Mead 2014.04

For this session of beer church, we made mead. Instead of doing one large 5 gallon batch, which would have been really expensive (because honey ain't cheap, Honey!), we each made 1 gallon batches of mead. Each batch was flavored uniquely depending on who was making it.

Overview

• Style: Mead
• Codename: Myriad of Meads
• Brewmaster: Eric Stein
• Type: Honey Wine
• Brewed: 2014-11-16

Brew Participants

Those who stuck through thick and thin:

• Eric
• Donna
• Michael
• Justin
• Arturo
• Joseph
• Ryan

Brewing

Each participant had slightly different techniques for their brew. See below for individual recipes. These are listed roughly in the order that people actually made their mead.

Eric & Donna

Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry Mead

• 7oz blueberries
• 7oz blackberries
• 7oz raspberries
• 1 cup water

smash up all the berries and simmer all of above ingredients for a few minutes until largely liquefied. strain through cheesecloth, keep only liquid.

• 46 oz unpasteurized honey

add all of the above to a pot and top up to 1 gallon with water. Heat while continaully stirring to 150F.

• 1 tsp LD carlsen yeast nutrient and stir until dissolved.

Cool to 100F or below with an ice bath or other method and pour into glass 1 gallon jug.

• 1/2 tsp raspberry extract.

Cool to 75F and add yeast. 4184 sweet mead wyyeast, 1/6th of a smackpack.

Justin

Blueberry and Raspberry Mead.

• 48oz Sunny Hill Honey
• Enough tap water to bring it up to a gallon
• Heat mixture to 161°F while stirring to pasteurize
• Remove from Heat
• Add 1tbsp Blueberry Extract
• Add 2tbsp Raspberry Extract
• Cool mixture to 80°F
• Transfer to 1 gallon jug
• Add 1tsp Yeast Nutrient (Diammonium phosphate)
• Add 20mL Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast (4184)

The plan is to let it ferment for 1 or 2 weeks (until it's done), then transfer it to another container and let it age for roughly 11 months.

• Initial Gravity: 1.114
• Racking Gravity: ???
• Final Gravity: ???

Ryan

Ginger and Nutmeg Mead

• 3 lbs Honey
• 3/4 oz grated fresh ginger
• Some ground nutmeg (mistake, didn't realize we had whole nutmeg)
• Some whole nutmeg
• Added cold water to jug to top up to near 1 gal
• 1 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Diammonium Phosphate)
• 1/2 tsp Yeast Nutrient (B Vitamin Complex & Thiamine)

Fermenting notes:

• Initial Gravity: 1.074
• Racking Gravity: ???
• Final Gravity: ???

Fermenting

• Primary ferment: 1 gallon Carboy
• 1tsp Yeast Nutrient (Diammonium Phosphate)
• 20mL Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast