View source for Arschwein Version 1.0

In the interest of version control, I've now increased the revision of the Arschwein recipe to Rev. 1.0. The first Arschwein was a little too sweet, and lacked the distinct almond flavor I was looking for. Therefore, using lessons-learned from the previous two mead recipes, plus some brewing advice from the illustrious John Ranson, I have compiled a new recipe with (hopefully) a few improvements.

Ingredients:

3.5 lbs mesquite honey (I am in love with this particular type of honey, and if all goes as planned, I think the slight smoky flavor will accentuate the nut flavor nicely, just like with the Arschwein cookies)

1 gallon H2O

1/3 package wine yeast (lesson learned from last time - 1/3 package is more than enough to get the fermentation started, and in addition to avoiding the yeast-bomb taste, also results in less smeg at the bottom of the carboy when all is said and done)

2 1-oz bottles almond extract

1 tsp Fermax yeast nutrient

1/2 tsp K-sorbate (for stabilization at the end of the process)

Tools:

1 gallon hill-folk jug

1 "Terlet-pipe-shaped" gas trap and associated rubber stopper*

1 pot capable of holding at least 1 gallon of liquid

1 long-handled spoon (capable of reaching the bottom of aforementioned pot)

1 auto-siphon

1 bottle food grade iodine and a big sink for sterilization 


Since I had such a problem with getting the almond flavor into the mead during the fermentation process, Ranson suggested that I instead include the strong almond flavoring right before the clarification process. Therefore Arschwein v1.0 will be a straight-up sweet mead followed with a flavoring of almond. As per standard brewing procedure, sterilize the everliving beejebus out of all your equipment, before handling the foodstuffs. Make the must by slowly adding the mesquite honey into the pot containing the water. Heat and skim. Cover and cool all the way down to room temperature before stirring in yeast and yeast nutrient. Siphon the honey-water into the hill-folk jug and ferment for approximately 3 weeks (racking after the 2 week mark and monitoring the taste until appropriate). Stabilize with K-sorbate after 3 weeks; at this time, also add the 2 bottles of almond extract. Siphon flavored mead back into hill-folk jug and wait until absolutely crystal clear before bottling (having learned from the last batch of Arschwein, which was a cloudy-ass mess). Further bulletins as events warrant.

Edit: God what a disappointment. This thing tastes even worse than the first one. Maybe it's because I used even more extract than last time, AND I didn't ferment it out. It has that same gross chemical quality as that Robitussin-vanilla-mead, and I realize that must be a property of using an extract. No more... ugh, no more. This thing needs to age for a long long time before the nasty medicinal taste comes out of it. I think I just need to come to terms with the fact that you can't get almond flavor in a mead. I guess I will just stick with making the Father-Hating and Shame mead from now on - spices seem to just work better in brewing.

Edit: I keep constantly being surprised at how aging drastically improves the taste of a mead. This formerly chemical-tasting piece of crap turned into a delightfully nutty sweet beverage a mere 4 weeks later. I just got an order for a case of this stuff, so I guess that means that I will let the case sit for a month before giving it to my customer. Hooray for the aging process!