Raspberry Melamel (Bronze Medal winner at 2010 Great Arizona Homebrew Competition)

[rideincircles]

Is there any other options than D47 to make this? I can usually keep my beer in the range 70 and below in a water bath, but occasionally it gets to 72 degrees when I am gone all day at school and work. Can D47 cross above 70° at any point after primary fermentation or does it need to stay below 70° until bottled? I am holding off on this until I understand it better.

 

[Wayneh]

Started a bath of this recipe last night. Seems yummy. Hope it turns out because I've brewed about six batches of mead and haven't liked any of them. Check out hymiesbrew on YouTube

 

[bob1852]

Is there any other options than D47 to make this? I can usually keep my beer in the range 70 and below in a water bath, but occasionally it gets to 72 degrees when I am gone all day at school and work. Can D47 cross above 70° at any point after primary fermentation or does it need to stay below 70° until bottled? I am holding off on this until I understand it better.

71B-1122 wouldn't be a bad option. Once fermentation is done, temperature isn't as much of a concern during bulk aging.

 

[fun4stuff]

Day 21: SG 1.000. Dark red, opaque. Strong citrus after taste.

This should clear on it's own over the next few months, right? Should I add pectinase and/or a clearing agent?

 

[TheManchesterMorgue]

Day 21: SG 1.000. Dark red, opaque. Strong citrus after taste.

This should clear on it's own over the next few months, right? Should I add pectinase and/or a clearing agent?

About to start a batch of this myself but price of honey makes me really paranoid about messing it up. How did yours work out? Did you need the pectinase?

 

[fun4stuff]

About to start a batch of this myself but price of honey makes me really paranoid about messing it up. How did yours work out? Did you need the pectinase?

Day 42 now. Last SG was 1.0 a few weeks ago... tasted great then (although maybe too much citrus aftertaste)! Still bulk aging for now. It has cleared a little with some accumulated lees since this photo... but not much. Still a long ways from being able to read a newspaper through it.

I was thinking about adding pectinase and/or other clearing agent (bentonite, sparkaloid) in early november if there hasn't been much improvement. I would like to stabilize with potassium sorbate and sulfite in late nov or early december... as well as back-sweeten just a little bit. The last mead i made was too sweet. What are others thoughts on this plan?

I wanted to drink a bottle or 2 for xmas/new years! I don't mind if mead is a little "hot" tasting...

 

[bob1852]

I wouldn't backsweeten past 1.010 unless you like sweet. The raspberry and lemon/lime add some perceived sweetness.

I don't think pectin enzyme works post-fermemtation, but sparkolloid should work if you get impatient.

Hope it clears for you by the holidays!

 

[Vox]

Hey. I'm in AZ too. Where do you get your honey and cider from? Do you belong to ASH?

 

[bob1852]

I've been getting my honey from Miller's in California. Price per pound shipped is actually extremely competitive for quality honey.

There's a bee keeper in Flagstaff that supplies many of the AZ LHBS with honey, but I haven't got ahold of him to see what his bulk price is.

I belong to ASH but don't go to many club functions.

 

[Vox]

Cool. Thinking about joining ASH. Do you get cider or juice from anywhere local?

 

[lpsumo]

Hi all, I am a rookie and have a few questions.

Nutrients: I went out looking for the nutrients mentioned in the FAQ but came back with a package called "yeast nutrient" Ingredients: DAP, vitamin b complex, magnesium sulphate. When the faq says "At inoculation - 4.5g Superfood (or Fermaid-K) & 4.5g DAP" should i use 9 grams of my yeast nutrient?

Mixing: Is the procedure to just put it all in the carboy and mix it? No starting the yeast, no heating the honey?

Thanks for the tips

 

[1776]

I'm thinking of making a batch of this. I'm wondering if i should add the lemon and lime at the beginning of fermentation or after. I'm thinking the acidity might hurt the fermentation in some way. Would this matter?

 

[fun4stuff]

I'm thinking of making a batch of this. I'm wondering if i should add the lemon and lime at the beginning of fermentation or after. I'm thinking the acidity might hurt the fermentation in some way. Would this matter?

