Rhubarb Mead

[kiljoy]

Hey guys! I've recently scored 6 gallons of honey from my beekeeper cousin. I had also scored about 2 lbs. of frozen Rhubarb. I took a long hiatus from winemaking and haven't made a mead in years. I've decided to combine the two into a Rhubarb Mead. Now, I've seen multiple recipes that call for precipitated chalk for the rhubarb wine and yeast energizer for meads etc. I like to keep things as basic as possible, so I'm just going to combine then with some k1-v1116 yeast I have laying around and see what happens. I'm just looking for any helpful advice on whether I'll need the energizer or chalk or anything else you can think of. I'm a bit out of practice. Also the ABV? K1 seems to go to 18%, so I'll have to go dry and back sweeten., What's a good target? I was thinking 12% like a regular wine. FYI, I ended up asking an AI assistant to generate me a rhubarb mead recipe and am using that as a base

 

[winemaker81]

Welcome back!

Honey has no nutrient for the yeast, so it's a good idea to add nutrient to provide a good environment for growth and to avoid stressing the yeast. Energizer? I haven't used it in years.

I haven't made rhubarb in many moons, so I can't advise on that. Others should be able to provide feedback.

I'd add a bit of powdered tannin, say 1/4 tsp per gallon, which gives the wine a bit more structure and backbone, but won't noticeably alter the taste.

IMO 12% is a good target. Anything between 11% and 13% should be fine.

 

[kiljoy]

Thanks! I do have nutrient, not energizer. I don't have powdered tannin, so I'll go with the ol' strong tea technique.

 

[Rice_Guy]

When I juice frozen rhubarb I get a TA of 1.35 to 1.69%. Since a wine typically is from 0.5 (dry wine) to 0.7% (table sweet) TA we could expect to be in the balance range with 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 dilution. Two pounds should get you in the pH target but your finished wine may need extra acid.
A typical rhubarb juice is from 1.010 to 1.030, ie there isn’t much in the juice. You definitely will need a yeast nutrient. In the last few years I started splitting this into two doses at 1.090 and 1,050.

Sounds like a good mead. Happy fermenting.

 

[kiljoy]

When I juice frozen rhubarb I get a TA of 1.35 to 1.69%. Since a wine typically is from 0.5 (dry wine) to 0.7% (table sweet) TA we could expect to be in the balance range with 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 dilution. Two pounds should get you in the pH target but your finished wine may need extra acid.
A typical rhubarb juice is from 1.010 to 1.030, ie there isn’t much in the juice. You definitely will need a yeast nutrient. In the last few years I started splitting this into two doses at 1.090 and 1,050.

Sounds like a good mead. Happy fermenting.

Thanks! I just tossed in 1tsp of the nutrient as it said on the bottle. It was several years old, but never opened. I've never used nutrient before. It was pasty and smelled like ammonia, which I did not expect. I didn't even check TA this time. I've gone more minimalist these days. The must was actually really tasty and I could have drunk that by itself!

 

[kiljoy]

Hey guys! I've recently scored 6 gallons of honey from my beekeeper cousin. I had also scored about 2 lbs. of frozen Rhubarb. I took a long hiatus from winemaking and haven't made a mead in years. I've decided to combine the two into a Rhubarb Mead. Now, I've seen multiple recipes that call for precipitated chalk for the rhubarb wine and yeast energizer for meads etc. I like to keep things as basic as possible, so I'm just going to combine then with some k1-v1116 yeast I have laying around and see what happens. I'm just looking for any helpful advice on whether I'll need the energizer or chalk or anything else you can think of. I'm a bit out of practice. Also the ABV? K1 seems to go to 18%, so I'll have to go dry and back sweeten., What's a good target? I was thinking 12% like a regular wine. FYI, I ended up asking an AI assistant to generate me a rhubarb mead recipe and am using that as a base

Hey guys! I've recently scored 6 gallons of honey from my beekeeper cousin. I had also scored about 2 lbs. of frozen Rhubarb. I took a long hiatus from winemaking and haven't made a mead in years. I've decided to combine the two into a Rhubarb Mead. Now, I've seen multiple recipes that call for precipitated chalk for the rhubarb wine and yeast energizer for meads etc. I like to keep things as basic as possible, so I'm just going to combine then with some k1-v1116 yeast I have laying around and see what happens. I'm just looking for any helpful advice on whether I'll need the energizer or chalk or anything else you can think of. I'm a bit out of practice. Also the ABV? K1 seems to go to 18%, so I'll have to go dry and back sweeten., What's a good target? I was thinking 12% like a regular wine. FYI, I ended up asking an AI assistant to generate me a rhubarb mead recipe and am using that as a base

Update, I heard some bubbling in my must last night, so I think she's going. Unfortunately, I broke yet ANOTHER hydrometer and have to wait for another from Amazon. I should just buy them in bulk to compensate for my klutziness. Since all of the ingredients were free, this is more of an experiment than anything else. I've left it in an unheated room as I feel longer ferments have better flavor.