Wild Fermented Mead 2015

Washed Wax Mead:IMG_2640

Started on 2015/10/11, using “washed wax” method of just adding water to the crushed honeycomb after it drips through to make the honey.

  • 2015/10/11: Initial Gravity: 1.11
  • Primary ferment ok, strong.  (ran some through blender to aerate it)
  • 1 week vacation during primary ferment- no stirring, and left 2 gallon fermenter lids on.
  • 2015/10/27: Racked! into 3-gallon carboy. (don’t do this with mead next time!)
  • Fermentation stalled!  Aerated it to try to get it going again.
  • 2015/11/7: Everything started to get funky
  • 2016/5/1: Bottled.  Really bad old buttered popcorn flavor, I think it’s really bad and wanted to throw a lot out, but older batches have improved with age…
  • Need to be more careful about sterilization next year, so the funky yeasts don’t spread to other batches!

IMG_2643Crabapple Mead, “Crabby”:

  • Same method as above, but added 2500g of crushed crabapples to the primary fermentation.
  • Apple aromatics and acid come through very nicely.  I liked how this turned out if it were not for the funky flavors that came into the fermentation.
  • Need to sterilize equipment more next time, and test acid levels of this mead.  Let’s hope the bad flavors go away with aging.

Boysenberry Mead:IMG_2812

  • Same basic technique as above, but used pure honey, and added lots of boysenberries.
  • 2015/11/1: Starting gravity 1.11 (without berries)
  • Added 2 lbs of frozen boysenberries to 1qt of honey and 3 qt of water.
  • Fast fermentation!
  • No racking…  done with fermentation by 2015/12/14
  • 2016/2/7: Bottled.
  • Tastes great, perhaps too acidic for me.  (need to test total acid!).  I like mixing it with half of the older regular mead and a little bit of honey water when I drink it.