Mead IPA - to boil or not to boil half of the honey?

[jfolks]

Hello all! My first attempt at mead here. A few questions that I would love some input on:

1) I'm going to do an IPA style mead, and this recipe (http://meadist.com/making-mead/mead-recipes/hop-head-mead/) says you add 1/2 of the honey at the beginning of the boil (off the burner) and then add the other 1/2 post-boil once cooled to 90 degrees. I understand that boiling honey diminishes the 'delicate' flavor. Do you all think this is a good way to preserve that flavor? Or is there any reason I can't do a hop tea and then add all the honey after cooling (post-boil) to ~115 degrees? (My curiosity being that maybe hops need sugars when boiling to properly do their thing)

2) I'm also going to make a peanut butter mead (I know - I'm crazy). I helped a friend make a PB&J beer that turned out amazing - we used peanut butter powder at the 60 min mark in the boil. Similar question - do you all think I should boil the peanut butter powder for 60 min without any honey, and then cool to 115 and then add all the honey? Or should I do the half and half thing as mentioned above?

3) I'm entering these in a session mead contest - thinking about 1.044 OG / 1.000 FG (ABV of 6.1%). Is there any reason why using Lalvin EC-1118 would be a bad idea (considering it's probably meant for higher ABV beverages)

Thanks so much!

 

[jmichaeldesign]

Hops do need to be boiled in a sugar solution. You'll get grassy raw vegetable flavors if boiled in just water. That being said i would do a 15 minute boil if not shorter. You don't want the bitterness for the mead. Just the flavor and aroma. I'd probably actually just steep the hops for 15-20 mins at 160 or so as well as generous dry hopping.

 

[Bearmaul]

I should think if you're going for an IPA level of bitterness, that'd mask any delicate aromatics from the honey anyway. Boil away.

 

[jfolks]

thanks! anyone have any thoughts on my 2nd and 3rd questions?

 

[skadalajara]

3) I'm entering these in a session mead contest - thinking about 1.044 OG / 1.000 FG (ABV of 6.1%). Is there any reason why using Lalvin EC-1118 would be a bad idea (considering it's probably meant for higher ABV beverages)

I've never used it, but I've had cider made with it. Conventional wisdom is that it blows all aromatics out the airlock. That might include your hops.
If I were to do what you plan, I'd opt for using an ale yeast. I'm not sure I'd use a wine yeast below 1.065 OG.

 

[hbtasdfg]

2. I don't think peanut butter has a flavor as delicate as honey that changes when boiled. It's used in hard candy and stuff and that is even hotter than boiling.

3. EC-1118 is excellent for going very way dry if that is your goal. Might go below 1.000. It takes anything resembling a sugar and converts it. If you want a little more residual sweetness you would choose a different yeast like that lalvin 71b-1122 or something I think beer yeasts give even more residual sweetness

 

[hbtasdfg]

come to think of it i think they boil peanut butter at the factory in the manufacturing process to sanitize it

 

[biochemedic]

I have done a couple of hop metheglins and have commented in this before (if you search hop metheglin you should find a couple of other threads on the topic...). I also use the half honey in the boil, half after cooling method...not sure if the recipe you linked takes the idea from any of the threads mentioning my recipes or not...

At any rate there is a fine line between having some gravity in the boil (I also have been of the understanding that you need some solute in the water to facilitate hop conversion/bittering) and then realizing that if your gravity is too high you run into the fact that your hop utilization decreases with increasing gravity...I felt that a half and half split was a good simple compromise, both in terms of the hops, as well as for aroma preservation... BTW, if you do use any brewing software or online calculations, you will need to change the OG to reflect your accurately estimate your IBUs...

FWIW, boiling the honey isn't as terrible as some make it out to be...it makes a different mead that you get with no-boil, but to flat out say it will "ruin" your mead is just not true...

 

[fatbloke]

-----snip-----
FWIW, boiling the honey isn't as terrible as some make it out to be...it makes a different mead that you get with no-boil, but to flat out say it will "ruin" your mead is just not true...

In which, IMO, you are entirely correct......

Boiling does 2 things with honey, the downside being that it drives off the volatile aromatics and reduces some of the more subtle/fine flavouring elements - rather like what happens when you use a champagne yeast. The upside is that it forces the proteins and some pollen out as the bubbly scum than some recipes suggest is skimmed off.

So really, it would seem that it depends on the type of mead being made.

Your alluding to it making different mead would also be correct as ones made with boiled honey are often smoother once aged as some of the micro-reactions of a non-heat mead won't have happened in the ferment. They can lack esters if heated. They will often clear quicker....

Either way, these aren't bad things necessarily, just dependent on whats being made.

Personally I prefer unboiled as I enjoy the characteristics that come from the use of varietal honey. If I'm feeling impatient for one to clear quicker, then I'll just use finings.....

I just wish people would use more proper terminology. IPA mead ? WTF.......

It's either a honey IPA or a Braggot.......surely ?

 

[KevinM]

No malt. Is it still a braggot? Not an ale either. IPM?

 

[skadalajara]

No malt. Is it still a braggot? Not an ale either. IPM?

It's just a hop metheglin.

 

[jfolks]

so i did the half and half method on both the "IPM" and the peanut butter mead. I think both are going to turn out pretty good! A lot of the peanut butter powder made it into the fermenter, and it had a crazy active fermentation...so I'm pretty excited to see how this stuff turns out!

Do you all have any tips for dry hopping mead? Do they same rules apply as west coast IPAs?

 

[pghfett]

Boiling honey from what I've reads is only for a more advanced specialized mead recipes.

You heat to pasteurized only, and honey has a lot temp for this. Boiling brings out bad flavors from what I've read but actually is done in very specific recipes.

 

[bobbyangel666]

I just did a bochet, and the honey on the stur spoo. Carmalized into a dark hard candy, tastes delicious to me.

I haven't any idea why you woukd heat to pastuerize honey. Its naturally antibiotic and nothing is growing in it. I do t boil or heat my honey more than just enough to liquify it a bit for easy pouring. The bochet that calls for boiled honey are imo great. I have a mango bochet fermenting away as I type this