Looking for a Black Currant Melomel Recipe

[MDPLS]

Does anyone have a recipe for black currant melomel? I had some at a wine tasting and it was pretty good...

Thanks

 

[fatbloke]

Does anyone have a recipe for black currant melomel? I had some at a wine tasting and it was pretty good...

Thanks

Well I don't know about having a recipe, but a quick search of google should give you a recipe for black currant wine, and you could just tweak it with honey instead of sugar for gravity measurements.

I wouldn't add any acid up front, as honey musts are usually acidic enough, though the sugars usually cover the taste. Plus black currants are quite acidic too.

I'd have thought something like however much fruit is suggested, just split it in half, freeze both parts, then defrost half and add it to the primary ferment, then once that's finished, rack it off the sediment and add the other half of the fruit in secondary, as that would get you a more fruity flavour. Then later on, you can stabilise and back sweeten, and if it needs any acid, add it too taste then......

 

[Wade E]

Just remember with mead you typically back off on the amount of fruit to let the honey flavor come through stronger.

 

[ShawnDTurner]

Pectin enzyme and bentonite in the primary will help extract more goodies in the fruit and help with clearing.

 

[MDPLS]

can you use 100% juice instead of fruit? If no, do you know where currants can be purchased? (obviously when they are in season). Does anyone know of another fruit that might go well with black currant? Thanks for all of the replys...

 

[seth8530]

You can get away with it. I would recommend using the fruit whenever possible... But yes, you can get away with it.. For my black currant port I used Vinters Harvest black currant concentrate which can be purchased online quite easily. Typical I would recommend using at least 2 cans for 5 gallons.. But with this being a melomel I bet you could use one can.

As for other fruits that blend with black currant.. Im not sure... Perhaps raspberry?

My can did not come with any fruit in it and the SG was 1.040 on the concentrate.

 

[fatbloke]

Seth has a valid point. Honey is already acidic enough (albeit with the acidity masked by the sugars).

Hence pure juice and honey would likely be quite high and once fermented with black currant juice could be mouth puckeringly sharp - thats if the pH wasn't so low as to inhibit the yeast.

So something like a can of concentrate and maybe 3lb of honey in the gallon of must should be a good start point, at least for testing the pH then if it did ferment ok some more juice/concentrate for flavour (and something to reduce the pH) might work......