MRM – Summer Berry Mead

4/21/23

3 lbs Glenns Honey
3 lbs Classic Fruit Medley from Kroger
1 Gallon water (from tap)
1 tsp Fermaid O
1/2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
Juice of 1 lime
Peel of 1 lime (used peeler for just the peel)
100 raisins (for mouthfeel)

SG = 1.092

5-8-23

Took a reading.  SG = .009.  It’s done fermenting.  Tasted good.  Needs aged.

5-12-23
I racked the mead off the fruit into 1 gallon glass carboys.  There was more than 1 gallon.
I used some leftover mead to decrease headspace in the second gallon.  It wasn’t enough to fill but I think will work.  It will be a blended mead and bottled and labeled separately.  Of course I sanitized everything and used sanitized water in the airlocks.  It’s only been 3 weeks so this has a ways to sit in secondary.

21 days since started.  SG = .009 ABV = 13.4

5-20-23

I re-racked both the straight and the blended today.  There was a LOT of sediment due to the poor rack I got the first time.  Gonna let it set for another week before bottling.  Tasting both the straight still has a HOT alcohol taste but the berry flavor is there.  The blended is just straight mead flavor.  I think I may add the peach flavoring that I bought to that blended mead.  There is only about 1/2 gallon of the blended and a gallon of the straight.

5-25-23
Bottling day!!!!!  My favorite day!!!!

35 days since started.

Blended:  I added 2 Tblsp of Peach flavoring and 3 “glugs” of honey.  Got a bottling gravity of 1.039.  It’s gonna be sweet and delicious.

Straight:  I added 2 “glugs” of honey.  Got a bottling gravity of 1.020.  It’s not as sweet as the Blended…..But that’s OK.  It’s really good.

6/20/23 (61 days)
I have a bottle in the fridge now.  The Straight is spot on and may be my favorite mead I’ve made so far.

6/26/23
The one month testing came out very well.  The berry flavor is good but I get a bit of spoiled berry flavor right at the end.  It actually bottle conditioned to carbonate.  I wasn’t expecting that but looking at the notes I did NOT stabilize this.
The blended is weird.  The peach flavor gets lost but K & D said it feels “soft” on the tongue.