Jericurl
The Ferminator
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2013
- Messages
- 1,302
- Reaction score
- 784
Black Briar Mead
1 96 oz can of Elderberries
1 96 oz can of Blackberries
4 lbs blueberries, frozen then thawed
1/2 cup American Oak Powder
2 tsp acid blend
3 tsp pectic enzyme
16 lbs honey
Water to just a touch over 5 gallons
71B yeast
Starting gravity 1.102.
I followed this SNA schedule and stirred my batch using my drill twice a day.
Day 0: Rehydrate yeast with Go-Ferm, add to primary
Day 1, 3, 5, 7, 8: Stir
Day 2, 4, 6: Stir and add 4.5g Fermaid-K and 2g of DAP
Rack to secondary when SG is between 1.01 and 1.02.
Add 3 lbs of frozen/thawed strawberries, 1/2 c of elderflowers, and 1 oz dried elderberry.
At this point, make sure your batch is under an airlock, leave on fruit at least 2 weeks. Use your own judgement for less or more time, depending on the temperature in your home.
Rack and forget about it for at least 9 months. It's not going to taste very good until at least then, but trust me, it blooms into a wonderfully rich flavor.
Backsweeten to taste if that's your thing.
I used blueberry honey here, but I think I could have used regular wildflower honey. I'm afraid the subtle flavor in the honey was lost with all the stronger flavors used.
Also, run your own numbers for nutrients additions. They have come out with many different variations and advice since I made this. You may find a better method that leads to being able to drink it quicker.
1 96 oz can of Elderberries
1 96 oz can of Blackberries
4 lbs blueberries, frozen then thawed
1/2 cup American Oak Powder
2 tsp acid blend
3 tsp pectic enzyme
16 lbs honey
Water to just a touch over 5 gallons
71B yeast
Starting gravity 1.102.
I followed this SNA schedule and stirred my batch using my drill twice a day.
Day 0: Rehydrate yeast with Go-Ferm, add to primary
Day 1, 3, 5, 7, 8: Stir
Day 2, 4, 6: Stir and add 4.5g Fermaid-K and 2g of DAP
Rack to secondary when SG is between 1.01 and 1.02.
Add 3 lbs of frozen/thawed strawberries, 1/2 c of elderflowers, and 1 oz dried elderberry.
At this point, make sure your batch is under an airlock, leave on fruit at least 2 weeks. Use your own judgement for less or more time, depending on the temperature in your home.
Rack and forget about it for at least 9 months. It's not going to taste very good until at least then, but trust me, it blooms into a wonderfully rich flavor.
Backsweeten to taste if that's your thing.
I used blueberry honey here, but I think I could have used regular wildflower honey. I'm afraid the subtle flavor in the honey was lost with all the stronger flavors used.
Also, run your own numbers for nutrients additions. They have come out with many different variations and advice since I made this. You may find a better method that leads to being able to drink it quicker.
