brēowanthorpe

The Homestead of Beer

Melomel Mead

By thomas #Dry Mead, #Homebrew, #Honey, #Lemon, #Lemon juice, #Mead, #Melomel, #Saskatoons, #Traditional Mead, #Water, #Westfort, #Yeast

Codename : Westfort Running Back to Saskatoon

Having hit a level of comfort in preparing mead, it was time to try something different, a melomel. Basically take a regular traditional mead and blend in fruit of some form, in this case using locally picked Saskatoon berries, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelanchier_alnifolia. The name is a tribute to the great Canadian band, The Guess Who, and their song, Running back to Saskatoon.

Ingredients 

  • 1 Lb 12 oz Honey
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 3 L of filtered, spring or distilled water (chlorine in home water is truly bad for mead)
  • 10 ml Mangrove Jack M05 mead yeast.
  • 1 Lb Saskatoons
  • Yeast energiser (follow fermentation directions below)

Vital Stats

BJCP Style : Melomel
Anticipated ABV : 9.6%
Original SG : 1.060
Target SG : 1.000 (this is the goal, to get almost 100% fermentation)
Brewhouse (in)efficiency : 99%

Brew Day

  • Prepare 3L strike water at about 80F, this is to simply aid the honey to dissolve more effectively.
  • Add lemon juice.
  • Add the honey to the pot, allow it to dissolve and incorporate, it took about 10 minutes.
  • Stir regularly.
  • Calibrate the sonic screwdriver.
  • Sanitise everything required for fermentation.
  • Allow it to cool to room temp.
  • Add the Saskatoons to the carboy.
  • Prepare the yeast mixture.
  • Pitch the yeast to the carboy.
  • Transfer the honey water to the carboy, splash it around to aerate the contents.
  • Be sure to scrape out the honey that may stick to the pot.
  • Stir and/or shake the carboy to incorporate the berries into the must.
  • Add 1/2 tsp of yeast energiser to the carboy.
  • Put the airlock on the carboy.
  • Store in a cool dark place for primary fermentation for 14-28 days.

Fermenting

  • On day 2 of fermentation, add 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient (or energiser).
  • On day 4 of fermentation, add 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient (or energiser).
  • On day 6 of fermentation add 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient (or energiser)
  • Occasionally monitor the mead for meagre fermentation/bubbling late in the fermentation process, along with sediment build up on the bottom of the carboy.
  • Between days 21-28, transfer the mead to a clean/sterile carboy. The day count is a guideline, rack it once everything is settled and clear.
  • After an additional 28 days, you can bottle your mead.

Bottling Day

  • Detailed instructions.
  • Keeping it traditional, no additional sugars will be added for carbonation.
  • Bottle condition at least 4 weeks, longer is better!

Brew Notes

  • I opted to use a little less honey in this batch, as I reasonably expect to get some sugar from the berries. So honey alone should yield approximately 9.6.
Ferment the melomel in the carboy until most of the sediment has settled out, approximately 2-3 weeks.

Brew day : 20-Jan-2024