Show us your Mead in a photo!!!

[MeadWitch]

These are the 3 I have chosen to show in the Texas Mead Fest at Rohan Meadery in LaGrange tomorrow. Peach Melba, a Raspberry and a Hibiscus Melomel.

 

[tom_gamer]

These are the 3 I have chosen to show in the Texas Mead Fest at Rohan Meadery in LaGrange tomorrow. Peach Melba, a Raspberry and a Hibiscus Melomel.

Looks very professional. I'm a huge fan of the frost glass.

I wanted to go to that fest. Good luck.

 

[MeadWitch]

Looks very professional. I'm a huge fan of the frost glass.

I wanted to go to that fest. Good luck.

Thanks Tom! Did you get to go?

 

[tom_gamer]

Thanks Tom! Did you get to go?

I did not. I did a brew with my friend, who also let me know that rohan meadery isn't that far away. We are planning on doing a road trip there and then to Austin, maybe go the jester king and some breweries out there.

 

[ursapod]

that sounds tasty! I really like your gear. What does it taste like? I make mostly melomels and leave the herbs for my beer but this inspires me. thanks

 

[ursapod]

Watermelon Melomel

10 Lbs Clover Honey
2 Lbs Orange Blossom Honey
4 Gallons Spring Water
1 Gallon Juiced Watermelon
EC-1118

10 days initial fermentation
Just racked today into carboy

Really beautiful color and amazing taste incredibly aromatic.

how did your watermelon mead taste? I made one recently and am afraid to taste it. Its been in bottles only a couple of months and at bottling it tasted well... different?

 

[funkadelicturkey]

JAOM on the left and blackberry on the right

 

[Curtis2010]

Just racked 10 gallons of a basic traditional into secondaries today. Split it up into about 2.5 gallon batches and racked 3 of the 4 batches onto fruit. In order of appearance in pic: plain (no fruit), pineapple, sapote, strawberry.

 

[sonofgrok]

Sorry for the dark photo but its a dark area and my phone suxs.
Left to right. 5 gallons blueberry, watermelon, and braggot.

 

[chickabeelane]

Funk,
What kind of bottles are those? Am I blind, or are those not the standard 750s? Very pretty btw.

 

[funkadelicturkey]

Funk,
What kind of bottles are those? Am I blind, or are those not the standard 750s? Very pretty btw.

You've got good eyes, they are 375 ml bottles. They make my 1 gallon batches last a little longer.

I think I got them here:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=1333

 

[luda007]

Jaom.

 

[KeeperOfLowKeys]

This is a simple show mead, made with local New Mexico honey, which I call v1.0.0. My post will also serve as a way to ask a question. This first image is my mead under "normal" light:

while this second is under UV light:

The second image doesn't show it well, but under UV my mead is glowing a weird, eerie green color. So I ask you: what in mead would fluoresce?

 

[ErinRae]

Cool!! my first thought is that maybe its something in the glass and not the mead...but if its not happening at the top of the bottle then thats prob not it

 

[luda007]

It almost seems like its in the same spot as the flash reflecting in the 1st pic. Hmmm?

 

[mrperq]

Riboflavin (VitaminB) glows up under UV.
Its the same stuff that makes tonic (Scheppes) glow.

I've been thinking about doing that on purpose,
but am a bit afaid of the bitter taste.
Could be something else but as far as I know
its the most food-safe thing that glows.

Oh and be carefull. If its indeed riboflavin, that will
make your mead much more reactive to light.
(Lightstruck)

EDIT: Appearantly Chlorophyll (the green stuff in plants)
and Citric Acid glow too.
http://archive.rotteneggsx.com/r3/show/se/413931.html

 

[Curtis2010]

Just racked 10 gallons of a basic traditional into secondaries today. Split it up into about 2.5 gallon batches and racked 3 of the 4 batches onto fruit. In order of appearance in pic: plain (no fruit), pineapple, sapote, strawberry.

Bottled some of the plain mead, and some of the strawberry blended with plain mead recently. Both are quite tasty. The sapote melomel has a nice spicey taste, but the pineapple is too acidic (will try blending and adding calcium carbonate later). However, overall quite pleased with my first attempt at melomels.

 

[ErinRae]

The first pic shows...my current collection! Back to front and left to right...Cranberry/blackberry melomel, Lodi Ranch Cabernet, Apple pie cyser, Jalapeno wine, mini jalapeno wine...I also have a bucket full of peach cobber melomel fermenting.
2nd photo is a sweet blueberry melomel that I'm going to bottle today!

 

[Peppers16]

Starwberry and vanilla mead shortly after racking onto the fruit. It has since become a lot more red!
Sadly, I'm not certain how it'll turn out as I left it clearing with quite a bit of headspace when I left for uni (college to the U.S.?) this year If (when I check on it in a few months) it's oxidized to hell then lesson learnt. If it's OK, then I'll be preaching about how idiot-proof mead is on the forums from then on

 

[webfoot]

A bit on the dry side but very good.

