Mead Batch 2
Mint Mead
- 6 lbs clover honey
- 6 lbs mesquite honey
- 6 oz fresh mint
- yeast nutrient
- yeast energizer
- Lalvin D 47 yeast
- Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast
Dissolve the honey in ~2 gallons of hot water. Simmer for a bit. Turn off the heat and add 3 oz mint. Cool to ~100F add the nutrient and energizer and pitch yeast per directions on the packet. -23:06, 15 June 2011 (EST)
IG: 1.180 @ 99F = 1.1867 @ 60F
Racked off the mint leaves a bit later than I meant to. Yay yeasty orangina smell. I wonder how much of the mint aroma/flavor will come through in the final product. It's still looking very thick. This is going to be a powerful batch when it's done. I'll probably dilute it a bit when I rack again and repitch and also top off the fermenter. --Morrigu 16:54, 10 July 2011 (EST)
Racked again. Still very sweet. Managed to stir up the bottom a little so I got more of the residual crud than I meant to. Repitched with RedStar Premier Cuvee yeast and topped off with 105F boiled water to a little over 3 gallons total. --Morrigu 12:37, 8 August 2011 (EST)
Racked again off of a pretty significant yeast bed. Starting to clarify. Still very sweet, but the honey flavor is starting to dominate again. I'll probably go with more fresh mint a couple of days before bottling, since the mint flavor seems to be missing at this point, though the sweetness and yeastiness could be masking it if it's a delicate flavor. --Morrigu 18:12, 9 September 2011 (EST)
Amusingly, it's still outgassing pretty significantly. It's also gotten cloudier again. I think the cuvee yeast may finally be taking over. Here's hoping that the next time I taste it, it's not quite as sweet. -Morrigu 08:30, 16 September 2011 (EST)
Racked again to get it off of the scuzz and yeast that was on the bottom of the fermenter. The nasty acetone flavor that was there last time I tasted it is gone, and now it's coming through as a sweet, though not quite cloying, honey mead with a slightly vegetal and very subtle mint finish. I want to bring the mint out a little more, so I'm pondering adding either another ounce of fresh mint or a little bit of mint extract. Not sure which to go with. -Morrigu 26 February 2012
Bottled. Added 3 oz of mint 4 days before bottling. Still very sweet, but balanced a bit by the mintiness. Failed to get a terminal gravity. Definitely something to drink in small quantities. -Morrigu 21:34, 13 March 2012 (EST)
FSG: 1.096 @ 66F = 1.0966 @ 60F = 12.46% ABV
Started with Loken and Katie
