dog Brewery
Here is the mead 1 week later. Honey line is gone.
2drunk2
Well-Known Member
I made 2 gallons, and bottled one gallon dry. It's darn tasty.
Doed
Belching Dog Brewery
I racked mine to secondary on November 5th and added a small amount of distilled water to bring the level up closer to the neck and shrink the headspace. The mead is super clear. I can see my hand through the mead. I am waiting until Christmas to open this up and try it.
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2drunk2
Well-Known Member
I back sweetened the other gallon, and it is also delicious. This is a great simple recipe. It is like a wine. It's simple. Is it mind blowing? No. Could I serve it with my Christmas dinner with pride? Yes.
rideincircles
Well-Known Member
I made this recipe with cherry white grape juice and it seemed to be pretty bitter from something. I think the cherry white grape version may need more honey for backsweetening. I had a 2 year old bottle of the regular grape pyment and it is still good, but i think it may paek around a year or so. Would need to compare and need to make some soon again. Still need to make another batch of this, but have so many bottles of mead and beer lying around that I will be good for a while.
Just started two single-gallon batches of this on Sunday. Both used wildflower honey, one is being eaten by Montrachet, and the other EC-1118. Both are fermenting vigorously, but while the EC-1118 foamed up a lot, the Montrachet did not foam at all. Eager to see if there is any difference in the finished product.
MountainRyan
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So I tried browsing this entire post for the answer to this. The recipe calls for back sweetening with 6 oz of honey and 6oz juice. Stupid question but I'm used to brewing where oz is weight. Is this fluid oz or oz by weight? Thanks!
When I made it I did it by fluid oz.
Doed
Belching Dog Brewery
@MountainRyan - I used 6 fluid oz of juice and 6 weighed oz of honey and it came out perfectly fine for my palette.
rideincircles
Well-Known Member
Has anyone carbonated this? I was about to start on a 5 gallon batch to bring to Burning Man in 6 months and was thinking of that route.
My LHBS regularly makes wine kits and carbonates them and it comes out good. It will be brought there in a keg either way.
My LHBS regularly makes wine kits and carbonates them and it comes out good. It will be brought there in a keg either way.
Just bottled this yesterday. Both gallons were stabilized and sweetened with 4oz honey and 6oz juice. They turned out really good, although the montrachet never really cleared like the EC1118. Both were 1.000 before sweetening. I'd say the EC1118 is better, but only marginally so. It will be interesting to see if these are any better after a few months. Assuming any is left by then.
I am planning to try this recipe this week. This will he my first time brewing anything. I am going to make 2 one gallon batches in glass carboys. Can I use my 7.8 gallon primary bucket then after the 14-21 days transfer it to the 2 one gallon carboys. Thanks
rideincircles
Well-Known Member
The batch I made for Burning Man came out great. I used welch's Unfiltered Grape Juice which took a couple months to clear, then backsweetened it with more honey and grape juice which finished around 1.030 with a lot of Welch's flavor still. From there I carbonated and turned it into Grape Soda for grown-ups.
It was really popular at burning Man, and I would just roll out on my beer cart and post up on a street somewhere and make people stop and try some. I still have about 2 gallons left at the house, and it will be my go to for people who are not beer drinkers. Will probably keep it on tap permanently, but may change it up a tad. I think I liked the regular grape juice over the unfiltered, but I may have just backsweetened this batch too much. It works though, its like grape soda that is 12-15% alcohol or somewhere around there. Never took an OG since the honey just fell to the bottom.
In regards to the question above, you can do that, but its a huge amount of headspace, just make sure to get it out of there once primary fermentation is done. This recipe can sit and age for a while if you want it to, but not with that much head space.
It was really popular at burning Man, and I would just roll out on my beer cart and post up on a street somewhere and make people stop and try some. I still have about 2 gallons left at the house, and it will be my go to for people who are not beer drinkers. Will probably keep it on tap permanently, but may change it up a tad. I think I liked the regular grape juice over the unfiltered, but I may have just backsweetened this batch too much. It works though, its like grape soda that is 12-15% alcohol or somewhere around there. Never took an OG since the honey just fell to the bottom.
In regards to the question above, you can do that, but its a huge amount of headspace, just make sure to get it out of there once primary fermentation is done. This recipe can sit and age for a while if you want it to, but not with that much head space.
