Joe's Quick Grape Mead

[SuperiorBrew]

Joe's Grape Mead / Pyment / Melomel

Ingredients
2 lbs Clover honey
1 oz buckwheat honey
64-oz Welch's Grape Juice with Vitamin C added- Make sure it has no preservatives in ingredients other than Vitamin C added (A.K.A. Absorbic Acid)
Balance water if you need it to make 1 gallon after adding honey mixed in water (don't use too much water in honey mix or you'll end up with more than you bargained for.
Lalvin EC-1118

Methods/steps
Just finished bottling my first Grape Mead Melomel or Pyment whatever one wishes to call it and it was started on November 4th and is simply wonderful to drink already. It was ready in 5 weeks!
Thought I would share my recipe with you, as it is the youngest best tasting, quick mead I have had thus far. Too bad
It will ferment super fast to dry (about 13% alcohol) because of type of yeast and all the nutrients and natural sugars in Welch's grape juice. It should be to SG =1.000 or less in 14- 21 days max.
Rack to clean carboy over mixture of 6-oz honey, 6-oz Welch's grape juice, 1/2t of Sorbate and 1/2 crushed campden tablet.
It will stabilize and clear fast. Let it clear and set for another 2 weeks and it will be ready to bottle and drink.
It will be medium sweet but smooth and drinkable right away. If you want it semi sweet use 4-oz honey instead of 6-oz / gal.
The only reason I used the Campden (Sulphite) is because my understanding is that using both Potassium Sorbate and Sulphite together will definitely inhibit renewed fermentation and it did for me.
Color is deep red, has nice legs on sides of glass after swirling, good nose and great balanced taste) Just don't tell everybody you used Welch's. I won't. Because the juice is clear to start, clearing is naturally fast, fast, fast.

I found this recipe at gotmead.com and since Joe's Ancient Orange Mead turned out so good I mad another batch of that and a batch of this today.

 

[dqeuvtcxotaa]

Joe's Grape Mead / Pyment / Melomel

Ingredients
2 lbs Clover honey
1 oz buckwheat honey
64-oz Welch's Grape Juice with Vitamin C added- Make sure it has no preservatives in ingredients other than Vitamin C added (A.K.A. Absorbic Acid)
Balance water if you need it to make 1 gallon after adding honey mixed in water (don't use too much water in honey mix or you'll end up with more than you bargained for.
Lalvin EC-1118

Methods/steps
Just finished bottling my first Grape Mead Melomel or Pyment whatever one wishes to call it and it was started on November 4th and is simply wonderful to drink already. It was ready in 5 weeks!
Thought I would share my recipe with you, as it is the youngest best tasting, quick mead I have had thus far. Too bad
It will ferment super fast to dry (about 13% alcohol) because of type of yeast and all the nutrients and natural sugars in Welch's grape juice. It should be to SG =1.000 or less in 14- 21 days max.
Rack to clean carboy over mixture of 6-oz honey, 6-oz Welch's grape juice, 1/2t of Sorbate and 1/2 crushed campden tablet.
It will stabilize and clear fast. Let it clear and set for another 2 weeks and it will be ready to bottle and drink.
It will be medium sweet but smooth and drinkable right away. If you want it semi sweet use 4-oz honey instead of 6-oz / gal.
The only reason I used the Campden (Sulphite) is because my understanding is that using both Potassium Sorbate and Sulphite together will definitely inhibit renewed fermentation and it did for me.
Color is deep red, has nice legs on sides of glass after swirling, good nose and great balanced taste) Just don't tell everybody you used Welch's. I won't. Because the juice is clear to start, clearing is naturally fast, fast, fast.

I found this recipe at gotmead.com and since Joe's Ancient Orange Mead turned out so good I mad another batch of that and a batch of this today.

how's it coming along? i am thinking of making this... do you think it will turn out as good as JAOM?

also, where did you get the top that allows you to connect the airlock to the welch's juice bottle?

 

[SuperiorBrew]

Its coming along nicely, looks like its just starting to clear a little. You can either melt a hole in and just use the airlock, or grind a hole in thats large enough for a small drilled stopper. I used a Dremmel because they don't drill too well.

 

[kebrown]

Whoever wrote this recipe did a piss poor job. The instructions do not even mention what to do with the buckwheat honey.

However with that said I have a 1 gallon batch in its 4th week....

 

[summersolstice]

Whoever wrote this recipe did a piss poor job. The instructions do not even mention what to do with the buckwheat honey.

Put it in the primary with the rest of the ingredients??

We should give proper credit to Joe Mattioli for this recipe. A lot of people, me included, have been successful with Joe's recipes. Joe is the same man who developed the famous Ancient Orange Mead.

