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Raspberry Melomel

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skeptic13

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After reading over this site and others for weeks, I did the following:

G-FORCE RASPBERRY MELOMEL

Primary

15 Pounds Honey – Generic Clover (Grade A, Costco $10/6 pounds)
Honey added to 1 Gallon heated water to dissolve, not too hot
Raisins & Golden Berry Mix (took out so2 golden raisins, left cherries, cranberries, blueberries, etc.)
– Chopped (non-SO2 raisins from Trader Joe’s) ½ pound raisins, ~1/3 pound Berry Mix
4 Gallons Water (filtered (for chlorine) tap water- hard)
Oxygenated using pure O2 ~1 minute
2 Packets Lavlin D-47 proofed as recommended

10-15-04

Pitched at 9:00 p.m., bubbling through airlock when I got up at 4:30 a.m.
O.G. = 1.105

10-20-04

Has been bubbling at a steady rate of 1 bubble every 3 seconds for 5 days so far

10-21-04

Chugging along slow but steady...
S.G. 1.079

10-28-04

Still chugging along at 1 bubble every 4-5 seconds
S.G. 1.047 (cloyingly sweet)

11-4-04

Slowed down quite a bit
S.G. 1.028 Still sweet
 
11-4-04

Racked onto 2 49 oz cans of Oregon Fruit Products Raspberry Puree

S.G. 1.035

I thought it would bring the gravity up more. I am waiting and crossing my fingers for fermintation to resume through the airlock.
 
Sounds like a nice mix. Did you take your gravity before or after adding the berries/raisins?

It looks like it should be about right, but the floaties and such would throw it off a bit.

Are those fruit puree cans for 5 gallons each? I see them at the LHBS when I go in.

Oskaar
 
The raisins went into the primary. When I racked to secondary with the puree I took the reading before and after.

Before = 1.028
After = 1.035

I also added 1 Tablespoon of Pectic Enzyme. They say you can add 1 can for decent flavor and 2 cans for pronounced, which is what I am going for. I want a semi-sweet desert Raspberry Mel. The puree seems really nice since it has no seeds and is aseptic alreay, just pour it in. Also no sugar or anything added.
 
11-9-04

Has been bubbling about once every five seconds since Nov 5.

One thing I forgot to mention, the mixed dried fruit I added for nutrients all reconstituted in the primary (not the raisins).
 
11-17-04

S.G. 1.001

I am a little dissapointed with this turn of events. I had planned on making a semi-sweet melomel with D47 cutting out at 12% and leaving me some residual sweetness. Well it took it all the way down and now is ~14.5% alcohol and dry. One positive note is that the raspberry flavor is pronounced, but the alcohol is evident. I am now left with the dilemma of just letting it age and having a dry Raspberry Mel or stabilizing and adding some honey to sweeten it up a bit. Any suggestions? And if I do, how much honey and do I just add honey or do I dissolve it in water? Maybe the standard .08/pound and add two pounds to get it to 1.016 for five gallons?
 
skeptic13 said:
Maybe the standard .08/pound and add two pounds to get it to 1.016 for five gallons?
Click to expand...

I'm inexperienced, but I'd probably start with about a pound, mix, and taste. If needed, I'd then add 1/4 - 1/2 pound at a time until it got where I wanted it.
 
I am a little dissapointed with this turn of events. I had planned on making a semi-sweet melomel with D47 cutting out at 12% and leaving me some residual sweetness. Well it took it all the way down and now is ~14.5% alcohol and dry. One positive note is that the raspberry flavor is pronounced, but the alcohol is evident. I am now left with the dilemma of just letting it age and having a dry Raspberry Mel or stabilizing and adding some honey to sweeten it up a bit. Any suggestions? And if I do, how much honey and do I just add honey or do I dissolve it in water? Maybe the standard .08/pound and add two pounds to get it to 1.016 for five gallons?
Click to expand...

I'd suggest stabilizing first with potassium metabisulfite first, then add the honey as it will definately kick back up with a refermentation if you don't.
Talon.
 
Talon said:
I'd suggest stabilizing first with potassium metabisulfite first, then add the honey as it will definately kick back up with a refermentation if you don't.
Talon.
Click to expand...

I don't really know if stabilizing would be necessary. Presumably, the yeast (D-47 IIRC) is already at or near it's alcohol tolerance. It will start back up with additional honey but shouldn't be able to go very far. As long as it's not bottled before it's completely finished, it should not be too much of a problem (I wouldn't think).
 
I put my mel in the ferment fridge at 35 degrees for a week and then racked for some bulk aging. It is a beautiful deep red color like a nice pinot. I will eventually add some honey back to sweeten it up just a tad, I am thinking 1 pound of Orange Bloosom. I will wait a few months first.
 
If you do that, wait before bottling to ensure that renewed fermentation doesn't start up again.

Talon.
 
Sounds like a good recipe. I would however in the future use 18 lbs of honey as a minimum when starting with D47 and desiring a sweet mead. Ken's recipe's for sweet meads with D47 say 15-18 lbs for a 5 gal batch. I was likewise disappointed with using only 3lbs per gallon with D47 but it only took me 3 weeks and a 1 gallon batch to determine that. My second one showed a minimum of 3 1/2 lbs per gallon is required to end up sweet and then still only at 1.010. Maybe cutting down on nutrients or moving up to 3 3/4 lbs per gallon would finish it in the right area especially since some dilution occurs when topping off.
Joe
 
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