Peach Cinnamon Melomel

My arm is feeling better so I decided to make some mead! I went to Wal-Fart and discovered that peaches were on sale for $.75/lb so I grabbed some and got busy. I love the peach/cinnamon flavor combination and I am hoping for a dry, peach mead with a touch of cinnamon. When I sampled the must it was fantastic and distinctly reminded me of peach pie (mmm... peach pie). Hopefully, it will translate into some tasty mead that should be ready for next summer.

Here are the specs:

7-006

• 10 lbs fresh, ripe peaches (pureed)


• 12 lbs clover honey


• 1 cinnamon stick (pureed with peaches)


• 3 tsp yeast nutrient


• 4 gal water


• KIV-1116


• OG: 1.094

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

Lemonade Mead

So I was looking to brew a light, summer mead when I chanced by some hard lemonade in the store. I am not a fan of hard lemonade but I got to thinking that a lemonade mead just might be just what I was seeking. Apparently, I am not the first to have this idea; there are quite a few lemonade recipes, mead and otherwise, including my favorite: Skeeter Pee. Someday, I am going to make Skeeter Pee.

Still, I wanted a lemonade mead and that is what I made. Here's the recipe:

7-005

• 6 lbs Clover Honey


• 2 lbs Cane Sugar


• 5 12oz Cans of Lemonade Concentrate


• 1 12oz Can of Pink Lemonade Concentrate


• 2 tbsp Yeast Nutrient


• 1 pkt Lavlin D-47


• Water to 5 gal


• OG: 1.102

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

Cider and Melomel

Today, I got busy and made a new batch of strawberry melomel. Nancy (my significant other) loves the strawberry mels and she, along with her "book club", have about cleaned me out. So, I got on it.

I also made a hard cider with cranberry which is a first for me. I had some difficulty deciding how to get the cranberry flavor for the cider; after all, have you ever seen fresh cranberries for sale in West Texas? Yeah, me neither. Dried cranberries often have preservatives and other chemicals to keep them from clumping. So I went with a 100% Juice Cranberry Cocktail. I hope it works. Here are the recipes:



7-003 Cranberry Cider

• 1 gal 100% Juice Cranberry Cocktail


• 4 gal Apple Juice


• 4 oz Grapefruit Juice


• 1 tbs Pectin Enzyme


• 2 tbs Yeast Nutrient


• 1 pkt K1V-1116


• OG: 1.050

7-004 Strawberry Melomel

• 1 gal Clover Honey


• 10 lbs Fresh Strawberries, pureed


• Water to 6 gal


• 3 tsp Pectin Enzyme


• 5 tsp Yeast Nutrient


• Juice of 3 Lemons


• 1 pkt K1V-1116


• OG: 1.112

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

2011 Bluebonnet Brew-off

Friday, I boxed up my precious brews to send to Fort Worth Texas for competition in the 2011 Bluebonnet Brew-off. The Bluebonnet Brew-off is one of the largest single site homebrew competitions in the United States and it is the first leg of the Lone Star Circuit of homebrew competitions in which the Ale-ian Society participates. I hope I get some points for the home team!

I am sending three brews:

• Sunday Picnic: 38c Melomel Other; strawberry melomel


• Kokopelli: 41d Specialty Cider & Perry; hard cider with habanero


• Little Joe's Cream Mead: 39c Open Category of Mead; cream soda mead

We will see how they do in such a large competition. I am certainly looking forward to read the tasting notes for suggestions toward future tweaking of the recipes.

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

And now for something cool that has no relation to mead:



and..

Racking Fun with 6-001

Today I racked 6-001 into a glass carboy. I lost quite a bit of the must due to the strawberry puree but I took a reading (SG: .994; ABV: 18.1%). The mead tastes bitter with distinct lemon and strawberry flavors. I may add another 3 lbs of honey and see what happens. I did add 2 vanilla beans to the secondary.

-Safari Bob

Batch 6-001: Strawberry Melomel

I just brewed my first batch of mead in 2010; this dissertation is getting in the way of the more important things in life! I have never (until today) brewed a strawberry melomel and I have heard some horror stories about strawberry mels fading or oxidizing so I had to give it a shot.

Here is the recipe:

6-001

• 12 lbs clover honey
  
• 8 lbs strawberries (pureed)
  
• Juice of 1 lemon
  
• 1 gal apple juice
  
• 5 tsp yeast nutrient
  
• 1 tsp pectin enzyme (all I had left)
  
• 1 pkt K1V-1116 (hydrated)
  
• Water to 5 gal
  
• 2 vanilla beans (secondary)
  
• OG: 1.128

I chose to puree the strawberries for 2 reasons: (1) more surface area for the yeast and (2) the seeds should add tannins for a more complex mouth. Also, I added apple juice in order to (hopefully) darken the color of the final melomel.

-Safari Bob

More Racking Fun

Today I received in the mail a new Auto-Siphon, stainless steel racking cane, and stainless steel mesh screen. My old racking cane was cheap plastic and quickly broke after my last racking adventure. So today I got to work.

I have two batches that needed racking and I was afraid that they might have been on the lees too long: the southwestern cyser and the blackberry melomel. Both have begun to clear and I still had not racked. Luckily, they both taste good for their age.

Batch 5-001 is a southwestern cyser made with prickly pear fruit and apple cider. It has a bright purple color and has thick legs. I added 2 habenero peppers and took a reading. OG: 1.170; SG: 1.012; ABV: 21.1%! This mead is sweet and sour with no hint of rocket fuel (despite the high AV). This one is coming along nicely.

Batch 5-002 is a blackberry melomel that has a slight pinkish hue in the carboy but a bright yellow cast in the glass. I added 2 vanilla beans and took a reading. OG: 1.136; SG: 0.996; ABV: 18.7%. This mead has some slight sweetness with definite hints of blackberry and apples with a noticeable alcohol burn. Hopefully it will age out and the vanilla should give softness to the pallet.

In another couple of months I should be bottling. Time to work on the next recipe!

-Safari Bob

Batch 5-002: Blackberry Cyser

Today I brewed another batch. It has been sometime since I brewed a melomel and I was thinking about blackberries. Finally, I settled on a blackberry cyser. Here's the recipe:

5-002
1 gal clover honey
12 lbs blackberries
Apple juice to 5 gal
5 tsp yeast nutrient
2 1/2 tsp pectin enzyme
1 pkt K1V-1116 (hydrated)

Secondary (planned)
2 vanilla beans

OG: 1.136 (Potential ABV @18%)

I pureed the blackberries in apple juice to create a slurry and added directly to the glass carboy. I have not tried this before but I no longer have a brew bucket so I guess I'll see how it works. The must sure tastes great!

Wassail!

-Safari Bob