 

[SuperiorBrew]

Whoever wrote this recipe did a piss poor job. The instructions do not even mention what to do with the buckwheat honey.

However with that said I have a 1 gallon batch in its 4th week....

I think Joe assumed that whoever would follow his recipe would be able to figure that part out.

I put mine on a bagel

 

[dqeuvtcxotaa]

I think Joe assumed that whoever would follow his recipe would be able to figure that part out.

I put mine on a bagel

well started up my own batch today. didnt have the buckwheat honey... not sure what to do.. perhaps i should backsweeten with it???

 

[SuperiorBrew]

I think it both adds a little bolder flavor and I am sure I read they added it for the extra nutrients of something it had. I wouldnt swear to that but I do remember it did serve another purpose in ther.

All that being said I'm sure you will be fine with out it.

 

[Wade E]

I believe his last name is Mattioli and you were right to add both sorbate and sulfite as sorbate usually doesnt work unless there is a sufficient amount of free S02.

 

[Painterman]

I was wondering about how to get by not adding sulphites, I have a friend that is allergic to them.


thanks

 

[CBBaron]

I was wondering about how to get by not adding sulphites, I have a friend that is allergic to them.


thanks

Leave it dry and bottle without the sulphites.
I don't think you can safely back-sweeten with honey without them.
You may however be able to make a sweet mead using non fermentable sugar like lactose or Splenda. This will not be the same as sweetening with honey.

Craig

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Instead of adding the honey/sulphites step could I just leave this in the primary longer, then prime with corn sugar and bottle? I usually dont like to change the recipe but I dont have the Sulphites or campden tabs and no LHBS. Also how about D-47 or Montrachet yeast? (I just ordered some brewig stuff before I saw this recipe, darn it!)

 

[pizzaman]

How did this batch turn out? I know it was almost a year ago...I just started a batch of this today, followed the recipe from Got Mead - Mead (honeywine) making, mead drinking, mead recipes. My interpretation was that the juice and honey was to be topped up to 1 gallon with water. From your picture it looks like you didn't do this. Did it still turn out ok? Do you remember what your SG was?

For a 1 gallon batch I pulled an SG of 1.100 using a little over 2 lbs of honey, 64oz of grape juice, and about 6 cups of water to make it 1 gallon. I did substitute K1V-1116 as I didn't have any EC-1118 on hand, hopefully this won't make a difference in the quick fermentation and clearing time as the wifey and I are looking forward to this being ready in only 5 weeks.

 

[pizzaman]

Well I took a sample from the batch I made today, hasn't even been a full three weeks yet and this stuff is be-a-utiful. I can see many more of this being made in the immediate future. I'm gonna check the SG tomorrow and if it's low enough I'll be racking to start clearing. Already have plans to start a 5 gallon batch the beginning of march.

 

[CBBaron]

Instead of adding the honey/sulphites step could I just leave this in the primary longer, then prime with corn sugar and bottle? I usually dont like to change the recipe but I dont have the Sulphites or campden tabs and no LHBS. Also how about D-47 or Montrachet yeast? (I just ordered some brewig stuff before I saw this recipe, darn it!)

The sulphites and sorbate step stabilize the mead to prevent renewed fermentation and then adding the additional honey makes a sweet mead. If you will to make a dry sparkling mead you could do as you propose and prime before bottling without stabilization.

I think D-47 is an excellent yeast for mead. Montrachet should work fine also.

Craig

 

[pizzaman]

Just racked my batch of quick grape mead into a secondary, on top of potassium sorbate, campden tablet, and honey. Took a sample while doing so and it was very yummy. I also dropped the sample from the hydrometer into a half full glass of apfelwein on accident, but it tasted freakin awesome...definitely some grape-apfelwein-mead experimenting coming up in the future. grapefelmead anyone?

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

The sulphites and sorbate step stabilize the mead to prevent renewed fermentation and then adding the additional honey makes a sweet mead. If you will to make a dry sparkling mead you could do as you propose and prime before bottling without stabilization.

I think D-47 is an excellent yeast for mead. Montrachet should work fine also.

Craig

Thanks Craig!

 

[like2brew]

sounds good i might give it a shot. will probably do it right in the juice bottle too

 

[bob1852]

I just made a batch last night and my airlock is pretty much full! Give yourself some head space - especially if you use EC-1118. I guess you could probably short yourself a couple cups of water, and then top off in a week or so when the major activity ceases...

 

[juvinious]

I made 5 gallons of this back on december 16th. I was in the process of moving and left this it my old house in january so I didn't get a chance to rack it and back sweeten with more juice and honey. I went there this weekend to pick up some other stuff I left behind and decided to bottle it, got 26 bottles . Popped a bottle open last night to get a feel for it. It has a very nice nose and pleasant taste. However I feel it is extremely dry, I don't know if it's the acidity of the Welche's but man it's like cotton mouth city. I'll let the other bottles sit for a while before I pop open another one.

