This is for anything fruit forward.
by /u/stormbeforedawn
Total Volume: 5 gallons
Style: Sweet cherry hibiscus mead
Carbonation: Still
Target Theoretical Original Gravity: 1.194-1.237
Target Final Gravity: 1.050-1.070
Target ABV: 21%
Target YAN: 404 effective PPM
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 18 lbs | Raspberry blossom, primary and staggered |
| Honey | 6-12 lbs | Raspberry blossom, secondary and to taste |
| Hibiscus | 1 lbs | Be careful about pesticides. Some flowers are not meant for consumption. |
| Tart Cherries | 24 lbs | |
| Oak | 2 Spirals | Med toast American oak. May use cube at preference. |
| GoFerm PE | 18.8 g | |
| Fermaid O | 8.5 g | |
| Fermaid K | 9.5 g | |
| DAP | 19.0 g | |
| Pectic Enzyme | 2.5 tsp | |
| Bentonite | 40 g | |
| Lavin 1118 | 15 g | Rehydrate in the Go Ferm using 300 ml water at 105 F |
Method:
Note: This is a staggered sugar addition mead. It's process is non-standard.
Notes: OG is theoretical due to staggered sugar. Target ABV is 21%. Consider spices after backsweetening. Hops, ginger and others are iconic to Viking Blod. Other honey can be used, this is just what mine was and I really like the total package this way. The big influence will be how much you backsweeten for this recipe.
by /u/stormbeforedawn
Total Volume: 5 gallons
Style: Melomel
Carbonation: No
Starting Gravity: 1.202
Target Final Gravity: 1.023-1.042
Target ABV: 20-22%
Target YAN: 404 effective PPM
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 25 pounds | Wildflower |
| Cherries, tart | 17 lbs | frozen, local |
| Cherries, sweet | 8 lbs | frozen, local |
| Lavin 1118 | 15 g | |
| Lactobacillus | 1 package | |
| Brandy | 750 mL | VSOP |
| Hops | 2 oz | Saaz |
| Cinnamon | 2 sticks | |
| Ginger | 1 lbs, cubed | |
| Med Toast American Oak | 1 Spiral | |
| GoFerm PE | 18.8 g | |
| Fermaid O | 14 g | |
| Fermaid K | 9.5 g | |
| DAP | 19.0 g |
Additional Notes:
This is one of my older Dwojniak style meads. Some of the others, like Viking Blod and Wedding Wine #3 have more thorough directions on the staggered sugar and nutrition. This one is left as is for posterity's sake.
(by /u/stormbeforedawn)
Total Volume: 17 gallons
Style: Tart cherry Blackcurrant Melomel
Carbonation: Still
Target Theoretical Original Gravity: 1.215
Target Final Gravity: 1.050
Target ABV: 20.5%
Target YAN: 300 effective PPM
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 75 lbs | Raspberry blossom, staggered |
| Tart Cherries | 200 lbs | Tart |
| Black Currant | 48 lbs | |
| Grains of Paradise | 1/4 cup | Crushed with mortar and pestle |
| Oak | 2 Spirals | Med toast American oak. May use cube at preference. |
| GoFerm PE | 64.7 g | |
| Fermaid O | 29.0 g | |
| Fermaid K | 32.0 g | |
| DAP | 54.2 g | |
| Pectic Enzyme | 8.5 tsp | |
| Bentonite | 136 g | |
| Lavin 1118 | 51 g | Rehydrate in the Go Ferm using 1L water at 105 F |
Method:
Note: This is a staggered sugar addition mead. It's process is non-standard.
Additional Notes:
Staggered sugar meads are tough to tackle, but the port like flavors are well worth it. OG is theoretical due to staggered sugar. Target ABV is 20.5%. Another honey can be used, this is just what mine was and I really like the total package this way.
(by /u/shininghero)
Total Volume: 1 gallon
Style: Viking's Blood (Cherry melomel), Short mead
Carbonation: Still
Starting Gravity: 1.052-1.056
Target Gravity: 1.00-1.01
Target ABV: 7.4%
Target YAN: 76 effective PPM
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 12 fl. oz. | Wildflower or clover honey can be used here |
| Cherries | 2 lbs | Preferably Bing Cherries. They'll be labelled as dark sweet in the store. |
| Fermax | 3 g | Or Fermaid-K |
| Yeast | Wyeast 1388 |
Method:
Additional Notes:
This is a basic, quick-and-dirty recipe ready for the hotter summer months. I intend for it to finish dry so I can add sweeten or flavor it as necessary.
Most of the redness seems to come from the skin of the cherries. This could be due to the yeast eating the cherries as food, or the pectic enzyme I added to prevent pectin haze. Either way, I'm expecting a very deep red color for this mead.
(by /u/stormbeforedawn)
Total Volume: 5 gallons
Style: Tart melomel
Carbonation: Yes
Starting Gravity: 1.153
Target Final Gravity: 1.010-1.015
Target ABV: 18%
Target YAN: 241 effective PPM
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 20 pounds | |
| Pineapple | 1 | Skin, core and chop |
| Grapefruit | 12 | Juiced and zested (won't need much zest if any) |
| Yeast | Lavin 1118 | |
| Med Toast American Oak | 1 Spiral | |
| GoFerm PE | 12.5 g | |
| Fermaid O | 8.5 g | |
| Fermaid K | 9.5 g | |
| DAP | 10.7 g | |
| Bentonite | 40 g |
Additional Notes:
Also can be done as a refreshing hydromel by reducing OG to ~1.050. Still use 1118 but only use 9g FermK for nutrient, no DAP or FermO.