MountainRyan
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I have made this recipe a bunch of different ways. All with D47 which is my go to. I like semi sweet but the wife loves the recipe as is. One of the biggest hits was using tart cherry juice instead of grape. I have also done a cyser this way. It's doesn't call for it but i always add energizer and nutrient per package. I find this recipe can get too sweet as it sweetens up a ton just sitting. Try a batch without back sweetening and I don't think you will be sorry.
Primary: local nh honey sweet show mead, peach mead with 10lbs hand picked peaches
Kegged: joes quick "cyser"
Ipa
ESB
Weissen
Bottled: dry show mead
Razmeaden
Joes quick pyment
Primary: local nh honey sweet show mead, peach mead with 10lbs hand picked peaches
Kegged: joes quick "cyser"
Ipa
ESB
Weissen
Bottled: dry show mead
Razmeaden
Joes quick pyment
I've made a few 1 gallon batches of this stuff and I love it. I'm planning to increase the batch size and maybe keg it as well to add a little carb. If I step up the recipe to 3 gallons, should I step up the amount of yeast as well? Or just keep it at 1 packet?
One packet should do fine.
What about the Campden and sorbate. Leave those as is or scale up the amount?
rideincircles
Well-Known Member
Scale up the campden and sorbate. That is what I did for my 6 gallon batch.
Hello, I made this before and it was awesome. What do you think about adding a little yeast nutrient and a little priming sugar at the beginning to boost it a little? I know what you are thinking, if it was good, why mess with it. I just wanted to try something different. Also, Welches came out with a new brand of Juice that is Called Farmers Juice or something. It is real juice that has no preservatives or nothing, completely natural, I think this will be a plus. Also, they have a Blackberry now! I love Blackberry wine, so I will be using this one today. Please respond quickly so I can get the party started
rideincircles
Well-Known Member
Go for it. Nothing wrong with adding either, but I would go with honey myself. Apfelwein uses sugar for the boost. Either one would work, but honey has more depth. It already finishes pretty strong, so I wouldn't think the sugar is needed unless you are replacing honey which would lead to a lack of depth. The stronger it is, the more time it takes to mellow out.
I still put the required amount of top-of-the-line honey in it; not the store-bought stuff. I made 4 Gals and it ought to be good for the Christmas Season!!! Oh, the Farmers Juice I was talking about, I didn't use it cause it didn't have Absorbic Acid in it, or Vitamin C
I am thinking about trying this with a sweet mead yeast instead of the dryer yeasts. If anyone has any suggestions let me know.
Also curious if anyone has experience using White Grape Juice in a mead?
Also curious if anyone has experience using White Grape Juice in a mead?
I could be wrong, but you could be looking at a longer ferment time and perhaps that is fine with you. I think the 113 is used for it's agressiveness
stella_tigre
Queen of the Upper Mississippi
I did a gallon each of concord and white grape juice. It's still aging in the bottle - the white appears to have had more sugar in it so it's potent stuff!
The white grape juice had sulfites added (bottled Welch's) while the concord did not, but I just opened the bottle and aerated it by shaking for a day or so. The yeast got off to a shaky (stinky) start, farted around for a few days before really getting going, but then went just fine.
I did a gallon each of concord and white grape juice. It's still aging in the bottle - the white appears to have had more sugar in it so it's potent stuff!
The white grape juice had sulfites added (bottled Welch's) while the concord did not, but I just opened the bottle and aerated it by shaking for a day or so. The yeast got off to a shaky (stinky) start, farted around for a few days before really getting going, but then went just fine.
Please let me know how they both turn out! I am going to put this on hold and do the "Not so ancient Orange Mead" tomorrow.
Lepetitnormand
Well-Known Member
well just put one in a 1 gallon fermenter and that thing took off like a rocket, after 3hours I had to put on a blow off tube
Doed
Belching Dog Brewery
I am trying a blackberry mead following this "recipe". I am using Welch's unfiltered blackberry juice. It has gone through the primary fermenting, back sweetening, and is now aging. Going to let this sit for most of the year. I drank some of the leftover juice and found it didn't taste a whole lot different then the grape juice so I guess I'll see if in the end there is a noticeable difference in taste.
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