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Zek

Zek

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 27, 2021
4
0
1
the restaurant at the end of the universe.
Hey all, I purchased the 'Big Book of Mead Recipes' several months ago. I decided to start with the Blue Berry Compote (BlueBerry Acerglyn) found on pages 146-148.

Primary recipe
2 grams Lalvin 1116
2.30 grams Fermaid-O
2.5 grams GoFerm
3.04 pounds of Wildflower Honey
1.5 pounds of blueberries
12 oz Grade A Dark Amber Maple Syrup

Move to secondary when FG reaches 1.025

Secondary
1 Vanilla bean split and scraped
I wandered off the reservation a bit and I did NOT add the called for Pectinase or Metabisulphite.

My initial gravity was 1.130 and I transferred to secondary 3 weeks later when the gravity was 1.020.

When I transferred to secondary I couldn't help but take a sip. I didn't detect much of any sweetness and there was slight bitterness too, of course it was only three weeks old. I assume its way too early to tell where its heading. So my question is what should I expect for taste and feel when its all said and done?

Thank you
 
Hi @Zek,
Could you tell us a total volume of your mead and/or how much water did you use?
You sort of answered your own question, it is way to early to judge what this mead will turn out to be. If you did not taste any of flavors such as sulfur you are probably on the right track. The bitterness might be the result of alcohol which should be around 15% if the numbers you provided are accurate.
I am also curious why you omitted pectic enzyme and matabisulfite, are you aware what is the purpose of using them ?
 
Total volume of honey/water mixture is 1 gallon. According to the directions I then added the 1.5 pounds of thawed room temperature, crushed blueberries and juice to the honey/water mixture. After about three weeks I racked just the liquid to secondary and added the vanilla bean.

As for neglecting the other ingredients no reason really other than I just didn't have any. At the time I needed to make room in the freezer so I put some of the blueberries to use attempting to make this mead. First batch e'va :)


edit: Rather than describing that sip as having a "slight bitterness". I think it would be better described as being quite tart.
 
Last edited:
Few more questions. What was the size of your fermenter, I assume that the gallon of must and 1.5 # of blueberries were in a bigger container than one gallon carboy ? What size container are you using for secondary ?
I am also struggling to understand the original gravity you reported here, something does not add up. 3.04 # of honey dissolved with water to the volume of 1 gallon plus 1.5 # of blueberries should give you around 1.115 - 1.120 OG. I used GotMead Batch Calculator to check the numbers. Familiarize yourself with that great tool and use it for calculations in the future, verify your actual mixtures with hydrometer of course. While pointing to resources on this site, read the NewBee Guide, it will teach you proper procedures and approach used in mead making.
 
Sorry for the confusion but the honey weight (according to my hand written notes) was 3.4 lbs not 3.04 the recipe called for. I recall thinking .ZERO-4, who the hell is ever that precise home brewing? So I winged it and added 3.40 pounds. As for the container, dad always told me "son ya just can't stuff 10 pounds of crap in a five pound bag, so I had that dilemma figured out before I started and used a Little Big Mouth Bubbler which worked out perfectly ;). I took the hydrometer readings and they are true initial gravity was 1.130 and 1.020 when I racked to secondary.

Appreciate the link to the calculator too it will definitely come in handy , Thank you!
 
I like your father already... :)
Seems like you nailed everything down quite well.
Keep an eye on your mead and let the time do it's thing. The taste should improve with every next step - racking to remove sediment, maybe back sweetening if the tartness persists, stabilizing with sulfites to prevent oxidation, et cetera.
Now is also a good time to continue your self education, like finding out what purpose pectic enzyme has and how and when to use it, what potassium metabisulfite is used for, when to rack your mead, what cold crushing does... etc.
 
I appreciate the input especialy regarding the tartness, that it may persist and their are possible solutions. As for the other recommendations I'll certainly look into it all. And I'll definitely be putting that calculator to good use too. I knew what pectinase and the sulphites are for. But, my dads side of the family are a bunch Suomi farmers we don't bother too much with what it looks like and we do enjoy a drink or two every now and then that nothing stays around long enough to worry about having to preserve it :D

I'll keep ya posted
 
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