Hail and well met everyone (this is a mead forum, lol),
New to the forums but have been a mead fan for a few years and recently started making my own mead. Have been following the Joe’s Ancient Orange Mead recipes and looking to try a few variations of Bray’s One Month Mead next.
Right now I’d like to do a JOAM variation using blueberries and lemons, and specifically I’m looking for information regarding lemons in mead. Such as things to do / watch out for. This means I’m looking for responses from folks who have put lemon in mead, and what their results from finished mead were.
From Googling or forum searching, Things I’ve already read/heard about lemons in mead are:
Remove the Pith as it is bitter
1 Lemon per Gallon (3 liters)
Freeze fruit to burst the cell walls and allow more flavor
Allow frozen fruit to reach room temperature before putting in with yeast
Remove some of the peel so you don’t get such a strong peel flavor**
**I’ll be removing pith so this last one may not be a biggie. (?)
But for those of you who have worked with lemons in mead and obtained a finished product, I’m curious what your experiences were. Did you use too much lemon? How much lemon was too much? Did you stall? How much did you put in? Etc.
I plan on following the JOAM recipe to make 1 gal. My goal is to have a nice lemon taste but not too much acid to the point I have to sweeten.
1 gal wide mouth carboy & airlock
3 lbs raw honey
1 gal spring water
1 lemon, sectioned. Either pith removed, or only half the rind included. (Or both)
Handful of blueberries
Fleischmann's bread yeast
Handful of raisins for yeast nutrient.
All fruit has been frozen and will be sanitized prior to putting in carboy. Will warm (not cook) honey to affect viscosity and pour into carboy, fill to (just below the) top with water to allow for expansion, mix vigorously, put in fruits at room temperature, stir in yeast, seal and wait 2 months for yeast gassing to stop, clarification, and fruit to drop.
Thanks for your lemon & mead comments and experience.
New to the forums but have been a mead fan for a few years and recently started making my own mead. Have been following the Joe’s Ancient Orange Mead recipes and looking to try a few variations of Bray’s One Month Mead next.
Right now I’d like to do a JOAM variation using blueberries and lemons, and specifically I’m looking for information regarding lemons in mead. Such as things to do / watch out for. This means I’m looking for responses from folks who have put lemon in mead, and what their results from finished mead were.
From Googling or forum searching, Things I’ve already read/heard about lemons in mead are:
Remove the Pith as it is bitter
1 Lemon per Gallon (3 liters)
Freeze fruit to burst the cell walls and allow more flavor
Allow frozen fruit to reach room temperature before putting in with yeast
Remove some of the peel so you don’t get such a strong peel flavor**
**I’ll be removing pith so this last one may not be a biggie. (?)
But for those of you who have worked with lemons in mead and obtained a finished product, I’m curious what your experiences were. Did you use too much lemon? How much lemon was too much? Did you stall? How much did you put in? Etc.
I plan on following the JOAM recipe to make 1 gal. My goal is to have a nice lemon taste but not too much acid to the point I have to sweeten.
1 gal wide mouth carboy & airlock
3 lbs raw honey
1 gal spring water
1 lemon, sectioned. Either pith removed, or only half the rind included. (Or both)
Handful of blueberries
Fleischmann's bread yeast
Handful of raisins for yeast nutrient.
All fruit has been frozen and will be sanitized prior to putting in carboy. Will warm (not cook) honey to affect viscosity and pour into carboy, fill to (just below the) top with water to allow for expansion, mix vigorously, put in fruits at room temperature, stir in yeast, seal and wait 2 months for yeast gassing to stop, clarification, and fruit to drop.
Thanks for your lemon & mead comments and experience.
