BeerSmith™ Recipe Cloud

Notes

Any berries will do, I use saskatoons Freeze & Thaw berries (freezing the berries will break down fibers and help extract as much goodness as possible) Dissolve pectin enzymes in warm water and had to the berries in a large bowl Mash with a potato masher to break open Add 4 liters warm water to primary bucket and dissolve bentonite (optional) Add honey and stir to dissolve Add berries and all the juices Add water to 15L Adjust gravity with more honey or granulated sugar, anywhere between 1.075 & 1.1 will work great Add acid blend, yeast nutrient and yeast energizer Aerate vigourously for a couple minutes Pitch yeast Agitate for 2 minutes for the first 2 days Rack after 14-21 days Fermentation should be done (0.998 or lower) if not, leave it alone until it is. Leave sediment and fruit skins behind Age for a minimum of 3 months (6 months if you have the patience) For a more traditional mead, add 30gr of oak cubes or chips for the last 14-28 days of aging. (I recommend it) I put the oak in a muslin bag and add a few sanitized stainless steel or glass marbles to sink the bag. Rack and let sit for 5-7 days At this point, your mead is ready to be bottled. Bottle only when completely clear! Age at least 2 months in bottles If you are going to backsweeten the mead, Add: .5 tsp potassium metabisulfite After 24-48 hrs, add: 1 tsp potassium sorbate You want to wait 1 or 2 days for the metabisulfite to work before adding sorbate. The sulfites will kill any malolactic bacteria present. If you add sorbate to an active malolactic culture, it will get turned into a "geranium smelling" ester that will never age out. Wait 24-48 hrs before backsweetening Then let sit for 5-7 days to make sure fermentation doen't startup again Bottle and age for at least 2 months To backsweeten, dissolve corn sugar in warm water and add to the mead until desired sweeteness is reached. Dry mead - 0.990 to 1.006 Medium - 1.006 to 1.013 Sweet - 1.013 to 1.020 Dessert - 1.020+ Make sure that you sweeten in small increments and taste frequently. It is very easy to over do it.... Personnaly, 1.010 is the sweetest i would go.