Seeking advice on making dry mead with subtle flavor

[iadknet]

I just bought some honey to attempt my first small batch of mead.

After reading around on these forums and the internet, I had settled on starting out a simple batch using orange blossom honey, but unfortunately I was not able to find any orange blossom honey locally.

A local coop grocery store did have bulk blackberry honey for a reasonable price, so I bought 3 lbs to make a 1 gallon batch. I was hoping the blackberry honey would impart a subtle flavor similar to what I've read about orange blossom honey, but a few threads in the archives of this forum seem to indicate that the blackberry flavor would not survive.

So now I am re-thinking the simple mead idea. I do not want a bold in-your-face fruit flavor, but something subtle. I have some meyer lemons from a home tree and I was considering adding the zest and juice to the primary. Would that likely add a subtle citrus hint to the final mead?

Another option I was considering would be to add some vanilla beans in the beginning... as that seems like a nice blackberry complement and could add some complexity, but again I'd like to avoid any overpowering flavors.

Also... any yeast recommendations for a dry mead with subtle flavors? I was aiming for dry, because I tend to like my ciders on the dry side, but I do not have much experience with mead... other than a glass of semi-sweet cyser at the local cider bar (that was very, very good!).

Thanks!

 

[damdaman]

You should definitely use what you've got, see what happens! That's part of the fun. I don't know how blackberry honey will taste in the end, I use mostly wildflower honey, but I'm sure it'll be great.

I personally wouldn't use lemons in a mead. I find they overpower your more subtle flavors, especially since that's what you're going for. If you want subtlety you might consider no additional ingredients, but vanilla can work. If you use vanilla, I would get a whole vanilla bean and cut it into about 1/4 (so you're only using about 25% of the bean), remove as many of the seeds in the middle as possible, and add it to secondary. Whole vanilla bean used this way can add very nice, subtle flavor. I've used whole vanilla bean with good results in beer, cider and mead.

As for yeast I think lalvin d47 would work well.

 

[iadknet]

Thanks for the advice!

I think I will resist the temptation to add extra ingredients in this batch.

 

[iadknet]

Just put the 1 gallon jug in the corner, under the table... so we'll see how it goes. Did not add anything other than honey, water, yeast, and 1 tsp fermaid. Stirred and shook everything for a good while, so hopefully good oxygen.

There is a jug of cider sitting next to it that has been fermenting away for the last couple of weeks, and the temperature on that jug seems to run between 60-65 degrees. I think that is a good range for a slow, steady ferment with the D-47?

Came out with an OG of 1.096, which I think should end up pretty dry with the D-47... I wonder if there will be enough life left in the yeast at the end to give it some sparkle.