Sitting here, downing a Grolsch (I need bottles for bottling) I am contemplating on how to introduce the proper spicing method to get a good rich apple pie mead for my upcoming batch.
I see that most spicing attempts are done after the first racking, which seems to makes sense. Why expose your spices to all that fermentation?
From what I have read, most everyone just adds the spices to the carboy after the fermentation is done and then they wait, and wait and wait.
Assuming I am sticking to just cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans, I am guessing that since there is no agitation and minimal alcohol content in the mead the spice flavors are very slowly infused into the must, and I would further guess that this is going to take a significant amount of time.
Thinking outside the box, I figured I would run this idea past you all...
For a 5 gallon batch, (lets say 25% honey and 75% apple juice). Why not reserve a 1/2 gallon of apple juice from the batch and ferment the rest.
Then add the full dose of spices to the 1/2 gallon and heat the mixture to speed the extraction of the good stuff from the spices. Once that is done set it aside until the main batch is ready for its first racking and add it in.
My theory is that the flavor extraction will be faster and more complete with heat and if there are any funkies on the spices the heating will eliminate them. True, it will up the OG that the yeast must deal with in the rest of the batch, but with good nutrients, it should be able to handle it. Also with 1/2 gallon of apple juice added to the must after the first racking, I would guess there will be some delayed fermentation action.
So has anyone tried this for spices? What are your thoughts on doing this or alternatives?
Thanks
Wayne
I see that most spicing attempts are done after the first racking, which seems to makes sense. Why expose your spices to all that fermentation?
From what I have read, most everyone just adds the spices to the carboy after the fermentation is done and then they wait, and wait and wait.
Assuming I am sticking to just cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans, I am guessing that since there is no agitation and minimal alcohol content in the mead the spice flavors are very slowly infused into the must, and I would further guess that this is going to take a significant amount of time.
Thinking outside the box, I figured I would run this idea past you all...
For a 5 gallon batch, (lets say 25% honey and 75% apple juice). Why not reserve a 1/2 gallon of apple juice from the batch and ferment the rest.
Then add the full dose of spices to the 1/2 gallon and heat the mixture to speed the extraction of the good stuff from the spices. Once that is done set it aside until the main batch is ready for its first racking and add it in.
My theory is that the flavor extraction will be faster and more complete with heat and if there are any funkies on the spices the heating will eliminate them. True, it will up the OG that the yeast must deal with in the rest of the batch, but with good nutrients, it should be able to handle it. Also with 1/2 gallon of apple juice added to the must after the first racking, I would guess there will be some delayed fermentation action.
So has anyone tried this for spices? What are your thoughts on doing this or alternatives?
Thanks
Wayne