At the request of my wife, I put together another maple mead.
Here's the recipe:
-2 1/4 gallons maple syrup (Grade A, dark amber from Sam's club @ $9 per 48 ozs)
-2 ounces each of:
Cardamon
Coriander
Ginger
Juniper Berries
Sarsasparilla
-Sulfite, yeast nutrient, yeast energizer
-IC/D-47 yeast (Cotes du Rhone)
-a 1000 ml starter at a gravity of 1.080 with a healthy dose of nutrient and energizer.
Assemble the mead thusly:
Using a coffee grinder, grind all the spices to a medium-coarse consistency. Bring 2 gallons of water to a boil, remove from heat, add spices, cover and let steep for 2 hours.
Pour spice mixture through a coarse cheesecloth into fermenter (if using glass, buffer with a cold solution of water).
Add maple syrup and top off to 6 gallons, total. Add nutrients and sulfite, close the fermenter, and place aside for 24 hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the starter as described above and let it ferment for 24 hours.
Aerate the must for 1/2 hour using a diffusion stone, pitch the starter, and aerate for another 5 minutes or so.
Place aside, and ferment as per usual.
OG 1.105 pH 4.0
When you are ready to bottle, try racking it into a soda keg and the force carbonate to 4 volumes of CO2. Chill to about 40 degrees, and draw into chilled champagne bottles. Use a plastic champagne stopper and wire hood to finish.
The finished product tastes very interesting and enjoyable. I liken it to a hard rootbeer. Served ice cold in champagne flutes is a sure conversation starter.
For your own personal recipe formulations, I have found that a typical Grade A dark amber maple syrup, when mixed in a ratio of 1 part syrup to 2 parts water, gives a gravity of roughly 1.100.
Here's the recipe:
-2 1/4 gallons maple syrup (Grade A, dark amber from Sam's club @ $9 per 48 ozs)
-2 ounces each of:
Cardamon
Coriander
Ginger
Juniper Berries
Sarsasparilla
-Sulfite, yeast nutrient, yeast energizer
-IC/D-47 yeast (Cotes du Rhone)
-a 1000 ml starter at a gravity of 1.080 with a healthy dose of nutrient and energizer.
Assemble the mead thusly:
Using a coffee grinder, grind all the spices to a medium-coarse consistency. Bring 2 gallons of water to a boil, remove from heat, add spices, cover and let steep for 2 hours.
Pour spice mixture through a coarse cheesecloth into fermenter (if using glass, buffer with a cold solution of water).
Add maple syrup and top off to 6 gallons, total. Add nutrients and sulfite, close the fermenter, and place aside for 24 hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the starter as described above and let it ferment for 24 hours.
Aerate the must for 1/2 hour using a diffusion stone, pitch the starter, and aerate for another 5 minutes or so.
Place aside, and ferment as per usual.
OG 1.105 pH 4.0
When you are ready to bottle, try racking it into a soda keg and the force carbonate to 4 volumes of CO2. Chill to about 40 degrees, and draw into chilled champagne bottles. Use a plastic champagne stopper and wire hood to finish.
The finished product tastes very interesting and enjoyable. I liken it to a hard rootbeer. Served ice cold in champagne flutes is a sure conversation starter.
For your own personal recipe formulations, I have found that a typical Grade A dark amber maple syrup, when mixed in a ratio of 1 part syrup to 2 parts water, gives a gravity of roughly 1.100.