Strawberry

Started a batch of strawberrymead yesterday. Had about a gal. of fresh frozen strawberry juice. Added water to 3 gal. S.G. 1.040. Added a quart of honey to it, brought the s.g. up to 1.080. My question is should more honey be added to it. I know it will ferment down, but most of the meads I have messed with, not many, seem to start with a high s.g. and finish off dry. If it goes dry, will it still have some of the honey flavors? I can backsweeten with some more honey, I have plenty. Just wondering what everybody thinks. Thanks in advance, Arne.

starting out at 1.080 and letting it go dry then it should be about 11 are 12 percent..i would add honey to get to 1.095, let it go dry then backsweeten with more, and you may want to make a honey strawberry reduction...
depending on what strawberry flavor you want..

Honey beers often use honey malt rather than honey to get that honey taste. Honey malt can be steeped, doesn't have to mashed. So perhaps you can warm up your must to 130 or so and steep a half pound or so. Just a thought. Back sweetening can probably get the same result.

My experience with is that once they go dry they still hold onto the honey flavour. As far as SG, I would say you are fine.. you might consider taking it up to 1.090. I also recommend fermenting something like a mead cold as to hold onto the character of the honey a little better.

It is in the basement, the yeast took off with no trouble. Kinda suprised, my thermometer is out in my truck, but it is way below 70 degrees. I can add a bit of honey yet. I know 1.080 is a little low, but a quartof honey brought it to there. Guess maybe I will run the pencil a bit and bring the s.g. up another 10 points or so. Have plenty to sweeten with later, also. You guys are sayin about what I was a thinkin. Just being my usual lazy self and thinking I mite get by with a lower s.g. and keep all the flavors in. But a little more abv and life is good. Thanks for all your input, Arne.

I always step feed the strawberry mead. I have a batch going right now and just added a quart of honey last night when SG got to 1.0. Will add strawberry re3duction on next feeding with more honey. I finish it at 1.02.I like that sweetness with strawberry. The berries seem to need sweetness for the flavor to come though

Yes, Mike, the strawberry wines I have made need to be sweetened some to bring the flavor out. Kinda figured the mead would be the same way. Checked last night, the basement is down to 55 degrees. The mead is still fermenting, tho. Going to add some more honey to bring the s.g. up to 1.090. Will add it as a step feed when it gets down to 1.050 or so. Rest of the nutrient and energizer going to go in at the same time. I believe this is going to work just fine. Arne.

I would not let it stay at that cold a temp to long. Once a mead gets stuck it is hard as hell to get it going again

Ok, havn't looked at it for a couple of days. When I get a little time, going to ck the s.g. and see where it is at. I can bring it upstairs and warm it up a little if I have to. Just have to yell at it and tell it not to stick. LOL, Arne.

Updates on this mead Arne? I am making a batch of mead and plan to take 1 gallon of it and add strawberry reduction to it in secondary. Is that ok to do? It just sounds so yummy!

homesteader26 said:

Updates on this mead Arne? I am making a batch of mead and plan to take 1 gallon of it and add strawberry reduction to it in secondary. Is that ok to do? It just sounds so yummy!

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LOL, the updates are it finished fermenting out, made a skeeter pee with the lees and it came out great. A bit of a problem with the mead also, after it aged a bit in the carboy the wine gremlins came along and it never made it to the bottle. Kinda wish I had saved a bottle or two but after it got a bit of age on it it didn't need any sweetening. Gonna have to try it again one of these days when I get some strawberries. Will probably try it with pie ccherries. I still have some in the freezer and have to get it cleaned out for this year. Gonna have to catch those gremlins and get em out of the cellar one of these days. LOL, Arne.

Hey Arne, did you have a recipe for Strawberry Mead?

Angelina said:

Hey Arne, did you have a recipe for Strawberry Mead?

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If you read the first post on this thread, it about all I have for a recipe. It was kind of a seat of the pants thing. I would make sure I step feed the nutrients, only brought the s.g. up to 1.085 with the honey and it was very drinkable. The strawberry juice I used came from a bucket of fresh strawberries. I used the strawberries for a wine was saving the juice to add as a f-pac but never did. Found the juice one day and started the mead up. Good luck with yours, Arne.

Guess my origional question was will it keep the honey flavor? Yes it did, probably should of saved a bottle or two, but it is gone. Will have to try again. Arne.

Arne said:

Guess my origional question was will it keep the honey flavor? Yes it did, probably should of saved a bottle or two, but it is gone. Will have to try again. Arne.

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Good to know! Thanks Arne. Yeah I wasn't planning on having strawberries either. I have a blueberry melomel recipe (blue heaven) and it turned out very good. So I may just substitute blueberries for strawberries and incorporate your notes and see what happens.

Angelina said:

Good to know! Thanks Arne. Yeah I wasn't planning on having strawberries either. I have a blueberry melomel recipe (blue heaven) and it turned out very good. So I may just substitute blueberries for strawberries and incorporate your notes and see what happens.

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Make sure you let everybody know how it comes out. Good luck with it, Arne.

Thanks Arne! I decided to go with Strawberry Melomel. Even though I added 5 pounds of sugar while I was mashing, I also added 6 pounds of honey so can I still call it melomel??

Sure you can. Remember you are making this for yourself, as long as you are satisfied with it, it is a winner. I am sure the honey will come thru as well. You are adding some sugar, but the berries already carried some sugar. Really not much difference. Did the sugar help give you more juice? Just wondering, Arne.

Thanks Arne! Yes the sugar did help, I started mashing before adding sugar and it juiced a little bit and it was hard to mash. Once I added some sugar it loosened right up. I guess the sugar added the grit to get it going.?
I pitched the yeast yesturday morning and it hasn't started rolling yet, I'm starting to get concerned, should I be yet? My worry is the strawberries spoiling.

I added a little more nutrient and energizer At about 3:45 and I just rechecked it and it looks like that did the trick. I initially only added half the nutrients and energizer with the intentions of step feeding. So by having all the recommended being in there now should I skip feeding it at about 1.040?