Rhubarb

[KTbrew]

A friend and I are going to combine resources to make a rhubarb mead. I've never worked with rhubarb before. I really need advice on how handle the rhubarb, and how much per gallon to add? We want it to be distinctly rhubarb and we're ok with embracing the tartness of it. Do people freeze it first? I've seen some people smashing it up?

I was thinking the starting gravity would be on the higher side. What do ya'll think?

 

[Kent88]

I sure do love rhubarb season...

Pick it, wash it up, chop it up, and throw it in the freezer for a day or two to bust up some cell walls.

I forget what I did when I made rhubarb Mead, but when I make rhubarb wine I use about 5.5lbs rhubarb and about 5.66 cups sugar per gallon.

@Yooper suggests using less rhubarb in wines, but I don't know why.

 

[Yooper]

I sure do love rhubarb season...

Pick it, wash it up, chop it up, and throw it in the freezer for a day or two to bust up some cell walls.

I forget what I did when I made rhubarb Mead, but when I make rhubarb wine I use about 5.5lbs rhubarb and about 5.66 cups sugar per gallon.

@Yooper suggests using less rhubarb in wines, but I don't know why.

I use less because the oxalic acid in it was pretty strong for me, even after using calcium carbonate to drop some of the acid out. I really like 3-4 pounds per gallon so that there is still a rhubarb flavor without that strong biting oxalic acid flavor. I used 7 pounds per gallon in one batch, and it was about twice as much as I would have liked!

 

[Kent88]

I use less because the oxalic acid in it was pretty strong for me ... I used 7 pounds per gallon in one batch, and it was about twice as much as I would have liked!

See, all the words she uses are English, but the way she is putting them all together just doesn't make any sense to me.

Back on topic, though, I do remember using about 5lbs rhubarb per gallon in a mead and I don't think I got a lot of the honey character out of it, so a little less in a mead, maybe about what Yooper recommends, might be alright.