Pomegranate Mead recipe critique and advice wanted.

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BlindMike

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Recipe idea based upon a mashup of a few recipes I've found online and the GotMead podcast.

Ingredients
64oz. (1.9 liters) Pomegranate Juice 100% (SG 1.052 per internet)
2 ½ - ¾ lbs. (27 – 30 fl oz.) Honey Kirkland Unfiltered Wildflower Honey
Water – Filtered Kirkland, roughly 36 fl oz.
1 Cinnamon stick
9-12 Raisins
15 Pink Pepper Corns, toasted.
10 Cardamom seeds
1 teabag Black Tea
2 teabags Rooibos Tea
½ Lemon (or Orange, Tangelo, Cutie), Zest of half a lemon and flesh sectioned or chopped.
Yeast Lavalin 71b
6.3g Go-Ferm + 125ml filtered water
2.4g Fermaid-O ( 0.62g (1/4 tsp) X 4 doses)
Potassium Carbonate (K2CO3)
Either 1c. Dandelion flower buds (hoping it will add a bit of sweet earthiness) or 1oz. Irish Moss (have read that it would add earthy notes but am a little wary of the fishy smell in the package)

Directions
Warm Pomegranate Juice to 185F (simmer)
Crush pink pepper corns, toasted cardamom seeds, and cinnamon stick, place in small grain bag along with lemon zest and flesh, and add to pot.
Add flowers or moss, and tea bags, remove from heat allow to steep covered for 10 minutes.
Add honey to pot and stir to dissolve.
Allow to cool to below 80F, check pH level and SG.
Stir in small amounts of warmed honey to adjust SG as needed.
Add Potassium Carbonate to adjust pH if needed

I am kind of trying to go for an Earth, Air, Fire, celebration of the beginning of Spring and nature awakening vibe to the mead.

I've read that pomegranate juice can be very acidic. Should I be using Baking Soda and Potassium Carbonate to adjust the pH and buffer pH swings during fermentation?

Has anyone fermented with Irish Moss in the primary before? How did it come out?

Any advice and critiques of the recipe would be greatly appreciated.
 
Typically, Irish Moss is added during the boil to help the wort clarify. I don't know that it will be needed or really help in a mead. You can clarify the mead post-fermentation. I'd leave it out.

I think you are wise to check and adjust the pH of the must before fermentation. It will probably be on the low end for a healthy fermentation. My prediction is that this mead will be very dry and tart. You will likely need to backsweeten.

Also, what is the total volume? 1 gal? Seems like a lot of tea for one gallon. I would wait to add the tea and titrate to taste when the mead has finished fermenting. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
 
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