Hey folks, I haven't posted in a few months, but I'm back with an update.
I started my mead adventure in May of last year.
My first brew log is located here http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14365 and my second here http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14797
My first mead was a 5 gallon traditional using Lalvin D47, two different types of raw wildflower honey and very little else.
I got this one started in May of last year, and let it sit in secondary until this past fall.
I bottled a few liters at that time and the rest was split up into two flavored batches. 2 gallons were racked onto 5 lbs of mixed blueberries, wineberries and blackberries (all fresh frozen) and one gallon was racked onto a large ginger root, skinned and cut into small cubes.
My second batch was a 3 gallon concord pyment made with RC212. It was started in August and bottled around October or November.
My wife, a friend and I sat down to taste a few. Here are our thoughts on each. I hope to try a taste test with a wider audience soon, and I'm working on plans for my next batch (a braggot) now.
Please excuse my complete and utter lack of any kind of proper tasting lingo, I'll just do my best to describe what we experienced.
Concord Pyment
This was brewed from several pounds of ripe concord grapes picked from my grandparents farm, a very light and mild honey (locust) and a quart of organic, unprocessed concord grape juice. The color is ruby red, and you get fresh grapes and honey on the nose. This is like a very dry yet very smooth rose style wine. The flavor is unmistakable, it really tastes like the grape in question. I don't get any unpleasant muskiness or foxiness, just fresh grapes. This is completely drinkable now, and I think will improve with age. It would be perfect to quaff down chilled and maybe even sweetened in the summer. I hope some honey comes back into the flavor, but if not, I won't cry about it.
Ginger Meth
This one was the odd one out. It is a beautiful pale gold in color. My wife hated it, she said it tasted like dirt. My friend loved it and said it tasted like dirt, in a good way...go figure. It was also described as tasting "medicinal, but not in a bad way". There is a lot of spicy honey in both the aroma and taste, a ton of ginger in the aroma, but very little in the flavor. I think I like this, and I think it will be good down the road, but I'm glad I don't have many bottles. I bottled one screw top bottle to which I've added two cardamom pods, I might add some more ginger as well just as an experiment.
Mixed Berry Mell
This was hands down the winner. This is a very pale rose color with spicy honey and berries strong in the aroma. This tastes the most of honey and really shows off the strong spicy character of the raw wildflower that I used. The berries are subtle in the flavor, but contribute a really nice sweetness. This is dangerous stuff, it would be easy to put a bottle down in very, very short order.
I started my mead adventure in May of last year.
My first brew log is located here http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14365 and my second here http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14797
My first mead was a 5 gallon traditional using Lalvin D47, two different types of raw wildflower honey and very little else.
I got this one started in May of last year, and let it sit in secondary until this past fall.
I bottled a few liters at that time and the rest was split up into two flavored batches. 2 gallons were racked onto 5 lbs of mixed blueberries, wineberries and blackberries (all fresh frozen) and one gallon was racked onto a large ginger root, skinned and cut into small cubes.
My second batch was a 3 gallon concord pyment made with RC212. It was started in August and bottled around October or November.
My wife, a friend and I sat down to taste a few. Here are our thoughts on each. I hope to try a taste test with a wider audience soon, and I'm working on plans for my next batch (a braggot) now.
Please excuse my complete and utter lack of any kind of proper tasting lingo, I'll just do my best to describe what we experienced.
Concord Pyment
This was brewed from several pounds of ripe concord grapes picked from my grandparents farm, a very light and mild honey (locust) and a quart of organic, unprocessed concord grape juice. The color is ruby red, and you get fresh grapes and honey on the nose. This is like a very dry yet very smooth rose style wine. The flavor is unmistakable, it really tastes like the grape in question. I don't get any unpleasant muskiness or foxiness, just fresh grapes. This is completely drinkable now, and I think will improve with age. It would be perfect to quaff down chilled and maybe even sweetened in the summer. I hope some honey comes back into the flavor, but if not, I won't cry about it.
Ginger Meth
This one was the odd one out. It is a beautiful pale gold in color. My wife hated it, she said it tasted like dirt. My friend loved it and said it tasted like dirt, in a good way...go figure. It was also described as tasting "medicinal, but not in a bad way". There is a lot of spicy honey in both the aroma and taste, a ton of ginger in the aroma, but very little in the flavor. I think I like this, and I think it will be good down the road, but I'm glad I don't have many bottles. I bottled one screw top bottle to which I've added two cardamom pods, I might add some more ginger as well just as an experiment.
Mixed Berry Mell
This was hands down the winner. This is a very pale rose color with spicy honey and berries strong in the aroma. This tastes the most of honey and really shows off the strong spicy character of the raw wildflower that I used. The berries are subtle in the flavor, but contribute a really nice sweetness. This is dangerous stuff, it would be easy to put a bottle down in very, very short order.
