This medium-sweet mead has black raspberry puree added when fermentation begins to slow. Start now because it needs to bottle-age for several years.
OG: 1.165
FG: 1.055 (or as low as you can manage)
ABV: 14%
HONEY & FRUIT
6.5 lb (2.9 kg) honey (orange blossom, clover, and alfalfa) per gallon of water
0.6 lb (272 g) black raspberry puree (Oregon Fruit Products) per gallon of water
DIRECTIONS
Heat the water to 170°F (77°C) and remove from the heat. Add preheated honey. Stir in the honey so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. This will bring the temperature down to about 145–150°F (63–66°C). Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes to pasteurize.
Liquefy the yeast with water and yeast nutrient when you add the honey to the kettle so as to have it nice and lively when you’re ready to add it to the must.
After pasteurization is complete, cool the must to 75°F (24°C) and add oxygen. Add the yeast and start fermentation.
As the fermentation begins to slow (2–6 weeks), rack off to a second carboy and add the fruit puree. Continue fermenting until fermentation stops. Rack off after fermentation stops. (If need be, you can add more yeast for further fermentation.)
Once fermentation is complete, plan to rack off another 2–3 times, depending on how the mead is clearing.
Bottle and age for 4–6 years.
YEAST
0.34 oz (9.5 g) Montracet Yeast (dry) per gallon of water
Yeast nutrient
MEAD MAKER’S NOTES
To preheat the honey, I like to soak the honey containers in a hot-water bath. When I combine the honey and fruit puree, I like to have the puree already in the carboy before racking the must into it.