# Latest Batches......



## fatbloke (May 3, 2010)

Just made up 3 x 1 gallon batches (photo attached), using some honeys that I've had for a while and had intended making up.

If I can, I like to use the local honey wholesaler/apiarist supplier. He doesn't carry a huge range of honeys and the ones he keeps are aimed at mainly "eating", as opposed to mead making.

Of the 3 gallon batches in the picture, from left to right, Italian Chestnut honey, then Mexican Clear honey in the centre and on the right is "Marlenes Summer Blossom with Wild Blossom" honey (blended honey that's packed for a local branch of Lidl - a German food discounter).

The Italian and Mexican ones are made up to a ratio of 3lb/1.36kg per gallon, with water, 200mls of strong tea (forgot to go to the HBS for tannin), 1 tsp of "Mead acid" (recommendation from Ashton and Duncans "Making Mead" book - basically 2 parts malic acid to 1 part tartaric acid). The yeast in them is Lalvin D21 that was hydrated with GoFerm and the picture is when I'd just added some FermaidK, after the end of the lag phase.

The Marlene blended honey batch has a ratio of 1.5kg to the gallon as it came in retail packs - despite the slightly higher amount of honey it still measured the same gravity wise (all measured as 1.100) - so I presume that it had a higher water content. It has the same amount of strong tea and the same acid, but for yeast, I've run out of D21 so I've used K1V-1116 instead.

The airspace is deliberate to allow for adding the nutrient so the must doesn't foam all over the place and I'm intending adding a further 1/8th tsp of FermaidK and 1/8th tsp of DAP at the 1/2 sugar break. Then I'll top off with water at 1.020

Or that's the plan anyway......

regards

fatbloke


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## Midwest Vintner (May 5, 2010)

looks good. i would love to try these! i love hybrid wines. adding all sorts of good flavors makes for interesting and awesomeness at the same time.

recently had some hawaiin wine that uses mead and tea.

http://www.nanimoonmead.com/

my sister lives in kauai and she brought us some of this in the packaging we send her wine in (2 bottle foam case). it was OK, but it did lake body. seemed light on actual mead and more tropical flavored, but it was really dry. seemed if you make it that tropical, it should be slightly sweeter. we don't make sweet wines (all fruit, some mixed merlot batches), but you almost can't make a full dry fruit wine.


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## fatbloke (May 5, 2010)

Ah, no, sorry Midwest Vintner,

It would seem there's a little misunderstanding here. 

The addition of the tea isn't actually for flavouring, it's purely for the tannin content. It's not any kind of flavoured tea, just a plain, "brewed and stewed" breakfast tea. That was only used because I forgot to get some tannin from the local homebrew shop.

I still haven't decided, but I'm still considering either feeding the batch with more honey as that will up the % ABV as well as increase the depth of non-sugar flavours.

The intention is to have a strong honey taste but not overly sweet, so I'm thinking that it might get feed but still fermented dry and the back sweetened with honey as that should give the required sweetness, increase the body a little and max out the "actual flavour" of the honey without excessive sweetness.

I think that makes sense of what I'm trying to do.

regards

Fatbloke


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## MonB4V (Jul 4, 2010)

Those all sound great!


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## fatbloke (Jul 4, 2010)

MonB4V said:


> Those all sound great!



I'll be able to report on how they're progressing when I get my finger out to check them.......::

regards

fatbloke


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