honey/razzberry mead

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benaway

guru of nothing
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I threw a mead together

15 lb honey
1 gallon apple cider
3 1/2 gallon bottled water
2 pk 71B-1122
4 teaspoons fermax yeast nutrient

It has fermented for a week, sg is 1.000 [btw, it's is tasty now!!!]

tomorrow, I want to add 5 pounds of razzberry, but might have to settle for strawberry or blue berry, depending on what the store has

here is where i need some help, having never done a 2 ferment
when I add the fruit, should I also add another 5lb of honey and another pk of yeast?

or, just the fruit, and use the yeast in their now ?
 
Interesting recipe that looks to be a little challenging. Here's why: 71B is spec'd for a tolerance of about 14% ABV but your mead at the moment looks to be around 17% plus (I am assuming that your starting gravity was about 1.128 - I may be wrong). So adding more fruit with the fermentables in the fruit will nudge that ABV up to about 18%. Should you add more yeast? I don't know.. but if you do add more , adding 71B won't solve any problem.. and adding a more robust yeast like EC 1118 will result in the 71B being killed off (EC -1118 does not play well with other yeasts)..
You diluted the apple juice - not clear why when you could have used all apple juice and reduced the volume of honey..
But assuming I am wrong and your mead is not 17% ABV , then you simply freeze (if fresh) and thaw the fruit to help extract the juice. Add pectic enzymes to further extract the juice and then rack the mead onto the fruit. Assuming the yeast is still active and healthy (and at 17% it may not be either, but specs are basically guarantees not absolute limits) then the yeast in the mead will not allow any wild yeast in the fruit to compete so IMO you do not need to add Campden tabs (or K-meta) to the fruit. Then simply allow the yeast and the alcohol to extract sugars and flavors from the fruit...No need to squeeze or press the fruit..
 
The yeastes seem to be playing out, bubbles are considerably slow,
I am thinking it is just about all in.
adding ec-1118 seems like the thing to do.

If I understand you correctly, the 1118 will kill off any remaining 71B, but wont hurt anything.
all it will do is bump the abv to 18% ?
 
i took your advice

i added 5 pounds strawberrys, frozen thawed twice pureed
another 2 lbs honey
yeast nutrient
1 pk 1118

coming along nicely.
 

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