#5 New Moon Pomegranate Mead

Since it is around the time of the new moon, I went ahead and racked this one off the sediments and tried a sample. It's fermented down dry with very little detectable honey taste or aroma. It's pomegranate sour, no blueberry present (I used POM blueberry in this one). I've read that pomegranate wines and meads begin very sour but get much better, so I'm not worried. The sourness isn't unpleasant, just dominating. The color is sort of a light maroon.

I topped off with approx. 8 oz POM.

SG 1.00 (perhaps .999)

#9 Guajillo Mead

Added 1/4 tsp nutrient. Transferred to glass jug and airlocked.

SG 1.095

#9 Guajillo Mead

The mead seemed to be lagging badly, with no obvious bubbling or sound when I stirred. I added 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient and there was an immediate response.

#9 Guajillo Mead

Added about 5 more ounces of guajillo to the mix.

#4 Sassafras Metheglyn

I went ahead and racked this one off the sediments because I thought I saw something growing on the surface. It turns out it was nothing, thankfully. I did an SG reading and tasted it and it had burnt through the honey down to .995. I can't taste any sassafras, just a vague bitter/herbal undertone. I can taste the honey. I added another couple of ounces of wildflower honey and will probably add more in the future. I'll age this with sassafrass teabags after next racking, I think. It's already starting to clear and is golden pale, with a bare hint of orange.

Note: My OG reading (1.15) was definitely way off. I took it after the mead was bubbling, I believe, so the gas pushed up the hydrometer significantly. I know D47 can get up to 16% alcohol, but not 18%.

Honey and Sugar Content

I asked about this on the Got Mead? forums and was told by two more experienced mazers that honey definitely varies in sugar content enough to skew SG readings from what would be expected. I think I'll get more guajillo honey next time I'm at the store and feed the mix some more.

#9 Guajillo Mead

3 lb guajillo honey
5 oz partially milled organic sugar
tiny pinch tannin
pinch nutrient
pinch acid blend
handful of chopped dates and white raisins, unsulphited
two drops liquid pectic enzyme
Lalvin D47 yeast

I added the extra sugar to push the OG up, hopefully past the yeast's tolerance for some residual sweetness.

OG 1.116 (with the dates/raisins it should be higher)

According to the mead calculator the OG should be 1.124. I was careful with the water this time, so I'm not sure why it's that much lower. Anyway, I have heard good things about guajillo honey, so I decided to make an almost show mead. It's not a show mead because I added the dried fruit and nutrient as a nod to D47's nutrient requirements. The raw guajillo honey I sampled was interesting. It was almost clear, a very white honey, but with a strong honey flavor.

#8 Roasted Metheglyn

Guess who over-filled the jug? That would be me! I didn't lose much, I just hate having to wipe up the mess and clean out the airlock. Whoops.

To Brew List:

1. Blackberry wine. Unfortunately, I have to wait until they're in season. I can't seem to find pure blackberry juice.
2. Acerglyn, aka maple mead.
3. Garlic cooking wine. Only needs about 3 months aging, would probably make good gifts. Too bad I don't have enough time to get it made before XXXmas.
4. Black cherry wine. Can be made from juice, easy to find.
5. Citrus wine or mead. Probably this winter when they're in season.
6. One or two varietal meads: buckwheat, snowberry, mesquite, fireweed, tupelo.

#8 Roasted Metheglyn

Transferred to glass jug. Added 2 Roastaroma teabags and one vanilla bean.

SG 1.063

#8 Roasted Metheglyn

Removed mesh bag of raisins and squeezed, replaced with a few chopped dates. The smell of the fermenting raisins was really bothering me, for some reason. The dates have a better odor.

#3 Spiced Cyser

Racked onto 5 medium toast American oak cubes (approx 1/5 oz), added fresh cinnamon stick. Topped with more apple juice, same as original. Added pinch of pectic enzyme, as juice was unfiltered and very cloudy. The sample I tasted was very good. The honey and apple were most apparent, with a faint hint of cinnamon.

#8 Roasted Metheglyn

3 lb Stroope's Texas wildflower honey
12 oz Stroope's cotton blossom honey
1/4 tsp nutrient
1 cup unsulphited white raisins
tiny pinch tannin
juice of 1/2 lemon
4 teabags Celestial Seasonings brand Roastaroma tea
water to one gallon (actually, I mismeasured and added more than a gallon)
1 oz sucanat (evaporated cane juice)
KIV-1116 yeast

OG 1.115

Note: added 2 more oz sucanat awhile after pitching yeast, so I'm not sure what the SG would have been. Like I said above, I over-added the water.

#2 Zapatista Coffee Blossom Mead

Mead has cleared significantly. The color is a medium orange/amber.

#7 Blueberry Lavender Melomel

Added sprig of fresh rosemary and 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme.

#6 Pomegranate Wine

Added 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme. Fermentation has picked up immensely and is bubbling along at a very steady rate.

#5 New Moon Pomegranate Mead

Acting on the advice of more experienced mazers, I added 1/2 tsp pectic enzyme.

#7 Blueberry Lavender Melomel

Transferred to glass jug secondary. I put this one under airlock a little early due to an ant/fly problem. They didn't get in, but I didn't want to take the chance.

SG 1.062

#7 Blueberry Lavender Melomel

32 oz Knudsen's Just Blueberry juice, no additives/preservatives
36 oz. alfalfa honey
8 oz blackberry honey
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup dried lavender flowers
2 oz sugar
1/2 tsp nutrient
Lalvin D47 yeast

OG 1.113

#6 Pomegranate Wine

Transferred to glass jug secondary.

SG 1.12

This one is starting slow, according to that reading, but what I've read about Côtes des Blancs, that's normal.

#2 Zapatista Coffee Blossom Mead

Racked off sediments. Managed not to lose much of the mead. I tried a sample and it tastes very strongly like a young white wine, no honey taste evident. I plan on backsweetening with more honey.

#6 Pomegranate Wine

36 oz POM brand pomegranate juice
barley water to a gallon (1/2 lb barley cooked in water, strained)
3 lbs Florida Crystals sugar (more refined than turbinado, but not bleached out like white sugar)
1 tsp nutrient
Côtes des Blancs yeast

OG 1.15

Recipe adapted from Jack Keller. The guy is a complete jingoist with a shrine to Ronald Reagan, but he knows his wine.

#5 New Moon Pomegranate Mead

Transferred to glass jug secondary.

SG 1.05

#5 New Moon Pomegranate Mead

I decided to try to make this one by the moon cycle, after reading other's people's notes on increased yeast activity. I used the POM pomegranate/blueberry blend to ensure a good color.

32 oz POM brand pomegranate/blueberry (equals juice of about 10 pomegranates)
3 lb Stroope's Texas Wildflower Honey
1 tsp yeast nutrient
water to one gallon
Lalvin D47 yeast

OG 1.116

#4 Sassafras Metheglyn

Transferred to glass jug secondary.

SG 1.05

#1 Rose Vanilla Mead

Mead has cleared. The color is beautiful, a definite rose hue.