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Mead Journal: Bottling Day
Ok so I bottled an epic 3 batches today. I say epic because each batch was 2 cases each and I needed to wash all of my de-labled bottles. I couldn't bottle the 4th batch that is ready to bottle as I only had 1 case and 1 six pack of de-labled bottles left and it will take 2 cases and 2 six packs, about, as it is a 6 gal batch. So the Lemon Lime didn't get bottled.
Here's the Score in order of bottling (a very tiring day):
Pumpkin Toasted Almond: Some sour notes but that is due to the fact that it is a bit less sweet than the other factors. It had a sort of darker flaver imparted by the Medium Toasted Oak, I think. This one should turn out fine but I think that it requires at least 8 months of aging to be palatable, prob a full year. Not much nose but color is a nice amber to dark amber.
Peach Spearmint: The sublty of the Peach really came to the fore and that brought the spearmint as a background note. Sweetness is very high on this one. Oh, god I can tell that after aging this is going to be a really good mead. Good Nose and color is lighter than the pumpkin and looks good, very clear. I think that this one is going to be a killer mead. Aging, should be around 6 months but I think that 8 months to a year would do wonders. In the OMG what is this and how do I get more, type of wonder.
Raspberry Thyme: This ended up a verry deep red color that goes to opaque red with in about 1-2 inches deep. This one is very sweet and a little tart from the raspberry. I can barely discern the Thyme notes but it is there and serves well to cut the sweetness and the Raspberry tartness and overall candyness of it. I think that it was a great pairing of flavors. The scent is just amazing. A sensitive nose can smell the raspberry and the Thyme. I don't have a sensitive nose but I can barley descern it. I am sure that this will age very well. Due to the Tannins inherent in Raspberries and the mix, I recomend at least 8 months aging. It does have some Fusel alcohols. For some reason yeast loves raspberries. This fermented dry quickly and I needed to backsweeten it. I stablaized and backsweetened it, then thymed it and oaked it with lightly toasted oak chips for 3 weeks. That should smooth it out some. I think that If I do Raspberry in the future that I will try a Raspberry Basil. Thyme was a great complement though. I can't wait for this to age so that I get a taste of it. I ended up with an extra bottle beyond the 2 cases. That bottle I am hoping to save and taste when it's aged. But I digress. I feel that Ziz is going to be very happy with this once it ages, although a depserate person could drink this now. Just a little alcoholic bite. I also don't have the lable design done yet. I have been slowed down on that score due to the busyness of the current and next few weeks and that my computer is dying. I need to get the images, I have not yet found an adaquate farie image to put on it. I got some great red Raspberry picts and a few Awesome Thyme picts. I had no Idea that Thyme's flowers were purple. They look quite beautiful. So Lable design is on that.
UP next is bottle delableing, Clean 4 carboys, start 2 primaries for the Chocolate and Chocolate Mint. Bottle Lemon/Lime Mead. Rack Blueberry Lemon Mead and Oak in a few months.
Fall: Start Trinary Rockbitter, Pumpkin Nut, Raspberry Basil (?)
Other News: I got more bottles. 11 cases for inexpensive, just need to delable them. So bottle supply is about 18 cases. This will make about 8-9 batches. Considering I have 2 in the carboy and 5 planed, this makes it 14 cases needed, so that will leave about 4 cases or 2 batches. Hmmm. I have had 2 people want more blueberry. One for Robz, said he can't drink for 3 more years but he wants one ready for it. I am honered that he wants my mead for his long break from alcohol ending. The other person that wants blueberry is Anabelle. She told me that she was thinking on saving up for a batch. I also won't hear the end of it if I don't have another Strawberry on the docket. Even though it was rocket fuel, due to a primary infusing of the strawberries, people loved it. So, I think that I will have no troubles filling that slot. I loved the Lime so much that I want to do another one. That would be a Spring/Summer batch at least for timeing.
Definite on docket:
Chocolate Mead
Chocolate Mint Mead
Trinary batch
Pumpkin Nut
Raspberry Basil(?)
That's 7 batches. I have 7 carboys but currently 2 are filled. I don't think that the Blueberry Lemon is going to be ready by fall so that will make it 6 batches. I think that the Raspberry Basil will need to wait, with supplies in the freezer for the clearing of that carboy.
The Plan:
2 Chocolates: Primary in a couple of weeks, Secondary by mid august on the cacao nibs and vanilla. Racking off of that in the fall?
Honey Buy in late summer (Aug/Sept)
Trinary Rockbitter batch (Labor Day?) Primary with rack to secondary middle october.
Pumpkin Nut: Primary in early October. Secondary in mid November when the pumpkins for pie making come out.
