Chocolate Mead

[AkTom]

I started a 1 gallon batch of chocolate mead tonight. I've been thinking about it for a while.
Chocolate Mead
1 gallon
3# honey
1.5 oz powdered cocoa
1/4 teaspoon each of yeast energizer and yeast nutrient
Added hot water to about 1/2 gallon, shook like crazy, added to 1 gallon mark. Duh, I forgot to leave room for yeast.
1 tablespoon bread yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup 100* water. Wait about 15 minutes pitch. Being I had no room, I dumped it in my 2 gallon bucket. I will primary in it then rack to carboy. I'm guessing with the chocolate lees, I'll have a nice gallon.
OG was 1.115
Now for
The wait.
Cheers

 

[Stressbaby]

I made chocolate mead 1.5 years ago and it is still cloudy as can be despite various finings.
Will try my new filter on it...

 

[BernardSmith]

I also tend to find that cocoa is a problem to clear so I have started to play with two different solutions - The first is Julie's approach which is to use bars of chocolate (Lindt 85% cocoa) and the second approach is to make a chocolate extract and add the extract to the mead in the secondary. To make an extract I roast some cocoa nibs by heating a cast iron pan on high for 5 minutes and then off the heat add the nibs for 2 minutes stirring constantly to avoid burning. I then add the roasted nibs to some vodka (4 oz nibs to 2 - 3 cups vodka and allow the nibs to steep for about 7 - 10 days. I am still experimenting with the amount of extract I want to add to a gallon - I prefer a stronger chocolate flavor than 1 fluid oz of extract gives me (One oz is what I think brewers would add to their beers)

But talking of beer, here's another option. Brewers often use some chocolate malt (grain) to add a chocolaty flavor to their stouts or porters. You might try making a braggot rather than a simple mead and using some chocolate malt