Lemon Balm Wine - I'm going for it!

[BigDaveK]

Have you made Parsnip?.
I have it on my goals list..
There is alway wintertime Cranberry wine ..:}
And, clean -the-freezer wine.

Haven't tried parsnip yet but it's going into the garden next year.
I made cranberry last year using fresh berries and absolutely loved it! Will make it again this year.
Clean the freezer? I haven't even started - blackberries, ground cherries, raspberries, mulberries, lychee tomatoes, tomatoes, pears, crab apples and 7 different peppers. I'll be taking 4 gallons of crabs out of the freezer today. Never used them before so it should be fun.

 

[Jovimaple]

And, clean -the-freezer wine.

Freezer Hooch!

 

[Terryfirma]

I think you will have plenty to keep you busy over the Winter!

 

[BigDaveK]

Freezer Hooch!

Prison hooch is actually on my list, just for the heck of it. Juice, fruit cocktail, maybe lemons and/or oranges. I now have 2 rooms where wine yeast is probably floating around just waiting for something to do.

 

[BigDaveK]

I think you will have plenty to keep you busy over the Winter!

That's for sure!
Though I need to get some started SOON. I don't have room for food!

 

[BigDaveK]

Racked again.
Well, dammit, I've changed my mind about lemon balm.
After the first racking I thought it had an "herbal" lemon flavor that I didn't really care for. That's gone now...ah, the benefits of time and bulk aging! It's fruity, crisp, subtle lemon flavor, and I think a great summer wine.
I won't plant more since it's so darn invasive but I will use more of what I do have. In some of my older books lemon balm is one of the flavor elements in many recipes and now I know why. I'm happy so far and will probably use the heck out of it next year.

 

[BigDaveK]

Bottling day!
It's my 2nd wine to be bottled using sur lie and batonnage during bulk and again, wow. Creamy and silky in the mouth.
I'm sold on lemon balm. Tastes delicious, fruity and lemony. I used citric acid to emphasize the lemon and it worked. I think you have to be careful with this one, though - there's a slight herbalness to it and I think using too much would push it into an unappealing medicinal-like wine. I'll have to think about this one - it might make a nice minor ingredient in another complementary wine.
I'll definitely make it again but only 1 gallon. Anything more would be too much.

 

[winemaker81]

Bottling day!

Please post your notes. Would you use more or less lemon balm?

Now I'm wondering what other wines a small amount would go good in ...

 

[BigDaveK]

Please post your notes. Would you use more or less lemon balm?

Now I'm wondering what other wines a small amount would go good in ...

Sorry. This wine was made just before I started taking good notes. I used 4 cups, loosely packed, to make a tea. Sugar to 1.090, finished at .996. Citric acid to 3.5. Interestingly, the pH finished near 3.0

I mentioned that I thought using more would take it from herbal to medicinal. Well, I did a quick deep dive this morning - something I automatically do all the time...now. Found a bunch of papers on it. It's an incredible little plant and is considered medicinal. In addition to tannin it also has geraniol and citronella. Ah, there's the rub! I think too much would make it undrinkable.

If you're interested, good info here -

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35408950/

 

[winemaker81]

Sorry. This wine was made just before I started taking good notes. I used 4 cups, loosely packed, to make a tea. Sugar to 1.090, finished at .996. Citric acid to 3.5. Interestingly, the pH finished near 3.0

np. That's still a good starting point. 1 gallon batch? Initial volume 1.25 to 1.5 US gallons?

 

[BigDaveK]

np. That's still a good starting point. 1 gallon batch? Initial volume 1.25 to 1.5 US gallons?

Oops. 1.25 gallons for tea wines gets me a gallon going into bulk, 71B, summer basement temp so low to mid 70'sF.

I'm moderately curious about a different yeast strain and fermentation temperature.

 

[Raptor99]

Oops. 1.25 gallons for tea wines gets me a gallon going into bulk, 71B, summer basement temp so low to mid 70'sF.

So does that mean "4 cups, loosely packed" lemon balm for 1.25 gal. initial volume? I have some lemon balm growing on my property, so I might try this in the spring.

 

[BigDaveK]

So does that mean "4 cups, loosely packed" lemon balm for 1.25 gal. initial volume? I have some lemon balm growing on my property, so I might try this in the spring.

Use your best judgement for water. My goal is to have a very full container going into bulk without adding something to top up. I do a bit over a gallon to accommodate the small secondary containers I have available.

Yes, 4 cups loosely packed. Last year I didn't get to lavender, lilac, or my basils so...so far lemon balm is the only ingredient of all my wines that I would not increase too much. Mostly because of the citronella it contains. But I think it's worth trying, for sure.

 

[Raptor99]

I'm getting ready to harvest some lemon balm next week. I just found a youtube video about making Hazelnut Lavender Lemon Balm Mead! Since I have all three growing on my property... But they are not ready at the same time, so I might need to freeze some ingredients until the rest are ready to harvest.

This also looks interesting: Lemon Balm Mead

Let the experiments continue!

 

[Raptor99]

Today I started a batch of lemon balm wine. About 1.5 gallons, with a target of 1 gallon in secondary plus some for topping off. I used 6 cups of freshly picked lemon balm, loosely packed, which came out to 100 g. We'll see how it goes.

 

[fermenter]

I have plenty of lemon balm to try. About how long did you steep it before fermentation? Or any other preliminary steps need to be done?

 

[Raptor99]

With most herbs, it is best to pick them in the morning before the sun bakes out some of the volatile oils. Give it a light rinse if necessary, but I figure that a little dust from the garden won't hurt me.

I added boiling water and steeped it for 10 minutes, then drained through a strainer. Then I added a little more hot water and steeped for another 10 minutes. The double steeping method is something I used for mint wine.

I also added the juice and zest of two lemons. That provides citric acid and some more lemon flavor.

 

[fermenter]

Might try to find time to "brew" a gallon.

 

[fermenter]

Couple of years ago I tried a spiced wine with Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea; Cinnamon, Roasted Chicory, Roasted Carob, Vanilla, Ginger, Cardamon, Cloves, Nutmeg. For some reason the fermentation quit too soon. I will probably try again at some point.

 

[Terryfirma]

Thanks @BigDaveK ..I just referred back to this thread for a Lemon Balm batch today and looked at your near recipe.
I made Lemon Balm Mead two years ago, but decided it didn’t have any flavor ( needed more citrus / citric acid) I had fresh Strawberries and threw them in..not thinking of the potential for and resulting bad strawberry taste . Two years later, as the musty berry taste fades, it is a bit drinkable-and high in alcohol. Today I resisted the urge to add any other flavors, used plenty of fresh Lemon juice and some new wild grape leaves which taste lemony and adds some tannin. (I added black tea to a smaller portion to see if that helps or hinders. I liked the idea of the grape leaves over the tea option)
I do not want to lose the subtle flavor.