Another Melomel Question

[ejcrist]

Does anyone use pectic enzyme when making melomel? I have two batches of wine fermenting (one in secondary and one still in primary) and one batch of mango melomel I just transferred to a secondary, and I understand the purpose is to remove pectin which seems like a good idea with melomels too, but I'm guessing it would depend if the fruit used is high in pectin. I haven't seen it in any mead recipes but The Complete Meadmaker has a reference to it so I'm thinking it might be a good idea to use it. I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments.

Thanks, Gene

 

[Squatchy]

Yes. You should use that. You can also look online and find what fruit has pectin in it. I used it in my batch of Mango and it worked well, I would wait untill you've racked another time or two and added what ever adjuncts you want to add.

 

[ejcrist]

Thanks Squatchy, I'll do that. I figured it was a good thing to add when using fruit. Do you use the same rate as with wine or does it depend on the amount of pectin in the fruit used? For grape wine I've used 4 drops per gallon.

 

[58limited]

I always treat my fruits with pectinase before adding to a mead. It helps to break down the cell walls and allows for higher juice extraction. It also helps clear the mead.

 

[pokerfacepablo]

Freezing for short periods also helps break down cell walls. I'll freeze berries overnight and throw them in my secondary the next day. Let the juices infuse for 2 weeks and then pull the bag out. Like the others say always treat with pectinase before.