What to do with killer bee honey

[Alden]

Well, I've pretty much decided that I'm not going to jack around with my killer bee honey. Instead I'm going to try for a semi-dry sparkling mead. I want to keep this one somewhat simple, so no significant flavor additives are going into this one. Maybe just some citrus zest to brighten it a bit. I'll be starting this one after my maple wine batch...unless I get another carboy....can't have too many carboys!

 

[byathread]

Nice! I think traditional meads are the place to start with unique honeys. Can you give us an idea of the flavor of this honey? Where did you get it?

Thanks,
Kirk

 

[Alden]

I got it from the Bee Folks (http://beefolks.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=27&cat=Killer+Bee+Honey). I'll try and taste it and write up a description. As per their website, it does have a caramel taste and is (what I call) smooth and rich tasting. Dark in color - maybe comparable to the buckwheat honey I've used.

 

[Alden]

I'm thinking that I may go to special effort on this batch and submit it for the 2007 International Mead Festival. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to bottle a sparkling mead in a 12 ounce bottle? I'm planning to use champagne bottles for my regular bottles, but I don't want to mail three 750mL bottles when all that is required is three 12 oz bottles. I'm just concerned about the pressure inside either bursting the bottle or popping the tops. Thanks for any help!

 

[byathread]

IIRC, beer bottles with crown caps should withstand 3-4+ atmospheres of pressure. I think champagne/sparkling wines tend to be carbonated to around 5.5 atmospheres.

Here's an online carbonation calculator: http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html

You can also buy smaller champagne bottles (from 187ml at Northern Brewer and elsewhere).

Cheers,
Kirk