More mead
More blackberry honey from the Pike Place Market (24 lbs total)
5 gal. (-ish, a little shy) batch
- 6 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla pod, left in
- 20-30 peppercorns, but I'm not sure they did much
- Yeast 4632, dry mead
- 2 tbsp yeast nutrients
- about 4.5 quarts honey
- about 14 quarts water
- 2/3 quart grapefruit juice (didn't really think about this one)
- 1.5 tbsp acid blend
- 1 heaping tsp tannins
3 gal batch
- 2-3 large pinches of saffron
- Yeast 4184, sweet mead
- 3.5-4 quarts honey
- 8.5-9 quarts water (this doesn't add up)
- 4 oz oj
- juice from half a lemon
- 1 tbsp acid blend
- 1 tsp tannins
This is all pretty random. There is no pectic enzyme yet because I forgot to buy it. I'll put it in with first racking.
Edit: racked after 4 weeks. Should have racked after 2. Should rack again after 3 months, or about mid-June, and then bottle around Christmas time. Must tastes pretty OK. The added flavors are subtle, but might become more pronounced over time. Replaced the vanilla pod to the large batch with one I'd just dumped in some boiling water, so that should become more pronounced. The sweet yeast batch is definitely more sweet than the dry yeast batch. Added 1.5 Tbsp pectic enzyme to the large batch, 1 Tbsp to the smaller.
5 gal. (-ish, a little shy) batch
- 6 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla pod, left in
- 20-30 peppercorns, but I'm not sure they did much
- Yeast 4632, dry mead
- 2 tbsp yeast nutrients
- about 4.5 quarts honey
- about 14 quarts water
- 2/3 quart grapefruit juice (didn't really think about this one)
- 1.5 tbsp acid blend
- 1 heaping tsp tannins
3 gal batch
- 2-3 large pinches of saffron
- Yeast 4184, sweet mead
- 3.5-4 quarts honey
- 8.5-9 quarts water (this doesn't add up)
- 4 oz oj
- juice from half a lemon
- 1 tbsp acid blend
- 1 tsp tannins
This is all pretty random. There is no pectic enzyme yet because I forgot to buy it. I'll put it in with first racking.
Edit: racked after 4 weeks. Should have racked after 2. Should rack again after 3 months, or about mid-June, and then bottle around Christmas time. Must tastes pretty OK. The added flavors are subtle, but might become more pronounced over time. Replaced the vanilla pod to the large batch with one I'd just dumped in some boiling water, so that should become more pronounced. The sweet yeast batch is definitely more sweet than the dry yeast batch. Added 1.5 Tbsp pectic enzyme to the large batch, 1 Tbsp to the smaller.