Blackberry Cabin Fever

Vandall · #1 08-06-2012, 11:21 AM

The wife and I spent last weekend up at our cabin and we picked about 6 Lbs. of blackberries out in the back 40. We are going again next weekend and I plan on getting another 6 Lbs or more for a 5 gallon batch of what will be known as "Cabin Fever". These are wild blackberries that grow all over my property so they are not the juicy plump sweet monsters that you can find elsewhere. Some are very sweet but equally as many are somewhat tart. I was planing to do a JAO style mead with these so it would end up sweet but if any of the pro's out there have other ideas or advice, I am all ears.

Thanks

mediaguru · #2 08-06-2012, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vandall

The wife and I spent last weekend up at our cabin and we picked about 6 Lbs. of blackberries out in the back 40. We are going again next weekend and I plan on getting another 6 Lbs or more for a 5 gallon batch of what will be known as "Cabin Fever". These are wild blackberries that grow all over my property so they are not the juicy plump sweet monsters that you can find elsewhere. Some are very sweet but equally as many are somewhat tart. I was planing to do a JAO style mead with these so it would end up sweet but if any of the pro's out there have other ideas or advice, I am all ears.

Thanks

I'm not a pro, but here's my 2 cents:

Since blackberries are tart, not as sweet as other berries like you mention, I personally would aim for a dry mead rather than a sweet one. I'm not a big fan of dry meads (I prefer moderately sweet), but it can be strange when you have something sweet that is then cut with an unsweet tartness.

I myself am planning on doing a pyment with the sangiovese grapes I have in my yard, and it's a similar situation -- sangiovese isn't super sweet, it tends to have some spicy and tart-cherry flavors to it. As such, I plan on making a dry, sparkling pyment with them (and not to use a lot of them -- I'm hoping I can get a nice, crisp/refreshing rose-colored sparkling pyment out of it, something that would be great served chilled, with a brisk and balanced tart/barely-sweet flavor)

Chevette Girl · #3 08-06-2012, 06:53 PM

One of my favourite meads is the JAO style blackberry mel, it's really good sweet. I'll have to try one a little drier one of these days though just to see for myself, but I find that blackberries taste like absolutely nothing until they're sweetened or fermented. (not to be confused with black raspberries, which are tasty on their own and I think I'd try that as a semisweet)

Vandall · #4 08-08-2012, 10:58 AM

Hey Chevette Girl, I have a few questions about the blackberry JAO. I am assuming the standard 2 to 3 lbs of berries per gallon, is that about right? Also, should I put them all in from the start, (washed, frozen, thawed and smashed first), or should I split them up? Other than that follow the basic recipe including the raisins, but what about the spices? I feel like a mooch asking you all of these questions but I have read on several threads how much you liked your blackberry JAO and I'm hoping to like mine as much.

Thanks.

Chevette Girl · #5 08-08-2012, 09:02 PM

Right here (and probably several other places too, search tool is your friend

) Enjoy, and if you make it according to my recipe, I hope you do a brewlog!

Only 12 oz of blackberries. I'm considering trying it with more sometime, but I find the more fruit you put in a JAO, the less JAO you get out of it at the end because of the volume of the fruit.

I've done it with and without the spices, and the raisins don't seem to make a difference, I rinse and squash the berries, all in up front.

wowbagger · #6 08-10-2012, 08:39 AM

I recently tried a blackberry mead by Honeyrun meadery. It was a very sweet and very blackberry mead (I believe the bottle said that they add straight blackberry juice to a completed mead). The sweetness complimented the tart well but it was also a bit medicinal in my opinion.

Not sure if that helps but...

Wingnut · #7 08-15-2012, 02:45 PM

Oh Man!
I was out walking last night and notoiced the blackberries are starting to ripen here in the PNW! Since we have as many blackberries as raindrops, I might have to borrow a recipie and give it a try.

Vandall · #8 08-15-2012, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vandall

The wife and I spent last weekend up at our cabin and we picked about 6 Lbs. of blackberries out in the back 40. We are going again next weekend and I plan on getting another 6 Lbs or more for a 5 gallon batch of what will be known as "Cabin Fever". These are wild blackberries that grow all over my property so they are not the juicy plump sweet monsters that you can find elsewhere. Some are very sweet but equally as many are somewhat tart. I was planing to do a JAO style mead with these so it would end up sweet but if any of the pro's out there have other ideas or advice, I am all ears.

Thanks

Well, we missed the peak of the berries. Picked twice as long and only ended up with about 2 more pounds.