(by /u/stormbeforedawn)
Total Volume: 5 gallon
Style: Mixed Fruit Melomel, Short mead
Starting Gravity: 1.042-1.060
Target Gravity: 1.00-1.018
Target ABV: 4.5%
Target YAN: 48 effective PPM
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 6 lbs | Wildflower or clover honey can be used here |
| Lactose | 1 lbs | |
| Erythritol | 1 lbs | |
| Mixed Fruit | 10-15 lbs | Costco frozen fruit triple berry blend |
| Oranges | 8 large | Zested and Juiced, pith discarded, and frozen until use. |
| Fermaid K | 9 g | |
| Goferm PE | 14 g | |
| Lallemand Saison | 11 g | |
| Bentonite | 40 g | |
| Pectic Enzyme | 2.5 tsp |
Method:
Additional Notes:
This is a basic, quick-and-dirty recipe that is ready for easy drinking hotter summer months.
(by /u/turkeychicken)
Total volume: 2 gallons
Style: melomel, short mead
Starting Gravity: 1.064
Target Gravity: 1.000 (back sweetened to 1.014)
Target ABV: 7.4%
Target YAN: 404 effective PPM
Primary Ingredients:
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 3 lbs | I used wildflower, but any neutral honey should work |
| Mangoes | 2 lbs | I used frozen chunked mangoes |
| Water | 2 gallons | top up with enough water to reach 2 gal |
| Black Peppercorns | 3/4 tbsp | freshly crushed |
| Yeast | 1 smack pack | Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale |
Secondary Ingredients:
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mangoes | 2 lbs | I used frozen chunked mangoes |
Back sweetening Ingredients:
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 3/4 lbs | for back sweetening |
| K-meta | per instructions | for stabilizing |
| K-sorbate | per instructions | for stabilizing |
Instructions:
Additional instructions:
I performed an SNA and aerating/degassing schedule where I'd aerate/degas 3x per day until the 1/3 sugar break and added 1/4 of a nutrient/energizer mix at pitch, 24 hrs, 48 hrs and at the 1/3 sugar break. It took me about 5 days to reach the 1/3 sugar break.
Total fermentation time for me was 82 days. It was in primary for 25 days and secondary for 57 days.
An additional recommendation would be to put the mangoes in a sack since they turn to mush after sitting in the mead for a while and it makes racking a real pain.
Everyone who has tried this one has really enjoyed it. The peppercorn is subtle but carries a nice tingle on the back of the tongue. The fruitiness from the mangoes and the sweetness from the honey are a nice counterbalance to the pepper.
The idea behind this was to try making something similar to B Nektar's NecroMangoCon
(by /u/Tin_Can115)
Total Volume: 12L / 3.2 GAL
Style: Single fruit melomel
Starting Gravity: 1.1
Target Gravity (pre-backsweeten): 1.00
Target Gravity (backsweeten): 1.01-1.03
Target ABV: 12%
Target YAN: 404 effective PPM
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 4KG / 8.8lbs | Wildflower, I use wildflower with large amounts of blackberry bushes as the flora. |
| Blackberry | 1.5KG / 3.3LBS | I get it from frozen supplier in the UK Brakes, but any frozen work or fresh but process will differ slightly. |
| Fermaid K | 6 g | |
| DAP | 3.7 g | |
| Fermaid O | 5.4 g | |
| Lavlin EC-1118 | 7g |
Method:
Additional Notes:
This is super nice chilled, over ice even and is a refreshing drink. At 3 months its smooth and refreshing and I can only assume it will improve with age.
(by /u/stormbeforedawn)
Total Volume: 5 gallon
Style: Mixed Fruit Melomel, Short mead
Starting Gravity: 1.049
Target Gravity: 1.012
Target ABV: 6%
Target YAN: 48 effective PPM
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 5 lbs | Wildflower or clover honey can be used here |
| Habanero | 3 | Fresh or frozen, seeds in and halved |
| Erythritol | 1.5 lbs | |
| Mango | 15 lbs | Frozen |
| Fermaid K | 9 g | |
| Goferm PE | 14 g | |
| Lallemand Saison | 11 g | |
| Bentonite | 40 g | |
| Pectic Enzyme | 2.5 tsp |
Method:
Additional Notes:
This is a basic, quick-and-dirty recipe that is ready for easy drinking hotter summer months. Pepper and fruit levels can be modified, and it does really well with oak. 2 spirals Med Toast American is a good starting point.
(by /u/stormbeforedawn)
Total Volume: 5 gallon
Style: Mixed Fruit Melomel
Starting Gravity: 1.140
Target Gravity: 1.030-1.040
Target ABV: 18%
Target YAN: 460 effective PPM
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 19.5 lbs | Orange blossom |
| Cranberry juice | 3 gallons | Not all juice is the same, you want it as strong as you can get, not from concentrate ideally |
| Oranges | 8 large | Zested and Juiced, pith discarded, and frozen until use. |
| Fermaid O | 24.6 | |
| Fermaid K | 9.5 g | |
| DAP | 18 g | |
| Goferm PE | 25 g | |
| Bentonite | 13 g | |
| Pectic Enzyme | 2.5 tsp | |
| Lalvin 1118 | 20 g |
Method:
Additional Notes:
This is very tart, and is an assault of orange and cranberry. Consider oak to mute acidity if it gets unbalanced. Due to the unique acids of cranberries this method of holding a desired FG can be more reliable than others for getting a high ABV cranberry ferment. Expect final ABV of 16-19%. Target YAN is ~450 as well. Final volume will be a good bit over 5 gallons, use a large enough bucket for overage. Normally staggering honey would result in ABV overrun, but the inhibition of cranberry can knock down on that hard.