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Mead Bottling Party

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JSquared

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 4, 2011
89
1
0
Tucson, AZ
Yea it is pretty. We will see how long the color stays as it cellars. It bulk aged for 4 months to this point and still is pretty tasty now. Gonna be excited to try it again in another 6 months and beyond.
 

wildoates

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 22, 2009
2,373
4
0
Elk Grove, CA
That is a gorgeous color, and your friend Alana is seriously rocking those pants. :)

The meads look awesome, I hope the prickly pear keeps that color, because, WOW! It's amazing. I'd like to try a batch of that one of these days. Add it to my list!
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
<looks down at sweatpants and cowboy boots and sighs> Some of us not so much... although I guess I rock my armour OK :p

With your prickly pear mel, how old is it now and did you heat the fruit at all? (the nerd in me is trying to figure out if doing hot must vs cold must testing for fruit colourfastness is worth putting on the to-do list)
 

JSquared

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 4, 2011
89
1
0
Tucson, AZ
<looks down at sweatpants and cowboy boots and sighs> Some of us not so much... although I guess I rock my armour OK :p

With your prickly pear mel, how old is it now and did you heat the fruit at all? (the nerd in me is trying to figure out if doing hot must vs cold must testing for fruit colourfastness is worth putting on the to-do list)

I'm sure you rock lots of different outfits when you want to. :p

I did heat the fruit/juice: My daughter and I harvested a 5 gal bucket worth of fruit. Then we burned the "pokies" off on the grill and then cooked them with a wee bit of water in my uber large stock pot. They would pop and release juice as the kid mashed em up with the potato masher. Simmered the whole mass for about 10 min to make sure any wild microscopic hitchhikers were killed, then strained it all through cheesecloth.

Used a gallon worth of that juice in the 5 gal mel, and made Jelly with the rest of the juice. The must, when I made the batch, wasn't heated. The juice was bottled and in the fridge for a couple days before I brewed. The Melomel itself is almost 4 months old.
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
Thanks/Dammit! ;D (as the to-do list gets ever longer)

I've been thinking that perhaps heating the fruit does fix the colour like it suggests in one of my winemaking books, and I've certainly gotten a lot less colour extraction in an unheated JAO than I get in a wine where I pour hot sugar-water over the fruit... one more thing for the to-do list... and an idea how to keep the prickly pear colour in my must next time I get some on sale! I was going to make jelly out of the ones I peeled and froze, and I've never had jelly colours fade on me before.
 

Chris H

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 4, 2013
8
0
1
Fort Worth, TX
I would have never thought of using prickly pears. I remember my Grandmother used to make jelly when I was a kid with them.

Did you merely heat the juice to kill off unwanted microbes, simmer it a little, or get it to a boil and reduce it any? I was curious what a slight reduction might have on the juices and how it might effect everything overall.
 
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