Mead Journal: Red Raspberry
Ok, Update on this mead. Didn't do a gravity reading. I racked it another time. Really dark read color. Not so much that you see no light through it. I finnaly racked off of the pulp. I have in other containers the 1 1/2 gallons of pulp. It tastes very tart and not much sweet. And I think that I am at a volume of below 4 gallons due to all the pulp. Yikes. Ok, I plan on back sweetening this one but surely I can do it with less pulp next time. Less sediment. So it will need the extra sweetness. I think I shall add a 1/3 again honey, being 6 pounds and a gallon of water. This will be adding another 1 1/2 gallons of volume that hopefully should put this up to the 5-6 gallon mark. I did put in some potasium sorbate to kill off the yeast, so I wont worry about more fermentation and sweetness loss. Something to remember, red raspberry: Very potent and yeast loves it, lots of sediment, little volume. Back sweetening a MUST. So on Sunday I plan on adding the sweetness. I haven't added it yet. I need to let the potasium sorbate run it's course because it actually doesn't kill the yeast but stops the yeast from mupltiplying. Once that is done yeast actually have a short lifespan. Something like 2 days. I plan on giving it a week to work. Then on Sunday, sanitizing my brew bucket and equipment, puting in 1/2 gal of honey (6 pounds) in a gal of water. Heating it up to disovle the honey and kill off native yeasties in the honey. Then mixing in some potasium sorbate and some Sparkloid. The Sparkloid is a clarifying agent. Hopefully this will clarify the honey a bit. Then rack the whole mess together and put in my fermentation bucket with a muslm bag of lightly toasted oak. Leave on the Oak for 2 weeks and then put in another muslum bag with Thyme for 2 weeks. This will impart a little Thyme flavor but keep it from overpowering it. After I take out the Thyme then let sit for 2 months and rack to glass carboy. Then see if how it is in another 2 months. Hopefully bottle and then bottle age. That the time of bottling it will be ready to pass over the the patron of this with the caveat that they let it age for at least 6 months before cracking the first bottle. It should be wonderful at that time. Better yet a year of aging. That will bring it to not this comming spring but next spring, spring of 2012. Should be well aged and Yummy then. But should be drinkable at begining of fall 2011.
Now on to the Peach. I have yet to put in the Spearmint and it still needs much clearing. Looks like a bit of a muddy tea. I think that I got a lot of pulp still in micro form in it. I think that I may need to Sparkloid this one too. And cold crash it. I haven't oaked this one either. I will oak it with lightly toasted oak chips for 2 weeks. I think that 2 weeks is just long enough. And 1 month like I put the Orange Vannila on is too much. So, narrowing it down a bit. I plan on getting some fresh spearmint and going very light on it due to the light peach taste. Don't want to overpower it.
Pumpkin Toasted Almond Spice should be happy. I will be taking out the oak this coming sunday. That's two weeks for that. The Spice bag wont come out for another couple of weeks. I believe at the first sunday of 2011. Then taking out the Toasted Amonds and racking in Febuary. Racking to glass carboy at that time.
Future projects: Blueberry Lemon, Lemon Lime, Rockbiter: Light/Medium/Dark Toast Test. Possibly another Peach something, or chocolate or Lime. Probably Lime. Plan on getting the Blueberry Lemon and Lemon/Lime primaries started day after christmas. That should make it ready for consumption the summer of 2012. Hmm, Fall 2011 starting a cranberry finally?
That's all for now.
Now on to the Peach. I have yet to put in the Spearmint and it still needs much clearing. Looks like a bit of a muddy tea. I think that I got a lot of pulp still in micro form in it. I think that I may need to Sparkloid this one too. And cold crash it. I haven't oaked this one either. I will oak it with lightly toasted oak chips for 2 weeks. I think that 2 weeks is just long enough. And 1 month like I put the Orange Vannila on is too much. So, narrowing it down a bit. I plan on getting some fresh spearmint and going very light on it due to the light peach taste. Don't want to overpower it.
Pumpkin Toasted Almond Spice should be happy. I will be taking out the oak this coming sunday. That's two weeks for that. The Spice bag wont come out for another couple of weeks. I believe at the first sunday of 2011. Then taking out the Toasted Amonds and racking in Febuary. Racking to glass carboy at that time.
Future projects: Blueberry Lemon, Lemon Lime, Rockbiter: Light/Medium/Dark Toast Test. Possibly another Peach something, or chocolate or Lime. Probably Lime. Plan on getting the Blueberry Lemon and Lemon/Lime primaries started day after christmas. That should make it ready for consumption the summer of 2012. Hmm, Fall 2011 starting a cranberry finally?
That's all for now.