I started the batch below on April 20th. My plan tonight was to move it out of a fermentation bucket to a carboy, which we did. I took a gravity reading and it's 0.993 and.. to top it off we added 2tsp of yeast nutrient before taking a gravity reading..
It's way to dry and kinda tastes like grapefruit. I'm looking for suggestions on how we can backsweeten I guess... I am not even adverse to brewing a 5 gallon batch of something else and mixing the two if that is what it takes.
He're's the recipe/original log.. -- Did I really ferment this out in a MONTH?
Al's crazy berry mead
6 lbs strawberries
3 lbs blue berries
3 lbs 1 oz seedless blackberry puree
12 lbs honey
~ 3.25 gal water
1/2 gal organic apple juice with no preservatives
1 packet pasteur red wine yeast
3 tsp yeast nutrient
Original gravity 1.096
Potential Alcohol by volume 12.67%
This morning I bloomed the yeast and added it to two quart bottles of apple juice. This was to get the yeast off to a good running start. Tomorrow morning the apple juice and two teaspoons of yeast nutrient will get added to the mead to start fermentation.
We brought two gallons of water up to a near boil and added the 12 gallons of honey. We kept it between 180 and 200 for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile the previously frozen blueberries and strawberries were thrown into the bucket with a gallon of water and the blackberry puree. We then took the honey & water off the heat and pored it over the berries. We then added a 1/4 to a 1/3 gallon of water from the fridge to the bucket and took a reading.
Tomorrow I add the yeast and nutrient and in maybe 3 weeks I'll move everything to a carboy and off the hopefully DRAINED fruit. I'll take another reading then and a taste to see how it's coming...
It's way to dry and kinda tastes like grapefruit. I'm looking for suggestions on how we can backsweeten I guess... I am not even adverse to brewing a 5 gallon batch of something else and mixing the two if that is what it takes.
He're's the recipe/original log.. -- Did I really ferment this out in a MONTH?
Al's crazy berry mead
6 lbs strawberries
3 lbs blue berries
3 lbs 1 oz seedless blackberry puree
12 lbs honey
~ 3.25 gal water
1/2 gal organic apple juice with no preservatives
1 packet pasteur red wine yeast
3 tsp yeast nutrient
Original gravity 1.096
Potential Alcohol by volume 12.67%
This morning I bloomed the yeast and added it to two quart bottles of apple juice. This was to get the yeast off to a good running start. Tomorrow morning the apple juice and two teaspoons of yeast nutrient will get added to the mead to start fermentation.
We brought two gallons of water up to a near boil and added the 12 gallons of honey. We kept it between 180 and 200 for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile the previously frozen blueberries and strawberries were thrown into the bucket with a gallon of water and the blackberry puree. We then took the honey & water off the heat and pored it over the berries. We then added a 1/4 to a 1/3 gallon of water from the fridge to the bucket and took a reading.
Tomorrow I add the yeast and nutrient and in maybe 3 weeks I'll move everything to a carboy and off the hopefully DRAINED fruit. I'll take another reading then and a taste to see how it's coming...