Raspberry melomel

[Shine0n]

I'm new to the site but not to fermenting and I've started a a new melomel so I thought I'd share my recipe.

17 lbs clover honey
5 lbs frozen raspberries crushed
wyeast sweet mead smack pack

nutes were a pack of D47 boiled in a pint of of spring water although I'm not sure I needed it because the smack pack had added nutes in there

Juice of 2 lemon

It's still in the primary and it's been 1 month and I plan to rack this weekend to another 5 gal carboy and let sit for 3 months and rack again.

After then I'll rack a final time and check in 9 months for quality and go from there.

 

[madscientist451]

I'm new to the site but not to fermenting and I've started a a new melomel so I thought I'd share my recipe.

17 lbs clover honey
5 lbs frozen raspberries crushed
wyeast sweet mead smack pack

It's still in the primary and it's been 1 month and I plan to rack this weekend to another 5 gal carboy and let sit for 3 months and rack again.

I've made a few meads over the years and not really been happy with them, so I've been studying it lately. If I was going to do a raspberry mead, with what I know now, I'd do staggered nutrient addition, and add the raspberries in secondary. Are you happy with the way it comes out when you use the raspberries in primary?

 

[bernardsmith]

I tend to be quite happy with my meads but then I tend to use far less honey. Session meads (hydromels) using about 1-2 lbs of honey to make a gallon seem to work quite well and if I am looking for a drier than a sweeter mead I might carbonate it to add additional complexity

 

[CKuhns]

Appreciate the recipe, also agree with a SNA protocol and would consider adding 3 to 4 pounds of berries in secondary. My opinion is it rounds out the flavor a bit better. However with them in primary as well will likely overpower the honey notes a bit with the raspberry flavor.

 

[Shine0n]

The flavor is good now and is semi sweet with nice flavors as I didn't add too many raspberries.

It's still way too young to tell how well it may be but now I can tell it will be just fine.

I will try the staggered nutes on my next one, I just ordered 10 gals of honey, 5 orange blossom and 5 blackberry so I'll have plenty of playtime coming soon.

I have a question about a mead that won't clear well, it's a traditional mead, 3 lbs per gallon and is 3 gallons. Would bentonite strip too much of the flavor if used or will I still have enough?

Sorry if that's off topic but just thought I'd throw that one in there.

 

[CKuhns]

Bentonite - Cant comment, have never used it. I have always had good results with time, KC Super Kleer or the like and cold crash.