Future Melomel

[gaudet]

I am contemplating making a couple melomels in the real near future. I plan to make 6 gallons total. I was wondering if I could make a base mead out of the honey alone, and then when racking to the secondary, split the batch into two or more separate carboys and then add the juice I want to incorporate into my mead. I have a bunch of juice leftover from last years juicing. I have 3 quarts of blackberry, 3 quarts of blueberry and a couple quarts of strawberry juice. I think it shouldn't be a problem to do a base clover honey mead and then add the fruit juice as appropriate to the separate carboys.

Any ideas, suggestions? I know Vcasey will respond, and I welcome anyone else to ....

 

[Wade E]

If you are going that route then you will likely have to keep the starting sg of your beginning mead down cause youll be adding a lot of sugar with all the juice. youll have to get an sg reading from each juice to figure out a decent level for the straight mead first.

 

[vcasey]

Gaudet, that is usually my process and Wade's gonna shoot me, but I don't worry about the starting SG. I'll shoot for 12-13%, the juice is not going to add that much and mels and take the higher alcohol.
I love meads!
VC

 

[gaudet]

I was thinking along those lines Vcasey, the juice won't add too much sugar to the party. It would be added during a less vigorous fermentation so the esters and fruity smells would probably have a better retention.

I was going to shoot for 11-12 % to give myself a little leeway, but I think even if it went up to 14% I think it would be good too.

What is your favorite yeasts for melomels?

Wade, I was thinking that I could take the sg after adding my juice to the party to see where it stood and just for keeping good records of what the sg was.

 

[Wade E]

Most of the juices I use from fruits are about 1.040 which would add 5% abv, thats not chump change and could easily over do some yeasts leaving you with a very sweet mead or very hot mead.

 

[vcasey]

I use 71B for most meads and I use D47 for my cysers, unless I want to experiment. I find most of the time my meads end up in the 14-15% range and meads and all their cousins can handle the higher alcohol levels - just remember that when you enjoy a glass because the honey hides the alcohol! When I add the fruit or juice I'll add some to the secondary and some when I sweeten (if I go that route) a lot depends on the honey. For example, I am not likely to over whelm Tupelo or the OBH I can get from our local honey guy, but if I am using Sam's honey I may add some extra juice at the end. Let me add something here, the honey that you can get from Sam's is really pure honey, there was a hugh controversy on one of the forums a few years back. Clover Honey does make a good mead, not a great mead, but a pretty darn good one and the cost is certainly not bad. I always plan on meads as a 2-3 year project not including at least a year in the bottle, its worth the wait.
Also, when going this route, I'll make a gallon extra, so I have top off wine and some times I'll end up with enough for a couple of bottles.
I would make sure you have a nice big starter and don't forget the regular feeding and stirring of the must. Your yeast will be happy little buggers that will make a fine mead for you to enjoy for years.
VC

 

[vcasey]

The point of adding the fruit in to the secondary is to get both the honey and the fruit flavors and aromas that can sometimes get blown off due to vigorous fermentation. Meads really do handle the higher alcohol levels and should be considered more of a longer aging drink then most fruit wines, which I think are more delicate in both aroma and flavor.
The nice thing about this is there are so many ways to make wine, beers and meads that we'll always be able to experiment!
Yes I was often told not to play with my food, but where is the fun in that!!!!
VC

 

[fivebk]

I have picked up so much needed information in the last few replies!!!! Types of honey, when some add fruit juice and for what reason, types of yeast, make a starter, adding nutrients in stages, alcohol levels and even length of time to allow for meads to age properly.

THIS IS WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS SITE!!!! So many people willing to give out information so freely.

I have been debating for awhile about making a blueberry wine or melomel I think I just leaned towards a blueberry melomel. I have juiced about 31 lbs of blueberries that netted me 12 qts. of juice.

How many pounds of fruit/juice do you recomend for a 3 gallon batch and how much honey ??

BOB

 

[gaudet]

Bob,

Its about 3-3.5 #'s honey per gallon. As far as pounds of fruit, I think its more a a taste factor, but I'd guess 1-2#'s fruit as I think that the honey is going to provide all of the body.

I don't have the time this week, but I plan to start this project before the end of the year. Last year I made a blackberry melomel (only 1 gallon) and I only have 1 bottle left. Its the second oldest bottle of home made wine I have. And it was really good.

 

[vcasey]

Bob, Gaudet's on the right track. If you add the fruit/juice up front you'll need more for it to shine through. But whatever you decide the amount of fruit is up to you and really dependent on the honey. With heavy honeys you'll want more fruit for the flavors & aromas to be noticed. With a lighter honey you'll want to use less fruit so it does not over power the honey.
3-31/2 lbs. per gallon is about right and if you use 71B you may want to shoot for 14-15% and let it age. Make sure you mix it well to get an accurate SG reading and don't be afraid to splash it around.
BTW your apple cider mixed with some honey & spices & some D47 would be wonderful!
What kind of honey are you considering?
VC

 

[Bert]

Great advise on the time thing...Don't rush meads...time will give you some great meads...

 

[fivebk]

I can get some honey from a local bee keeper. The honey will probably be from alfalfa.I want to make the best Melomel I can . If a different honey would work betterI am open to suggestions and the reasons for using it.

BOB

 

[vcasey]

Alfalfa will work out just fine. Should be a light honey so keep that in mind. I use a lot of Orange Blossom (could be because I live in Fla). Sometimes I can get Tupelo from our local guy but most often I have to mail order. Local is the best way to go whenever possible.
VC

 

[fivebk]

Thanks, I'm sure I'll be asking more questions before I'm done.

BOB

 

[Beowulf]

Not sure if it's too late to matter, but...

Starting a primary fermentation, then splitting to make two different melomels/metheglins is a relatively standard practice in mead making. One consideration is to make sure that both recipes are compatible with your honey choice, and another is your S.G. throughout the process. If you don't know what your S.G. is, compared to what it should be, you have lost control of the process, and it makes it much harder to make corrections later if needed.

Fortunately, there is a tool Here That can help with setting a good recipe with a reasonable degree of accuracy in finding what the S.G. should be throughout the process. Just plug the numbers in for each batch, and you should get a good idea of how much of each fruit to use for the desired S.G. It won't be as accurate as actually making two batches from the start, but it will be pretty close.