 

[sonofgrok]

Great label webfoot!

 

[webfoot]

The label is the names of the people who worked on it in Anglo-Saxon runes.

 

[VzRyder55]

This is my very first try at mead and its still very young at 33 days old. I actually just posted a thread that I'd like a critique of it!!

 

[Dendion]

Just racked to secondary, two plain mead (if you will), two cinnamon, and two mixed berry, gallons. This is my first mead batch I've made. So far so good...

 

[shelly_belly]

Just racked to secondary, two plain mead (if you will), two cinnamon, and two mixed berry, gallons. This is my first mead batch I've made. So far so good...

Looking good! Welcome to HBT.

 

[Dendion]

Looking good! Welcome to HBT.

Thanks, started another batch right after this one, a cinnamon apple, cinnamon, Pom, and a wolf moon, recipe from the forum.. Those are looking good as well,

 

[bconstant]

Here's the family.

Starting from the left:

Orange Blossom Mead, started Feb 19, fully clarified, oaking, ready to age.
Blueberry Clover Mead, started Oct 15
Mulled Tupelo Mead, started Oct 15, nutmeg, ginger, and clover
Wildflower Mead, started Oct 15
4 varieties of Goldenrod Mead, started 28 Feb

And yes I know the ones on the right have too much headspace - I had glass marbles to fill it up but I wasn't good at racking back then and I just kept losing more and more product. So I'm just going to tough it out and bottle these soon anyway so hopefully I won't do too much damage. I'm afraid of watering them down.

 

[nitack]

Here's the family.

Starting from the left:

Orange Blossom Mead, started Feb 19, fully clarified, oaking, ready to age.
Blueberry Clover Mead, started Oct 15
Mulled Tupelo Mead, started Oct 15, nutmeg, ginger, and clover
Wildflower Mead, started Oct 15
4 varieties of Goldenrod Mead, started 28 Feb

And yes I know the ones on the right have too much headspace - I had glass marbles to fill it up but I wasn't good at racking back then and I just kept losing more and more product. So I'm just going to tough it out and bottle these soon anyway so hopefully I won't do too much damage. I'm afraid of watering them down.

There seem to be all sorts of myths floating around here about head space that I'd love to clear up. If your mead is doing even a small amount of fermenting, which I assume so since you have air locks on them, then they will not oxidize as long as you are not shaking them or moving them often. In a closed system like that there is no turbulence and the gasses will settle out based on molecular weight. You remember in chemistry class when your teacher layered multiple liquids to show you how density works in non soluble liquids? Well it is a bit like that. So for the purposes of this discussion we are only interested in two specific gasses carbon dioxide CO2 and oxygen O2. O2 has a molecular weight of 32, each oxygen molecule has an atomic weight of ~16, times 2 atoms per molecule. Now the CO2 has a molecular weight of 44, 32 for the two oxygens and 12 for the carbon. In a closed system (your carboy with an airlock) the heavier CO2 sits on the surface, protecting your mead from the O2. Now this only works if there is (or was) fermentation still going on to some degree since you last put the airlock on, and you are not disturbing the container often. Hope that helps.

 

[bconstant]

There seem to be all sorts of myths floating around here about head space that I'd love to clear up. If your mead is doing even a small amount of fermenting, which I assume so since you have air locks on them, then they will not oxidize as long as you are not shaking them or moving them often. In a closed system like that there is no turbulence and the gasses will settle out based on molecular weight. You remember in chemistry class when your teacher layered multiple liquids to show you how density works in non soluble liquids? Well it is a bit like that. So for the purposes of this discussion we are only interested in two specific gasses carbon dioxide CO2 and oxygen O2. O2 has a molecular weight of 32, each oxygen molecule has an atomic weight of ~16, times 2 atoms per molecule. Now the CO2 has a molecular weight of 44, 32 for the two oxygens and 12 for the carbon. In a closed system (your carboy with an airlock) the heavier CO2 sits on the surface, protecting your mead from the O2. Now this only works if there is (or was) fermentation still going on to some degree since you last put the airlock on, and you are not disturbing the container often. Hope that helps.

In this case, it doesn't matter because I can't help myself from trying these every now and again, and the fermentation is most certainly over. But your advice is well-taken, thanks for pointing that out. I'll remember it.

In addition - I keep reading that it's a good idea to keep the airlocks on because reasons. If I know for certain that these are finished with fermentation, should I just close them up completely? I guess continuing to use airlocks is good for safety's sake?

The one on the left is going into a dark wine cellar to bulk age for a year or so. I had planned on checking the lock every month to make sure it's still good. Should I just cork it instead?

 

[nitack]

In this case, it doesn't matter because I can't help myself from trying these every now and again, and the fermentation is most certainly over. But your advice is well-taken, thanks for pointing that out. I'll remember it.

In that case what I said is null and void. Only applies if fermentation was still active to some degree the last time you sealed it. That is the only way there would be enough carbon dioxide to buffer your mead.