New batch - blueberry mead!

[Miraculix]

Eh… 1/4 tsp of meta K per 5 gallons keeps the oxygenation down to a dull roar. I’ve seen a lot of field testing of oxygen added during racking and using sulphide to counteract all while keeping the PPM of free Sulphide down to around 80-120.

I like to get the debris that falls out of the carboy so there isn’t a chance it gets mixed back in, especially when bottling. The fine wisps that fall out of the honey are especially troublesome. Just carrying the carboy out of the closet and onto my table makes me wait 4+ hours for that stuff to settle. If I don’t rack it at least twice, some of it will inevitably end up in the bottles. Even placing the racking can will kick it back up a little.

Maybe I put too much emphasis on clarity these days but I find myself getting irritated when i look at my older bottles that I made when I first got into the hobby. All those bottles have little honey wisps sitting in the bottom. That’s like 2-3 oz of 2+ year old knock you socks off meady goodness which is now comprised.

Ok, that should work. I just do not like using this stuff so I do not considder it. Anyway, I would probably try to reduce the racking to the bare minimum, maybe letting it sit longer after the first racking or something like this, so that the amount of k-meta can be reduced. I really do not like to fiddle with my brews chemically, but that is just my own idea.

 

[MightyMosin]

I'm a bit of a nut when it comes to clarity.
I try to wait it out but at times I'll use fining agents as they can work really well at speeding that process along.

 

[Srimmey]

I'm a bit of a nut when it comes to clarity.
I try to wait it out but at times I'll use fining agents as they can work really well at speeding that process along.

Ive started not really waiting at all for adding fining agents. They just work too well…

next time I go to the brew store I want to pick up some bentonite for adding to primary. I’ve also been really impressed with the chitosan and kiesesol that comes in wine kits. They seem to do a fantastic job in the blink of an eye.

 

[Miraculix]

Ive started not really waiting at all for adding fining agents. They just work too well…

next time I go to the brew store I want to pick up some bentonite for adding to primary. I’ve also been really impressed with the chitosan and kiesesol that comes in wine kits. They seem to do a fantastic job in the blink of an eye.

I'm always scared that they drop out some flavour components as well, which they do. Three question is how much. But for me that's enough for a big no no. Occasionally I use gelatine in a beer though. .... I think it was actually more than five years ago that I used it last time.

 

[MightyMosin]

next time I go to the brew store I want to pick up some bentonite for adding to primary.

I don't bother with rehydrating it in primary... it will get there on its own in short order.

 

[Srimmey]

This batch is finally in the bottle! It was certainly challenging, with the primary fermentation getting stuck several times. It took a long time to age away those stressed yeast flavors but I think it will still be good and ready for Christmas.

Final PH ended up landing at 3.2. The carrot and blueberry go very well together. The blueberry notes are in your face while the carrot honey adds a lot of bold caramel notes to back it up. Although it is a bit sweeter than what I traditionally brew, the high amounts of acid balance it nicely. It drinks as a slightly “off dry” wine. Just the smallest amount of perceived sweetness to round out the blueberries and give the honey notes some bulk.

Final yield - (23) 750mL bottles

 

[Miraculix]

Pretty label!

 

[Srimmey]

Pretty label!

Thank you!