5/21/24
2 Gallon Recipe
4 lbs Honey.  I used a mixed batch of honey for this one
2 96 oz Great Value White Grape Juice
Lalvin 71B yeast
8 Grams Fermaid – O
.5 Grams tannin
Mixed all ingredients.  Added yeast.  S.G. = 1.118 (15.5% potential ABV)

6/19/24 (Day 30)
Racked into big glass carboy.
Added 1 tsp Sorbate and 1/4 tsp metabisulphite.
It’s STABILE!!
Added 2 campden tablets.
S.G. = 1.004 (15.2% ABV)
Going to give it a week to clear.

7/5/24
Back sweetened to 1.035.  Added 1oz Dark toasted American Oak chips in cheesecloth bag.

7/19/24 (Day 60)
Bottled and labeled this beast!  It’s gonna be good!!!!

Amazon First Read:  Started on 7/1/24.  I really liked this book.  The characters are memorable.  There are a lot of acronyms in the book that get a little muddy sometimes.  Overall really liked it.  Finished on 7/18/24.  18 Days.

Garret and his cohorts are on the chase of a serial killer who dumps his victims from north to south.  Florida to Minnesota.  What they find is way bigger than just one man.

Serrano, a Mexican police office, has joined Mann’s team.  She’s a badass looking to avenge her mothers killer.  Does she get her vengance?  Read the book to find out.

NOPE, Not a mead, but kind of is.
6/19/24 (Day 1)
1 Gallon recipe for the keg

2.12 lbs CDW Bavarian Wheat Extract
.75 oz Citra hops (60 min boil)
.80 oz Calypso hops (30 min boil)
.50 oz Tettnang hops (5 min boil)
8 oz Trader Joes Honey
1 gallon spring water
1 package SafAle S-04 yeast
S.G. = 1.060 (potential 7.9 ABV)

The total boil time was 60 minutes.  Added the hops during the schedule.  It boiled over once.  Directions for yeast say just sprinkle so no hydrating before pitching. I bought more tube to use as a blow off.  It needed it.  It started very strong and is still going after 2 days.

6/24/24 (Day 5)
S.G. = 1.010

7/5/24 (Day 17)
F.G. – 1.010
1 Tblspn Eurithrotol, 1 Tblspn Lactose powder
Went into keg today.  35 psi of pressure till Drew gets home then we will drink it all.  She’s hoppy for sure.  6.6% ABV.

5/2/25 (Day 1)
1 Gallon Spring Water
32 oz Knudsen Black Cherry juice
32 oz Knudsen Tart Cherry juice
12 oz frozen raspberries
24 oz Frozen Sweet Cherries
2 Black Tea bags
1 oz Mexican Hibiscus
1 oz TeaJitsu Cherry Tea
2 lbs honey (I forget what I used)
Mangrove Jacks Mead yeast

Brewed the black tea, hibiscus and cherry tea in coffee pot with 6 cups of water.  Then I poured it back in and ran it through again so it’s double brewed tea.  I was strong.
Thawed the fruit and added to mesh bag for easy removal.  NOT DOWN THE DRAIN!!!!
Mixed the ingredients in bucket and pitched dry yeast.
Somehow I failed to get a starting gravity reading.  I think it was 1.080 so it won’t be super strong.

5/10/24 (Day 8)
S.G. = 1.002.  It’s thin but very tasty.  Not hot at all.  This one isn’t going to last long at all.

5/24/24 (Day 23)
Racked off berries and yeast to 2 gallon carboy.
1/2 tsp metabisulphite
1/2 tsp sorbate
It’s stable!!!

6/19/24 (Day 49)
Racked into single gallon carboys.  I got just a little over 1 1/2 gallons.  Added 6oz (weight) of honey to back sweeten to 1.018.  It’s perfect!!  I mean really really good.  I added 1 campden tablet per gallon.  Gonna let that set for a week then bottle this bad boy!!!  This will be about a 10.6% ABV.

7/5/24
Bottled this beast today and already can’t wait to start drinking it.