Just made my first melomel...

[urielxvi]

So after months of research I finally made my first melomel…..

5ish gallon batch
19# Honey
20# Rasp/Black/Blue berries in primary
16g of ICV-D21 yeast

OG (before berries): 1.140
Degass/PunchDown: every 12 hours.
Ferm Temp: 76-80

Nutrient Style: Travis Blount-Elliott
24 hours: 4.25g Fermaid O
48 hours: 4.25g Fermaid O
72 hours: 4.75g Fermaid K and 5.6g DAP
96 hours: Checked for ⅓ sugar break, but blew right past it...already at 1.024
96 hours: 4.75g Fermaid K and 5.6g DAP
9 Days after pitch: Fruit cap dropped
12 Days after pitch: FG 0.990 (!!) bucket smells amazing under the lid!

So the yeast certainly was happy, chose this strain in hopes of getting around temp control, but ended up way drier than expected, going to have to backsweeten...

Hoping to avoid backsweetening in the future, would a few more #s of honey in next iteration of the same recipe accomplish this?

Now that fruit cap has dropped, can I rack it into secondary?

Should I carboy to clear or can I go straight to keg? (low psi, don’t want it carbbed)

Copied from Gotmead.com - Read More at:http://www.gotmead.com/forum/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=136

 

[Aceaspade]

Any update as to what you did? what you found out?
I am literally no expert much less going to advise you in this matter. How long was the fruit in the must? From what I have read 7-10 days is good. thats my .05 cents LOL. I know this is old but looking forward to an update.

 

[Apollomead]

So after months of research I finally made my first melomel…..

5ish gallon batch
19# Honey
20# Rasp/Black/Blue berries in primary
16g of ICV-D21 yeast

OG (before berries): 1.140
Degass/PunchDown: every 12 hours.
Ferm Temp: 76-80

Nutrient Style: Travis Blount-Elliott
24 hours: 4.25g Fermaid O
48 hours: 4.25g Fermaid O
72 hours: 4.75g Fermaid K and 5.6g DAP
96 hours: Checked for ⅓ sugar break, but blew right past it...already at 1.024
96 hours: 4.75g Fermaid K and 5.6g DAP
9 Days after pitch: Fruit cap dropped
12 Days after pitch: FG 0.990 (!!) bucket smells amazing under the lid!

So the yeast certainly was happy, chose this strain in hopes of getting around temp control, but ended up way drier than expected, going to have to backsweeten...

Hoping to avoid backsweetening in the future, would a few more #s of honey in next iteration of the same recipe accomplish this?

Now that fruit cap has dropped, can I rack it into secondary?

Should I carboy to clear or can I go straight to keg? (low psi, don’t want it carbbed)

Copied from Gotmead.com - Read More at:http://www.gotmead.com/forum/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=136

You used 19# in five gallons plus fruit so that alone is pretty crazy the yeast ate through that many points and you have to back sweeten. 150 points is no joke but you did use 16 grams versus a more conservative ~2 grams per gallon so maybe that explains it taking the Mead bone dry. I've never used that yeast so I'm not sure of the alcohol tolerance but try one packet per five gallons next time.

Also be careful of adding DAP past the 1/3 sugar break. It can develop off flavors in your mead.

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[Squatchy]

That is a very good pitch rate. Use it again. More yeast doesn't have anything to do with the strains tolorence level.
Ading fruit actually lowered you starting gravity due to the water in the fruit.

That is a super stupid SNA schedule. I would strongly suggest using TOSNA instead. Adding d DAP that late in the game doesn't get assimilated. All it does is leave a bad taste in your mead. Go put some DAP in some water and taste it. That flies in the face of everything we have learned in the past 2 years. I personally stop using DAP entirely almost 2.5 years ago