So the wife and I have really gotten into brewing over the past year, with several batches of stovetop partial mashes of varying quality undertaken so far. The thread on Burnt Honey Mead really caught our attention, and we finally decided to to try it out this past weekend. This is our first mead. SWMBO is the smart one, and she loves her Beersmith, so here is a copypasta of the recipe so far:
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Recipe: Stark Raven Mead
Brewer: Two Rooks Brewery
Style: Bochet
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.126 SG
Estimated Color: 20.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 0.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: - %
Boil Time: 180 Minutes
Ingredients:
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Amount Item
18lbs Carmelized Honey
2.5 tsp Cream of Tartar in boil
1.00 oz Black tellicherry "Extra Bold" (Secondary 3.0 days)
1.00 oz Cardamom (Secondary 3.0 days)
1.00 oz Ginger Root (Secondary 3.0 days)
1 Pkgs Lalvin EC-1118 (Lallemand - Lalvin #EC-111Yeast-Wine
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Notes:
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We used local wildflower honey. Boiled three hours until caramelized; black honey hard at room temperature. Stirred constantly. Let cool until it sank down, and then gradually added one gallon warm spring water, stirring after each addition. Then added three more gallons cold spring water to chill. Finished cooling to pitching temp. Racked to primary and pitched.
Water to top up to 5 gallons. (No water needed in this batch.)
28 Brix measured (~1.120); 15 Brix target
Yeast nutrient schedule:
-1.5 tsp Superfood or Ferm-K at pitching (we used FermK)
-1 tsp after 24 hrs;
-0.5 tsp pre fermentation midpoint (OG+TG/2)=1.073 or 22 Brix (so 23 Brix is the target)
-Spices to be used to taste in secondary, est. two to three days or until bochet is fragrant.
-8 weeks before bottling: 3 tsp sparkolloid finings in 3/4c water--mix into boiling water and boil an additional 5 - 10 minutes; then add HOT water to fermenter.
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Ok, onto the pics!
1.5 gallons of honey doesn't look like much in a 7.5 gallon pot...
First signs of life...
Whoa! Kill the flames, quick!
After turning the flames down, we stirred the pot continuously in shifts. Here's a few shots showing how the color changed... the smell was wonderful throughout...
Have I mentioned how brilliant my wife is? She had the foresight to keep this little drip log of the color changes...
Here's what it looked like after we had added the 4 gallons of spring water...
Continued in next post...
----------------------------
Recipe: Stark Raven Mead
Brewer: Two Rooks Brewery
Style: Bochet
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.126 SG
Estimated Color: 20.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 0.0 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: - %
Boil Time: 180 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item
18lbs Carmelized Honey
2.5 tsp Cream of Tartar in boil
1.00 oz Black tellicherry "Extra Bold" (Secondary 3.0 days)
1.00 oz Cardamom (Secondary 3.0 days)
1.00 oz Ginger Root (Secondary 3.0 days)
1 Pkgs Lalvin EC-1118 (Lallemand - Lalvin #EC-111Yeast-Wine
----------------------------
Notes:
------
We used local wildflower honey. Boiled three hours until caramelized; black honey hard at room temperature. Stirred constantly. Let cool until it sank down, and then gradually added one gallon warm spring water, stirring after each addition. Then added three more gallons cold spring water to chill. Finished cooling to pitching temp. Racked to primary and pitched.
Water to top up to 5 gallons. (No water needed in this batch.)
28 Brix measured (~1.120); 15 Brix target
Yeast nutrient schedule:
-1.5 tsp Superfood or Ferm-K at pitching (we used FermK)
-1 tsp after 24 hrs;
-0.5 tsp pre fermentation midpoint (OG+TG/2)=1.073 or 22 Brix (so 23 Brix is the target)
-Spices to be used to taste in secondary, est. two to three days or until bochet is fragrant.
-8 weeks before bottling: 3 tsp sparkolloid finings in 3/4c water--mix into boiling water and boil an additional 5 - 10 minutes; then add HOT water to fermenter.
----------------------------
Ok, onto the pics!
1.5 gallons of honey doesn't look like much in a 7.5 gallon pot...
First signs of life...
Whoa! Kill the flames, quick!
After turning the flames down, we stirred the pot continuously in shifts. Here's a few shots showing how the color changed... the smell was wonderful throughout...
Have I mentioned how brilliant my wife is? She had the foresight to keep this little drip log of the color changes...
Here's what it looked like after we had added the 4 gallons of spring water...
Continued in next post...