Bochet sack(ish) mead

[greyday]

So the front page got me and I'm doing a bochet. I decided to test it out as a straight up sweat mead, a bit dryer than a sack, but in that vein. Recipe below; I just pitched yeast, so will know more over the next couple days, but here's my starting recipe and plans for the next few days...

Target amount: 3 gallons (3.5 gallons must)

carmelized 3 quarts (roughly 8.5-8.75lbs; 3 1 quart jars) blackberry honey, 90 minutes in a pressure cooker (75 minutes at 15)
2tsp acid blend
1/2tsp tannic acid
1.5tsp pectic enzyme
1/4 (heaping) teaspoon wyeast wine nutrient blend
2 cups uncarmelized honey (bringing up SG, will carmelize more next time)
water to 3.5 gallons
Pitched VH R56 yeast (hearty to 13.5%, lower abv to end sweet)
Starting sg=1.104 (roughly, still a little honey solids in the bottom)

Future plan:
Day 3—add 1 quart carmeliized (or regular) honey, check difference in sg (to go for sweet mead), 1/4 teaspoon wyeast wine nutrient (if not moving fast enough)

Rack to carboy at around 1.03-1.02

Oaking (bulk aging, after ferment ends): 1-2 American med+ staves (want the coffee notes)

Rerack until clear, every 2 months, move staves with rack.


The honey I used is from blackberry blossoms, which begins with a darker, carmelly profile already. Tasted the carmelized honey and it seemed not that far from the original, actually (which is also why I may not bother carmelizing the day 3 add).

So that's my recipe/plan. Thoughts? I went low with all the added acids and such (2/3 of per gallon amounts, other than the nutrient) to create a yeast friendly environment without having too heavy an effect on taste. Hoping to have racked to staves by end of the month, ferment allowing. I chose the yeast based on what was available, I wanted to go with something that didn't have a high tolerance, I think this strain will be good (and offer more body than other strains) but unsure, I'm always unsure with mead yeast choices...

 

[seth8530]

I would have avoided the acid blend since honey is actually relativly acidic and a poor buffer at that ( surprising I know right?).

My only real criticism is your nutrient plan. Mead can be pretty difficult to get to ferment clean if you do not have a very good nutrient plan. The main indicator of a good nutrient plan is the am mount of YAN you plan to have in your mead for the yeast to eat. Nutrient scheduling is gravy and helps as well, but without enough free nitrogen fermenting honey can be tough.

I would give this thread a read on nutrients paying particular attention to the post on the last page.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f86/got-off-phone-fermaid-people-38704/

 

[greyday]

Dammit, I was even debating leaving off the acid blend (I went with half of what I had originally decided). Good future note though, thanks!

I added another 1/4tsp of the wyeast blend, and I have some Fermaid-O leftover from the plum wine, I'll add it to my plan tonight or tomorrow and a third and maybe fourth dose of the wyeast on day 4. Does that seem a bit more balanced for a mead? I've found that wyeast blend is pretty all around yeast-pleasing, and it is formulated for meads and fruit wines...

 

[greyday]

Also, thought--I've used bananas in wines to bring down acid, but they've always been strong flavored wines. Would adding some to this effect flavor much? Or is it early enough that it would be mostly absorbed and drowned out?

 

[seth8530]

I would not add bananas, the flavor of them is overall pretty subtle from what I hear, but they are not needed for mead. If you are worried about the acid, I would test it.

When doing nutrient schedules you do not really add based on day, but on fermentation progress. ie, End of lag phase, 1/3 and 1/2 sugar break and possibly 2/3 sugar break if you have a lot of faith in your organic nutrient. The thing is with mead and nutrient, is that it really pays to not do it really willy nilly, you need to have a plan since from a nutritional point of view, mead is sugar water and not much else for the yeast.

This is one of the main reasons why people often complain of mead ferments taking months or going stinky as well as various other off flavors.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

What is the front page? 2 tsp of acid is nothing to worry about in 3 gallons. The honey solids in your Bochet is the proteins that have coagulated out, we usually just strain that out before adding to the must, it wont hurt anything just looks chunky. I think a Bochet can benefit from a little bit of fresh honey added at the end, you get the caremalized honey as the main ingredient and then add some of the raw honey taste back. Banannas have been used by some experienced meadmakers in Bochet, a bannana fosters kind of taste, also vanilla goes well in a Bochet complementing the overall flavor profile. You should have gone ahead and made 5 gallons WVMJ

 

[greyday]

The front page is the main winemakingtalk.com site. There are currently articles up on bochet and sack meads. And 3 gallons because 1 isn't enough to age out, but I learned from my initial (large) failed batch of Skittle wine--start small, perfect the process and the recipe, then go big. Plus honey is expensive and it was my first time carmelizing in a pressure cooker, I wanted to make sure everything worked properly.

@Seth--earlier today (Sunday) I added about 4g of Ferm-O; the batch is looking healthier, and I plan to take readings and likely add a bit more of the Wyeast mix in the morning. Do you find vitamin B supplements are effective? I may grind some up and throw them in but not sure if they'll make a difference in a mead (they worked magic in a braga I made for a friend, so...). I can't imagine why they wouldn't, but would rather not waste them if it's proven to be ineffective.

 

[seth8530]

Yeast needs vitamin B. But unless you are really willing to math out how much vitamin B is going into your wine ( counting all the wine making nutrient you added) I might advice against tossing it in.

 

[greyday]

Hmm. Any adverse effects of too much? Other than a mead that may make me energetic and motivated?

And it's started finally and seems to be fermenting away.