After I added the lemon and lime to the primary, I indeed did read that it can hurt the fermentation by changing the pH. However, I had no problems with fermentation. While I did not measure pH, it must not affect it enough to stop lavlin D47. It went very quickly with daily aerating and adding nutrients as described in the FAQ.

 

[fun4stuff]

Hi all, I am a rookie and have a few questions.

Nutrients: I went out looking for the nutrients mentioned in the FAQ but came back with a package called "yeast nutrient" Ingredients: DAP, vitamin b complex, magnesium sulphate. When the faq says "At inoculation - 4.5g Superfood (or Fermaid-K) & 4.5g DAP" should i use 9 grams of my yeast nutrient?

Mixing: Is the procedure to just put it all in the carboy and mix it? No starting the yeast, no heating the honey?

Thanks for the tips

#1. I think the nutrient guidelines listed in the FAQ were written with those specific brands in mind. There is no guarantee that it will work with other brands. With that said, I have adapted it in the past to work with different brands of yeast nutrient and yeast energizer and everything turned out fine for me.

#2. I add all ingredients except the yeast. I prepare yeast per instructions on the back of the packaging. Typically something like add a small amount of warm water (~100 degrees) and part of the must and/or sugar to the yeast in small bowl. I then wait ~30 mins until the mixture starts foaming and then add it to the must.

#3. I never boil my honey, as there is no reason to and it can only change the taste. I put the containers of honey in hot water beforehand so that it pours and dissolves more readily. If I add water, I also heat (not boil) the water to help dissolve the honey. However, it is not pertinent that the honey be dissolved in the water before fermentation.

 

[lpsumo]

Thanks for the tips, I have this in secondary now, hope it goes well

I guess it sits in secondary for 60 days now?

Also it's recommended to bottle it with dextrose. I have glucose syrup, same difference?

 

[fun4stuff]

Thanks for the tips, I have this in secondary now, hope it goes well

I guess it sits in secondary for 60 days now?

Also it's recommended to bottle it with dextrose. I have glucose syrup, same difference?

yes, i think it will work. most people seem to use dextrose, but the yeast should eat up the glucose to produce CO2 and carbonate.

my FG today (started in september) was 1.000. we plan to backsweeten to ~1.010, stabilize with k-meta and sorbate, and clear with bentonite. still opaque red. tastes too sour. at this point if i made it again i would probably cut the lemons and lime in half... we'll see how it tastes later on.

 

[lpsumo]

Thanks for the tip. I have been reading recently about D47 producing fusel alcohol when it ferments over 70F, hope mine turns out ok...

 

[Jukas]

Mine is coming up on almost a year old at this point. I think I'm going to give it another taste and think about bottling. Since it went totally dry at .999 I'm debating if I want to bottle still, or highly carb like a champagne to around 4 vol. I have plenty of 375 & 750ml belgian bottles (thx RR & lost abby). I'm kinda bummed that I only made 3 gallons and will probably only do 5+ gal for all future batches of meads.

 

[fun4stuff]

Thanks for the tip. I have been reading recently about D47 producing fusel alcohol when it ferments over 70F, hope mine turns out ok...

I too have read about that. FWIW- I used to live in an apartment where I could not control the temperature and it would commonly get to 80 degrees during the day in the summers. I remember at least one time where I was using D47 and I did not have any problems with fusel alcohol or off-tastes... but maybe I was just lucky.

 

[fun4stuff]

Mine is coming up on almost a year old at this point. I think I'm going to give it another taste and think about bottling. Since it went totally dry at .999 I'm debating if I want to bottle still, or highly carb like a champagne to around 4 vol. I have plenty of 375 & 750ml belgian bottles (thx RR & lost abby). I'm kinda bummed that I only made 3 gallons and will probably only do 5+ gal for all future batches of meads.

How'd it taste? I liked mine at 1.000 SG, but the citrus was a little overpowering. The limes I used were really big. The citrus taste was better after sweetening (aside from the sulfite taste). I am also debating adding some raspberries and letting them sit on raspberries for a few weeks. They're out of season now though...

