Mojito SP

[David Violante]

OK - here I go... I wanted to make something pretty close to a mojito. I hope this works out.

I used the Pearson's square to come up with the particulars for a 5 gallon batch. 4.5 gallons of Lime SP at 9% ABV, 0.5 gallon of Havana Club Anejo Blanco Rum at 40% ABV. That get's me to 12% ABV. I'll add 2 cups of mint after primary fermentation. I'm using the base from the lemon SP recipe by @Jovimaple and substituting Lime juice. I'm going to try to use QA23 because of the floral tones, although I might have to use EC1118 because of the low pH.

I most definitely appreciate any thoughts or wisdom from our group here...

64 oz Lime Juice, sugar and water to 4.5 gallons and SG of 1.060
1 tsp grape tannin
QA23 yeast with GoFerm
TOSNA Nutrient protocol

After primary fermentation:
Sorbate
128 oz lime juice
2 cups mint until 'minty enough'

Back Sweeten to preference (1.010 maybe)

 

[Jovimaple]

Good luck!

 

[BigDaveK]

Yum!
I actually have mint in the freezer to experiment with as a non-tea element. I have no idea how much flavor will be extracted.

 

[Newbie Mel]

OK - here I go... I wanted to make something pretty close to a mojito. I hope this works out.

I used the Pearson's square to come up with the particulars for a 5 gallon batch. 4.5 gallons of Lime SP at 9% ABV, 0.5 gallon of Havana Club Anejo Blanco Rum at 40% ABV. That get's me to 12% ABV. I'll add 2 cups of mint after primary fermentation. I'm using the base from the lemon SP recipe by @Jovimaple and substituting Lime juice. I'm going to try to use QA23 because of the floral tones, although I might have to use EC1118 because of the low pH.

I most definitely appreciate any thoughts or wisdom from our group here...

64 oz Lime Juice, sugar and water to 4.5 gallons and SG of 1.060
1 tsp grape tannin
QA23 yeast with GoFerm
TOSNA Nutrient protocol

After primary fermentation:
Sorbate
128 oz lime juice
2 cups mint until 'minty enough'

Back Sweeten to preference (1.010 maybe)

I can’t wait to hear more. I would like to try this but only want to do a gallon batch to start. I’m not sure if I want to add rum, still debating that.

 

[David Violante]

The last time I made a SP I had a tough time getting the fermentation off the ground, perhaps because of the pH. I even used EC1118. This time (like last) I made a starter with GoFerm, but then slowly added a little bit of the must to the yeast starter over an hour or so to acclimate the yeast. It seemed to have worked because the fermentation took off pretty well after pitching the mixture. Good lesson on my part.

Fermentation went well, I used a Fermonster and so just left it all in there. It took about a week to get down to where the activity dramatically fizzled out. FG 0.996. I intentionally wanted the ABV to be a little on the lower side because of the high abv of the rum I would be adding.

I also didn't add all the remaining lime juice, I added about half of it going on taste. That leaves 64oz to go if I need it.

I added 1.5L of Puerto Rican Havana Club Anejo Blanco Rum (this was two 750ml bottles). I chose this as it was the closest to the mojito rum used in Cuba, and available in the U.S. It has a super flavor.

Next, I added 2 cups of barely chopped mint leaves / crushed stalks. A barely close approximation to muddling. After daily tasting, I removed the mint after about 3-4 days.

I'm at the point of adding the remaining lime juice to give it a more limey flavor and I still need to back-sweeten it. If it needs a touch more mint after all that it's easy enough to do. It is delicious as is, these are just tweaks on my part.

 

[QuiQuog]

Oh. My. That sounds brilliant. How is the color? Please post a picture of it in the bottle.

 

[David Violante]

Very interestingly, limes really have a more yellow color. Well, more of a Mountain Dew color… is that green or yellow? I don’t mean to spark a debate here… LOL

Below is it still in the fermonster. I have to back sweeten it yet. I’m tempted to let it be and serve it with a little sugar in the bottom of the glass to make it closer to the style of a mojito. I may do half one way and half another just to try it. I’ll put some in the Havana Club bottle to see, all my other bottles are green.

 

[ChuckD]

The last time I made a SP I had a tough time getting the fermentation off the ground, perhaps because of the pH. I even used EC1118. This time (like last) I made a starter with GoFerm, but then slowly added a little bit of the must to the yeast starter over an hour or so to acclimate the yeast. It seemed to have worked because the fermentation took off pretty well after pitching the mixture. Good lesson on my part.

Fermentation went well, I used a Fermonster and so just left it all in there. It took about a week to get down to where the activity dramatically fizzled out. FG 0.996. I intentionally wanted the ABV to be a little on the lower side because of the high abv of the rum I would be adding.

I also didn't add all the remaining lime juice, I added about half of it going on taste. That leaves 64oz to go if I need it.

I added 1.5L of Puerto Rican Havana Club Anejo Blanco Rum (this was two 750ml bottles). I chose this as it was the closest to the mojito rum used in Cuba, and available in the U.S. It has a super flavor.

Next, I added 2 cups of barely chopped mint leaves / crushed stalks. A barely close approximation to muddling. After daily tasting, I removed the mint after about 3-4 days.

