Mead Lover’s Digest #166 Sat 03 July 1993

Forum for Discussion of Mead Brewing and Consuming
John Dilley, Digest Coordinator

Contents:
Mulberry Mead (Bob Mcdonald)


Send articles for submission to the digest to
mead-lovers@nsa.hp.com
Send digest subscribe, unsubscribe, or any other administrative requests to

mead-lovers-request@nsa.hp.com

NOTE: There is now an MLD FTP archive on sierra.stanford.edu in pub/mead


Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1993 17:01:40 +22306512 (CDT)
From: remcdona@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Bob Mcdonald)
Subject: Mulberry Mead

According to the wine making book I have, mulberries average as follows:
8.1 percent sugar as percent of fresh weight, .70 percent acid expressed as
major type, and major type of acid present – citric.
The quantities specified for your mead should work just fine. About 2lbs fruit
and 2 to 3 lbs of honey per gallon.
Try crushing your fruit in a blender or food processor and use a pressing bag
to remove the seeds and most of the pulp (a nylon hop bag works well for this
if you are doing small batches). Combine the fruit, honey, and water and check
the acid content. (Acid test kits are around $6.00 and are indispensible when
making wines and meads) Acid content should be around .5 percent for a mead.
If its low add some acid blend. The package should have instructions for how
much to use. When the acid is right, add 1 campden tablet per gallon (crushed
and mixed with a little water. Then stopper the fermenter and shake to mix and
oxygenate. Put some sterilized cotton in the opening of the fermenter to allow
the sulfur dioxide to escape and leave overnight. Add pectic enzyme and pitch
your yeast the next day. I typically use a wine yeast such as Epernay2. I do
all my fruit meads this way and get really good results. You can also add
yeast nutrients, Epsom salts, and vitamins B1 and B2 if you so desire to help
the yeast do their thing.

Good luck,

Bob



End of Mead Lover’s Digest