 

[Jukas]

How'd it taste? I liked mine at 1.000 SG, but the citrus was a little overpowering. The limes I used were really big. The citrus taste was better after sweetening (aside from the sulfite taste). I am also debating adding some raspberries and letting them sit on raspberries for a few weeks. They're out of season now though...

Honestly, I have no idea yet as I haven't done anything with it yet and it's still bulk aging. I tasted it at about 4 months old and it was very hot so I decided to leave it alone until it was a year old.

 

[bob1852]

How'd it taste? I liked mine at 1.000 SG, but the citrus was a little overpowering. The limes I used were really big. The citrus taste was better after sweetening (aside from the sulfite taste). I am also debating adding some raspberries and letting them sit on raspberries for a few weeks. They're out of season now though...

Yeah, fruit size is important. I made the mistakes of using juice from the bottle instead of the juice from the fruit on my last batch. But, back sweetened to 1.010 and aged, it won't be too bad.

 

[fun4stuff]

Bottled today. Cleared after adding the "super kleer kc" finings. Tastes very good.... ready to drink now. I don't think this will last long. Sulfite taste is gone. The citrus taste seems to have mellowed after backsweetening. I may try force carbonating it....

 

[Rahahb]

Couple of questions. Some here have been going drier than I want with this. Should I use another yeast, or just let it go and backsweeten? I've only made a couple of meads so this is still new to me.

Also, if I bulk age it and it takes a year to clear, will there be enough yeast in suspension to carb? And does bottle carbed mead have a little lees on the bottom? If so, what are your thoughts on carbtabs for this mead?

 

[bob1852]

Couple of questions. Some here have been going drier than I want with this. Should I use another yeast, or just let it go and backsweeten? I've only made a couple of meads so this is still new to me.

Also, if I bulk age it and it takes a year to clear, will there be enough yeast in suspension to carb? And does bottle carbed mead have a little lees on the bottom? If so, what are your thoughts on carbtabs for this mead?

If it finishes dry and you backsweeten, you won't be able to carb without kegging (campden and potassium sorbate inhibit future yeast activity).

Bottled carbed mead will have some lees, whether you use pruning sugar or carb tabs (which are basically pre measured priming sugar).

I keep meaning to experiment with bottle carbing with dry ice, so you could have a sparkling, back sweetened mead, but I'm not that brave.

 

[lpsumo]

Just to be clear, when you say bottle with 3oz. dextrose, that's to backsweeten it, not carb it, right? And that's 3oz per 3 gallon, not per bottle right?

 

[bob1852]

Just to be clear, when you say bottle with 3oz. dextrose, that's to backsweeten it, not carb it, right? And that's 3oz per 3 gallon, not per bottle right?

3oz per 3 gallons to carbonate it.

If it finishes too dry for your tastes, and you use campden/sorbate to inhibit yeast so you can backsweeten, you won't be able to bottle carb it.

Backsweetening is best done with honey, and the amount depends on what gravity it finished at and what gravity you want to get it back to.

 

[Partisan]

I got a jar with raspberries in syrup (water & sugar), and it says it doesn´t contains any preservative.. can I make this recipe with those? It weights 750gr (26,45oz) & 400gr drained (14,2oz).

If i can make this recipe with those raspberries, do i have to wash it first or use it with the syrup too? I think it would be a good idea to drain it first and save the syrup in the freezer to add it to the second, or third or to back-sweeten or for carbonate, any thoughts?

I live in Argentina and raspberries are really expensives and in the town i live are very difficult to get it fresh.

 

[NHowell16]

Hi All!

So, it's been about a year since starting this batch. I'm ready to bottle now, but theres this strange white stuff along the top rim of the mead. It's kind of like little granules... For the longest time, there was a very small amount of berry residue from transferring it from the primary carboy, but that seems to have settled... now theres this white stuff.

I want to know - is this ok to bottle? What is the white stuff, and does it mean my mead has gone bad? I'm worried that the airlock may have been too low on water for a little while.. but not too long. Could it have gotten contaminated?

Thoughts? I really want this to turn out, but I don't want to kill anyone!

Thanks for your help,

Nicole

 

[shaky1980]

Can anyone tell me if these are blackthorn bushes

Attachment 141726

Photo not the best any advice grateful