Having never tasted a mead before, I decided to make my own. I searched the internet for a plain old textbook mead recipe but was surprised to find that most recipes are flavored with additional fruits or herbs (later, I learned that this is because honey and water alone don't contain all the nutrients yeast need to thrive). Not knowing this, I attempted to aggregate all the recipes I had found into a sort of mean honey to water ratio and ferment that but then I spotted a bag of dried hibiscus flowers during a walk through the grocery store and decided to go with Jack Keller's hibiscus mead recipe. Jamaica the beverage is delicious, so it followed hibiscus mead would be, also.
May 6, 2012 Recipe:
pH: 3.06 titratable acidity: 7 g/L specific gravity: 1.160 residual sugar (Balling): 37% potential alcohol: 22% ABV May 7, 2012 Since my primary fermenter is in use at the moment (loquat wine), I used an empty 3-gallon carboy as a primary for the mead. I inoculated the must with Champagne yeast.     May 8, 2012 Agitated must. There is a layer of opaque liquid over semi-translucent liquid. Tiny champagne-like bubbles are present. May 9, 2012 Agitated must. May 10, 2012 Agitated must. The must is all opaque now. Tiny bubbles continue rising. The fermentation is not nearly as vigorous as the loquat wine in the nearby primary. May 15, 2012  May 19, 2012 pH: 3.11 specific gravity: 1.070 (approx. 12% ABV) residual sugar: 17.5% May 26, 2012 There are no longer bubbles visible but air occasionally is released through the airlock. I measured the pH at 3.06. I dissolved 6 grams (about 1.5 tsp) calcium carbonate in a pint of distilled water and added about two thirds of that solution to the mead and stirred. The final pH was 3.35. Jed is not thrilled about the chalky flavor but that should precipitate over time. I racked it into the secondary and topped it off with about a half gallon of distilled water. There is still some room at the top--I need to select a nice sweet white wine to blend with. June 24, 2012 Since I only have one 3-gallon carboy, I racked the mead into a 5-gallon carboy, sanitized the 3-gallon, then racked it back into that. It tastes complex--sweet, unique fermented honey flavor is very pronounced, hibiscus flavor is subtle, alcohol content feels mild on the palate. I topped it off with a bottle of 2011 Apothic White, which was fairly sweet as well. I'll need another white wine--the carboy is not completely full. I filled the remaining airspace with argon. July 29, 2012 Since the fermentation stopped at a relatively low ABV, and I had an extra pack of Premier Cuvée from making mead at Gavin’s house, I started up some yeast in a cup of warm water, a pinch of nutrient, and a splash of organic sour mix, then added it to the carboy. Fermentation picked up again and the airlock is bubbling regularly now. August 2, 2012 Fermentation slowed considerably by this point but small amounts of tiny bubbles are still rising to the surface. August 18, 2012 There is no visible activity but air is pushing outward against the vodka in the airlock, so there is marginal fermentation taking place. October 8, 2012 I racked the mead off the lees into a new carboy. May 20, 2013 specific gravity: 1.022 (18.5% ABV -- holy crap!) Absolutely delicious! The hibiscus flavor is not very apparent but it still tastes great. We bottled the mead and stored it on the shelf to age. |
|
|