I'm at the point of adding the remaining lime juice to give it a more limey flavor and I still need to back-sweeten it. If it needs a touch more mint after all that it's easy enough to do. It is delicious as is, these are just tweaks on my part.

I need a quick drinker for my barn raising party in late September. This would be perfect! No need to bottle it, I could serve it right out of the fermonster with sugar and mint to add-to-taste!

 

[David Violante]

Here's the lime juice I used... it was a lot easier and far more economical than those little lime bottles...

 

[Newbie Mel]

Very interestingly, limes really have a more yellow color. Well, more of a Mountain Dew color… is that green or yellow? I don’t mean to spark a debate here… LOL

Below is it still in the fermonster. I have to back sweeten it yet. I’m tempted to let it be and serve it with a little sugar in the bottom of the glass to make it closer to the style of a mojito. I may do half one way and half another just to try it. I’ll put some in the Havana Club bottle to see, all my other bottles are green.

View attachment 91343

Can you please tell me more about the fermonster? Do you just leave it in there until bottling? No need to worry about headspace since not going to be in there long? Do you put an airlock on it after fermentation done? Sorry for so many questions, I’m intrigued by this device.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I was very high on the Fermonster but have back tracked a little.

Benefits: easy to clean, light. Easy to seal and use an airlock, unlike a bucket. Ok for primary if you don’t have a bucket, or for secondary. Easy to get oak cubes out
Cons: headspace issue, not suitable for long term aging, IMO.

 

[David Violante]

Can you please tell me more about the fermonster? Do you just leave it in there until bottling? No need to worry about headspace since not going to be in there long? Do you put an airlock on it after fermentation done? Sorry for so many questions, I’m intrigued by this device.

I like the Fermonster quite a bit actually. I was looking for a container in which I could do extended macerations, that was easy enough to get everything into, and everything out of. To that end I wanted a larger opening at the top, but not so large as a bucket with a questionable seal. I chose the Fermonster over the Big Mouth Bubbler because you can seal the top better. What I don't like, however, is that the opening for a breathable silicone bung is just huge and the ones that I purchased don't really work as breathable so I have to manually burp them. The overpressure leads to some minor leaking at the valve. What I would do in the future, or suggest to new buyers, is to purchase the lid without a hole, and make one yourself for either a typical airlock or a smaller breathable bung. I do intend to buy just a couple lids to do this myself. Procrastination... Other than that, I also recommend getting the netting to carry or move it.

I do like it for fermentations that don't have a huge cap, otherwise an 8 or 9 gallon bucket would be better. Things I use it for are meads, flower wines, SP, DB, etc... I do all my grape ferments in larger containers with wider open tops. When they settle down to near 1.010 I transfer them to the Fermonster (secondary) and let them sit (EM) until I press, and then they go into a glass carboy for bulk aging. I try to transfer from primary when they are still producing /degassing CO2 so that over time the headspace in the Fermonster eventually becomes mostly CO2. I haven't had any issue yet doing it that way. You could use it for smaller fermentations as well, like 3-gallon versions, and keep the top off (covered with a t-shirt) to allow for degassing during primary. If it ever gets to the point where you're thinking it will volcano over, just move it to a larger bucket.

I do like the spigot idea on the Fermonster, as I can SO easily fill a graduated cylinder for testing SG or fill a cup for tasting (I mean quality control testing...). I also like the idea of the spigot as I can use the Fermonster to fill bottles. Once bulk aging is done, I pump the wine off any remaining sediment into the Fermonster and use the spigot to bottle. I add potassium metabisulfite to the Fermonster before I fill it from the carboy to mix it in as it fills, pre-bottling. I find spigots to be otherwise annoying, since they usually clog up with just about anything (when doing fermentations with a lot of larger particulates). I have stopped putting spigots in my primary buckets just for that reason. I find there is less to clean and I don't have to worry whether I left it open when filling. Yes, I've done that too. LOL...

I think this is a good example of knowing what you have, how you can use it, what its limitations are, and why you're using it. Just be intentional about what you're doing and have a plan ahead of time. And ask! A lot of people here were super helpful with my decision and understanding the pros and cons.

 

[David Violante]

Ok… just did a ridiculous amount of calculations to approximate an actual mojito (of which I’ve already had at least one in comparison to the SP mojito) and decided to just back sweeten to 1.010. It needs a little more rum, closer to the recipe. I also added a bit of Angostinura bitters. The recipe for a 10 oz glass calls for three drops. So, I added a bloop to the 5 gallon batch. I know. Very scientific. Actually, very Italian. I think it will do very well. It is quite good. I’ll post an actual tasting tomorrow when I haven’t had quite a few already…

 

[David Violante]

So I went back to the Mojito SP after a short while and it tastes a smidge bitter and some of the mint is not really present. I added a splash of club soda (as they do in an authentic mojito) and voila! Nice and smooth and the mint returned. You have to know it’s not a full strength authentic mojito, but it’s darn tasty. It’s easy enough to adjust to your taste (more rum or simple syrup). Definitely a make again. As a matter of fact, my glass is empty. It’s that time… LOL