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Hibiscus Metheglin

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I have 2 Hibiscus trees that are putting out LOTS of flowers.
I am somewhat new to mead making and have not done any metheglins yet.

Any recipes for combining Hibiscus with mead?
Would it work better with straight mead, a melomel or with other spices.
Any comments or recipes would be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
Interesting.

Hibiscus is quite mellow in taste. I wouldn't combine it with fruits nor too many other herbs. You should also dry the flower thoroughly beforehand and remove as many of the stems as you can. I'd go for a straight mead as sweet as how you like your tea then essentially brew hibiscus tea in the mead. Check on the extraction progress very regularly until you like the hibiscus-to-mead taste.

I imagine you should serve it chilled on a hot summer evening.
 
I am in the process of drying out JUST the petals right now- which only takes a few days. So you would recommend an off-dry mead or just frankly sweet? (Sorry i came at this from wine-making so usually use those terms)

What about combining with ginger?
 
I've made a couple. The flavor is nice - I do like it semi-sweet - seems to me to best fit the flavor. However, the Color is absolutely glorious. I make a tea from the flowers, strain, and use that as the water to go in with the honey after it cools a bit (I dump it in warm to help dissolve the honey and let it cool to room temperature before pitching the yeast). I'm probably using 1/2 to 3/4 cup of 'very' loose dried flowers per gallon to make the tea. Probably let it steep about 10-20 minutes. I have to purchase the flowers - thus the boiling water tea (to hopefully kill any undesirables before I add to my honey).

Thanks,
Jim.
 
Thanks for the input.
1) was that dosing of hibiscus for a 1 or 5 gallon batch?
2) why sweet mead? Is hibiscus harsh or sour?
3) what was your final specific gravity for the mead? Just trying to get an idea how sweet was the mead.
 
1) 1 gallon
2-3) The recipe states the final gravity as 1.000, which is bone dry. I've also bottle carbonated this with a wonderful champagne like effect. If you want it sweeter, start your gravity higher or make the cocktail. Hibiscus isn't harsh, but does have some tart to it.


Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html
 
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