Peach Mead

[seminarian]

Anyone tried a peach mead? Fresh Peaches are coming in in Georgia and I can pick my own. I have found a recipe in Anderson's book for Peach Mead. Anyone tried this recipe or similar?

 

[Angelina]

I have not tried it, but it sounds really good. I would definitely give it a go. What variety of peaches were you thinking of using?

 

[BernardSmith]

Not used peaches in a wine but I understand that peaches are not flavor rich when made into a wine... I wonder how many pounds of fruit are called for in the recipe. Again, with the caveat that I have not ever used peaches I would hope that the recipe suggests that the peach juice is used in place of water to dilute the honey rather than be in addition to water...

 

[Jericurl]

I have never made it, but it is on my list of things to try.

I tend to come up with an idea, then write down all the thoughts I have on it before committing to a recipe. A couple of notes I have written...

It takes a lot of peaches to get an accurate flavor. Consider freezing peaches, thawing, then running through steam juicer for juice only. Buy twice what you think you will need.

Backsweeten with Welch's White peach grape?

Dried peaches for secondary or tertiary? Or Olive Nation peach extract?

Cinnamon added for peach cobbler mead? Or straight peach?

Peach juice primary, frozen/thawed/sliced peaches in secondary, extract in tertiary?

Need light honey.

 

[Deezil]

I would go with 10-12lbs of fruit per gallon, and expect to come up a bit short. Quarter the peaches and douse them with lemon juice or an ascorbic acid solution to keep them from browning. Freeze the quartered peaches, then when they thaw, they'll basically mush.

No water.

Adjust the acidity pre-fermentation. Usually somewhere around pH 3.2-3.4, TA .50-.55 %
Dont push the starting SG too far above 1.090-1.095.

Skins vs no skins is a bit of a debate when it comes to peach wine/mead. I prefer no skins. I usually peel then quarter them, then freeze. You'll also thank yourself if you get freestone as opposed to clingstone peaches.

A light honey would be preferred, but some sort of table honey or clover honey wouldnt ruin anything.

You could probably include some of Jericurl's tweaks for different layers of flavors to enhance the profile, but I dont think its necessary for the flavor to come across, if you do a few things like cut any water additions out and dial in the acidity.

 

[seminarian]

I have not tried it, but it sounds really good. I would definitely give it a go. What variety of peaches were you thinking of using?

Thinking of using an Alberta they are plentiful in a few weeks.

 

[seminarian]

The recipe calls for 15 lbs peaches and 4 lb clover honey as well as sugar. I thought about adding peach flavoring just prior to bottling. Do you think I should increase the peach content. Also what are thoughts on peeling peaches?

 

[BernardSmith]

Fifteen pounds of fruit for how many gallons? I would agree with Deezil that you want about 10 lbs of peaches in each gallon... and I would include the skins if you know that the fruit was not sprayed with pesticides...

 

[seminarian]

Fifteen pounds of fruit for how many gallons? I would agree with Deezil that you want about 10 lbs of peaches in each gallon... and I would include the skins if you know that the fruit was not sprayed with pesticides...

The recipe makes a 5 gallon batch.

Here's the recipe from Anderson's book:

15 lb Fresh Ripe Peaches
4 lb clover honey
9 lb sugar
6 tsp Vinacid R (Acid Blend?)
6 Quarts hot water
3 cup yeast nutrient
3 tsp Yeast Nutrient
2 tsp pectic enzyme
4 tsp liquid tannin
8 campden tablets crushed
8 quarts cold water
1 Pkt wine yeast with a high alcohol tolerance

Secondary Ingredients
Bentonite finings
Sulphite crystals 1/4 tsp
10 oz wine conditioner

So a couple of questions here:

1 - I am thinking of using a Lalvin 71-B 1122 yeast to ferment with. According to my supplier's webpage this has an alcohol tolerance of 18% shold I look at something different?

2 - It says Bentonite finings to be added at a later date but doesn't say how much. I have only used this in kits and never by itself. How much do you use?

3 - Sulphite cyrstals - I presume this means potassium metabisulfite.

4 - Vinacid R is no longer available can I substitute regualr Acid Blend from the winemaking store?

5 - if you look at the recipe it is calculated for 3 lbs of peaches per gallon of must. So is the consensus to up it to 10 lbs of peaches per gallon?


Anderson also has a recipe for a Peach Wine not a mead that uses peaches and white grape juice concentrate. I was thinking of doing a batch of Peach Mead and a Batch of Peach Wine. So would you do the same amount of peaches 10 lbs per gallon?

 

[BernardSmith]

For what it's worth, 71B is my go to yeast for fruit wines. The issue is less about its tolerance for some maximum ABV but its way with fruit and their acids. Which is a neat segue into acid blend. I guess I don't understand why recipes advise you to add acid to the wine before it asks you to taste the wine. Will your wine NEED any added acidity? What is the expected TA?
The recipe calls for 2 gallons of water to make 5 gallons of wine.. If you like diluted peach juice, I say go for it. My preference is for the fruit juice itself...The only thing I want to use water for is in brewing beer or in sanitizing wine making equipment. If the peaches are not ripe enough to produce the juice you need to make the quantity of wine you want then you may want to rethink the volume...
Bentonite comes with instructions for mixing. Easiest to mix Bentonite in a blender. I think it is generally 2 t in 1/2 C of warm water... but I would use Bentonite very sparingly. It can strip wine of color, flavors and aroma... IMO, the best clarifier is patience... (I might increase the amount of pectic enzymes if you are increasing the amount of fruit).

 

[wpt-me]

Three cups yeast nutrient ??

Bill

 

[BernardSmith]

I assumed a typo - 3 t not 3 C