Sorry Ron , I'll save a sample for you.
No label for the mead yet. Title under consideration--Bee's bane, because several bees met their maker in this boil. Also, riffing off of Scott, George Herbert Mead. But if this is good, Scott really should have dibs on that in case he decides to make some. (BTW, I am definitely not used to ceding the pragmatist canon to others like this. It is a sign of my utmost respect for Dr. pratt's combination of erudition and beer making talents.)
Mead recipe is relatively simple.
~ 10 lbs of honey (about half was honey from bees feeding on blackberries, the rest was wildflower honey), a few pounds of blackberries and marrion berries reduced and strained, then a couple of jars of pure blackberry juice.
This made about 6 gallons so I split it in two. OG = 1.150. If this reduced to 1.020 with, say a champagne yeast, it would make 17% alcohol mead. Champagne yeast alcohol tolerance is 18%, so this is possible. This is about average for a strong dry mead. If the yeast stops earlier, you just get a sweeter mead.
I used pacman yeast starters in the first stage--because, you know, why not. I had them. The starters, perhaps unwisely, were made with malt and hops, but I am hoping that is drowned out by the honey and juice. (Scott you can quit laughing till these are finished.)
Tonight, I added the always intended second half of a wort to these batches. I siphoned into secondary, then added a wort made from same honey combo, reduced blackberries from Jason and Joanna's back yard, and a small bottle of three different juices--we'll see if anyone can identify them next year when this stuff is ready. The OG of the added wort was also 1.150.
I, of course, took a sample from the already fermented batches, the gravity on these was 1.080 and 1.075. 9.1% ABV and 9.8% ABV respectively. Note...Pacman has some staying power.
O.K., let's taste...I have some bread, cheese, and really green mead to sample. I'll try the sweeter one first (higher gravity). Not bad. Still very sweet. You can taste the alcohol--it is like a weak or watered down fruit brandy. Oh...that is pretty fine tasting. It is lighter on the front of the taste, then gets sweeter over time, leaving a warm sweet aftertaste with just a little berry tartness. Can't tell if it has a nose, because I have a cold.
O.K., now the other one...it smelled a little odd during the siphon, from what I could tell. Hmmm...not much difference--maybe a little more alcohol warmth. It almost has a plum like sweetness to it. Yes, tastes more like plum than blackberry to me.
No trace of hops in either one.
I intend to carbonate these, making sparkling fruit flavoed mead (melomel is the proper term for this I think.) Carbonation will make these lighter bodied. After tasting them, I can't wait.
As was always my plan, I am adding new yeast to these with the addition of new wort. I pitched one of these batches with a Wyeast Sweet Mead smack pack. It purports to take things up to 11% ABV. I have attempted to make two champagne yeast starters for the other one. That will allegedly make a drier, much more high alcohol Mead. Given how good they taste right now, I suppose someone might want to talk me out of pitching the champagne yeast--and just let the pac man ride. I'll wait a few days and talk to Ron.
Anyway--an auspicious beginning.
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