MRM ~ E.S.T. Monks “Worth” it

2/2/24 (Day 1)
1 Gallon batch
2.8 lbs Kroger Clover honey
1.5 lbs crushed Worthers candies
1 tsp Fermaid-O
1/4 tsp wine tannin
Lalvin QA23 yeast
1 gallon spring water from dollar tree

Crushed the candies and added about 1/2 gallon of the spring water to a pan.  Added the crushed candies and made a “syrup” out of it.
Added honey to carboy and a little more of the water from the gallon.  Shook it vigorously for several minutes.  Added the candy syrup, Fermaid-O and tannin.  Mixture was still kind of warm.  Pitched dry yeast at 110 degrees.  It started fermenting very quickly.

O.G. = 1.130

2/3/24 (Day 2)
1/2 tsp DAP

2/4/24 (Day 3)
1/2 tsp DAP

2/5/24 (Day 4)
1/2 tsp DAP

2/12/24 (Day 10)
Still bubbling strong.  S.G. = 1.042
It’s got a weird flavor.

2/23/24 (22 Days)
S.G. = 1.014.  It’s hot.  Needs lots of time to sit and clear.

3/2/24 (30 Days)
S.G. = 1.014 (I think it’s done!!!)  Racked into clean carboy NOT STABILIZED!
15.6 % ABV

3/15/24 (Day 43 )
added 1 cup salted caramel tea (steeped for 5 minutes)
1 lb Sam’s Club honey for back sweetening

4/6/24 (Day 65)
Bottled this beast today.  It’s still got a bite to it.  Once the heat leaves the mouth, the Worthers taste comes through a bit.  Not my favorite but we will see how it tastes in 6 months and a year.  Not really happy with the yield.  The thin layer at the bottom was very cloudy and I really probably only had a little over half gallon to bottle.