Buy Red Raspberries in Aug/Sept and put in Freezer.
Maybe start the Red Raspberry late November/Early December depending on when I can bottle the Blueberry Lemon.
That is all for now. sorry for long post.
Here's the Score in order of bottling (a very tiring day):
Pumpkin Toasted Almond: Some sour notes but that is due to the fact that it is a bit less sweet than the other factors. It had a sort of darker flaver imparted by the Medium Toasted Oak, I think. This one should turn out fine but I think that it requires at least 8 months of aging to be palatable, prob a full year. Not much nose but color is a nice amber to dark amber.
Peach Spearmint: The sublty of the Peach really came to the fore and that brought the spearmint as a background note. Sweetness is very high on this one. Oh, god I can tell that after aging this is going to be a really good mead. Good Nose and color is lighter than the pumpkin and looks good, very clear. I think that this one is going to be a killer mead. Aging, should be around 6 months but I think that 8 months to a year would do wonders. In the OMG what is this and how do I get more, type of wonder.
Raspberry Thyme: This ended up a verry deep red color that goes to opaque red with in about 1-2 inches deep. This one is very sweet and a little tart from the raspberry. I can barely discern the Thyme notes but it is there and serves well to cut the sweetness and the Raspberry tartness and overall candyness of it. I think that it was a great pairing of flavors. The scent is just amazing. A sensitive nose can smell the raspberry and the Thyme. I don't have a sensitive nose but I can barley descern it. I am sure that this will age very well. Due to the Tannins inherent in Raspberries and the mix, I recomend at least 8 months aging. It does have some Fusel alcohols. For some reason yeast loves raspberries. This fermented dry quickly and I needed to backsweeten it. I stablaized and backsweetened it, then thymed it and oaked it with lightly toasted oak chips for 3 weeks. That should smooth it out some. I think that If I do Raspberry in the future that I will try a Raspberry Basil. Thyme was a great complement though. I can't wait for this to age so that I get a taste of it. I ended up with an extra bottle beyond the 2 cases. That bottle I am hoping to save and taste when it's aged. But I digress. I feel that Ziz is going to be very happy with this once it ages, although a depserate person could drink this now. Just a little alcoholic bite. I also don't have the lable design done yet. I have been slowed down on that score due to the busyness of the current and next few weeks and that my computer is dying. I need to get the images, I have not yet found an adaquate farie image to put on it. I got some great red Raspberry picts and a few Awesome Thyme picts. I had no Idea that Thyme's flowers were purple. They look quite beautiful. So Lable design is on that.
UP next is bottle delableing, Clean 4 carboys, start 2 primaries for the Chocolate and Chocolate Mint. Bottle Lemon/Lime Mead. Rack Blueberry Lemon Mead and Oak in a few months.
Fall: Start Trinary Rockbitter, Pumpkin Nut, Raspberry Basil (?)
Other News: I got more bottles. 11 cases for inexpensive, just need to delable them. So bottle supply is about 18 cases. This will make about 8-9 batches. Considering I have 2 in the carboy and 5 planed, this makes it 14 cases needed, so that will leave about 4 cases or 2 batches. Hmmm. I have had 2 people want more blueberry. One for Robz, said he can't drink for 3 more years but he wants one ready for it. I am honered that he wants my mead for his long break from alcohol ending. The other person that wants blueberry is Anabelle. She told me that she was thinking on saving up for a batch. I also won't hear the end of it if I don't have another Strawberry on the docket. Even though it was rocket fuel, due to a primary infusing of the strawberries, people loved it. So, I think that I will have no troubles filling that slot. I loved the Lime so much that I want to do another one. That would be a Spring/Summer batch at least for timeing.
Definite on docket:
Chocolate Mead
Chocolate Mint Mead
Trinary batch
Pumpkin Nut
Raspberry Basil(?)
That's 7 batches. I have 7 carboys but currently 2 are filled. I don't think that the Blueberry Lemon is going to be ready by fall so that will make it 6 batches. I think that the Raspberry Basil will need to wait, with supplies in the freezer for the clearing of that carboy.
The Plan:
2 Chocolates: Primary in a couple of weeks, Secondary by mid august on the cacao nibs and vanilla. Racking off of that in the fall?
Honey Buy in late summer (Aug/Sept)
Trinary Rockbitter batch (Labor Day?) Primary with rack to secondary middle october.
Pumpkin Nut: Primary in early October. Secondary in mid November when the pumpkins for pie making come out.
Buy Red Raspberries in Aug/Sept and put in Freezer.
Maybe start the Red Raspberry late November/Early December depending on when I can bottle the Blueberry Lemon.
That is all for now. sorry for long post.