 

[pizzaman]

The 1 gallon batch I made in february only lasted a week once bottled...I started another 1 gallon batch this week, hopefully will be able to do a five gallon batch sometime this month. Everyone who's tasted this loves it; it's not too sweet, not too dry, has a nice grape taste too it and gets you really derunkerd really kewick. A glass of this followed by a glass of apfelwein will set you down for the night...or get your swmbo to do wild and crazy things The batch I just made I only used 1.5 pounds of honey with 1 gallon juice/water mixture. The abv will only be 10% instead of 18%, I'm gonna see how the texture/taste differs.

I made 5 gallons of this back on december 16th. I was in the process of moving and left this it my old house in january so I didn't get a chance to rack it and back sweeten with more juice and honey. I went there this weekend to pick up some other stuff I left behind and decided to bottle it, got 26 bottles . Popped a bottle open last night to get a feel for it. It has a very nice nose and pleasant taste. However I feel it is extremely dry, I don't know if it's the acidity of the Welche's but man it's like cotton mouth city. I'll let the other bottles sit for a while before I pop open another one.

I believe the racking onto juice/honey as well as the campden and sorbates is a crucial part to making this a quick mead. It makes it very good, and very drinkable, very quickly.

 

[brewdude76]

I just made this today in a two gallon bucket. I told my cousin I was not sure if the final must was one gallon but I know it's close. He informed me that mead is not supposed to have head space when fermenting. My first mead was made in the same bucket and fermented normally(it's degassing in a Carlo Rossi jug before I age it in bottles for 3 months). Pitched yeast at 6 and no activity 3 hours later. Should I buy another 64oz of grape juice and 3# of honey and make this a two gallon batch? Or should I just chill out and drink a beer?

 

[bob1852]

I just made this today in a two gallon bucket. I told my cousin I was not sure if the final must was one gallon but I know it's close. He informed me that mead is not supposed to have head space when fermenting. My first mead was made in the same bucket and fermented normally(it's degassing in a Carlo Rossi jug before I age it in bottles for 3 months). Pitched yeast at 6 and no activity 3 hours later. Should I buy another 64oz of grape juice and 3# of honey and make this a two gallon batch? Or should I just chill out and drink a beer?

yes, chill out and drink a beer -- or two....

 

[pizzaman]

While drinking your beer, answer these questions: What kind of yeast did you use? Did you make sure the grape juice didn't have any preservatives? These are the only two things that could muck up this recipe, although the only yeast that wouldn't work well with this would be bread yeast as it would die out too quickly...but definitely a high alcohol yeast is recommended. Preservatives in juice would kill it. If you're okay on both of those points, give the juice a shakin and let it be; it should bubble up in no time.

 

[brewdude76]

I used EC-1118 and followed the recipe like it said. I cleaned and sanitized everything. 24 hours later, it is only bubbling occasionally. If fermentation does not pick up by tomorrow morning, I am going to double the recipe to fill the rest of the bucket and pitch re-hydrated EC-1118. Unless someone thinks that is a bad idea...

 

[pizzaman]

Doubling a recipe as good is this can't possibly be a bad idea, as long as you're careful about oxidation and sanitation and whatnot. I'm planning on making a 5 gallon batch of this by the end of the month.

 

[Preliator]

Has anyone tried using white grape juice with this recipe? I want to make it but have more of a fan base for whites rather then reds.....got a great deal on organic grape juice...was courious to know if anyone else had experience with white???
thanks
anthony

 

[pizzaman]

White grape juice should work, though it may not clear as quickly. Be sure you're using grape juice, not grape juice cocktail as these have a lot of extra things you don't want. A good general rule is to avoid juices with anything other than juice, water, and vitamins(no preservatives). If you do make a white grape juice mead, let us know how quick the fermentation and clearing goes..I'd like to know.

The last 1 gallon batch I made with 1.5lb honey turned out just as good as every other batch, but wasn't quite as knock-you-on-your-ass strong as previous versions. If it was just slightly higher I think it would have been best. I'm hoping to make a 2 gallon batch tomorrow, gonna use 4 lbs honey with 128oz juice and top up with water. Hopefully it will end up right around 15%, right in between the two percentages I've made in the past...I'll report back my results, as usual.

[EDIT]Just checked, don't have any 1118 on hand so I'll be using K1-V1116.[/EDIT]

 

[pizzaman]

Just finished making my 2 gallon batch with 128oz grape juice(2x64oz) and 4.5lbs clover honey. The og was 1.100, which should yield right around 14% abv, pretty much what I was shooting for.

Here's some meadporn:

 

[Brewsinn]

would ale yeast work?