Raspberry Melomel

[Wade E]

Started the Melomel Tuesday night and have been extremely busy so Im a
little late withthe pic but here it is. I got 18 lbs from my parents
garden and bought 3 lbs from local grocer to have a total 21 lbs of
raspberries and man does it smell great althogh its really pushing the
bucket to the max. I used Red Star Montrachet as it is a good yeast for
fruit wines and doesnt foam much. I checked the acid today as I did not
have a recipe to go by and it was at the upper limits of the chart with
no acid added so Im glad I didnt add any in the beginning as I was
actually thinking of doing. There is also 15 lbs of honey which I
dissolved in hot water. I also added 3 cans of all natural raspberry
juice from a nature food store and will aslo pick up some more when it
is time to back-sweeten. 3 tsps of yeast nutrient and 3 tsps of yeast
energizer also went into the mix. I added the yeast last night and it
was going 4 hours later. Today its bubbling like a champ.

Edited by: wade

 

[swillologist]

Looks great Wade. The recipe I have said .5% to .6% fruit acid, if that helps.

 

[Wade E]

Wiyhout any addition of acid blend or others Im up at .75% according to
the Accuvin titrate test but I do like the extra tartness.

 

[grapeman]

I DO like the looks of those berries in there Wade. Being a Melomel you will probably age it a year of two before drinking- which is good with the raspberry. It should start to really come around and be tasty then. Yummy!

 

[Waldo]

Looks like it should be a great one wade. Beautiful berries !!

 

[Wade E]

Woke up to it spraying through the airlock and had the floor and the
side of the cabinet red. I would have taken pics of that for ya'll but
it was before work and I still had to get the kids up and thats not an
easy thing to. Smells

really good in there though.

 

[BrianD]

As we said in Navy firefighter training "Wild Hose!".

Brian

 

[grapeman]

Wade until it settles down, just take the airlock off and place a clean cloth over it and hopefullu it stays put!

 

[Wade E]

I pulled the bung up a little and the airlock to and it is doing the
trick now. The area is at 78*, the hottest its ever gotten in there but
it was a scorcher. Hopefully not too many of those dasys left!

 

[rgecaprock]

Wade,


You have some pretty berries there. I would have a hard time not eating them. Keep us posted on the melomel.


Ramona

 

[Wade E]

I froze them immediately so as that they wuld not be accessible for eating or they would be gone!

 

[Waldo]

Seems the melomels are prone to those eruptions. My Blueberry did the same thing. What yeast did you use on this batch wade?

 

[Wade E]

I used the Red Star Montrachet Waldo. I think the Pectic Enyme did its
thing as the raspberries are white and just mush. Racked it today at SG
of 1.005 and it just smells wonderful and has a lot of flavor.

 

[jobe05]

Love the color Wade, Good Job!

 

[Waldo]

I agree with job..looks mighty fine there buddy. Did it have a lot of Rasberry flavor?

 

[CajunTim]

Wade, that looks great! I bet it will taste just as good.

 

[Wade E]

Lots of flavor there buddy!

 

[RkyMtnWine]

Ya got me interested Wade, yours looks so good.. Picked up raspberries on sale today.. believe I have everything to get started on the raspberry mead.... would D 47 yeast be ok with this? I will be doing a 2 gallon batch.. Have 6# of raw honey (wildflower) and 5# of raspberries. One other item.. I probably will not start this until monday... have the raspberries in the fridge now... should i freeze them? Edited by: RkyMtnWine

 

[gaudet]

Freezing for a couple weeks helps break down cell structure to help maximize juicing in most fruits.

 

[RkyMtnWine]

do you think i should keep them in the fridge for a couple days... or freezer, plan on brewing this up on monday. after washing ended up with 5# 6oz. Still have to decide on recipe for the Melomel. Quite a few inthe forum and elsewhere. Wades sure looks good.

Edited by: RkyMtnWine