My Meads

All 3 of my meads are aging.  I've learned a lot this time around, most notably that you can't use a refractometer for a final gravity measurement because alcohol has a much higher refraction index than water.  This was a bit of an annoying discovery; I kept thinking that my fermentations were "stuck" (settling out at 10% brix), when in fact they were nearly completely dry.


Details follow for each mead:

• A Cyser:
• Primary:  Trader Joe's Apple Cider, raisins, dates, brown sugar, honey, yeast energizer, and Lavlin D-47.
• Secondary: I threw in some bits of lemon, more brown sugar, and honey.
• First month of aging: I chopped up a granny smith apple which I added directly to the mead. I really like the starchiness of granny smith apples and wanted to incorporate that starchy twang into the mead. The results, it turned out, were excellent.
• Tasting notes:  This mead has a huge wallop of apple and honey up-front with a nice starchy, (almost potato-like) finish.  It was a bit too cloying in initial taste, so I put a bit of acid blend into two out of the four bottles used.
• Approximate Alcohol Content: Probably 12%?
• An Acerglyn (Maple Mead)
• Primary:  4 cups Trader Joe's Grade B Maple Syrup, 3/4 cup Honey and Lavlin D-47.
• Secondary: More maple syrup, and since I decided after-the-fact to make this a dessert mead, Red Star Champagne Yeast.
• Note:  I just realized that I could have made an even more intense dessert mead had I used Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast.
• Tasting notes after secondary:  This thing is completely dry.  Back-sweetened with at least a cup of maple sugar (didn't keep precise measurements).
• Approximate Alcohol Content: Probably 15%?
• A Ginger/Heathertip Metheglin
• Primary: Enough honey to make a gravity of 23% and a whole lot of ginger.
• Tasting after primary:  Woah!  Almost medicinal ginger twang.  I have to find a way to smooth this out.  To do this, I chose heathertips and fresh lemon zest.
• Threw some heathertips and lemon zest into a mesh bag along with some dimes wrapped in tin foil (to persuade it to sink) and dropped it into the carboy.  Let it sit for 2 days.
• Subsequent tasting:  Much better.
• Starting Gravity: 23%
• Final Gravity: ~3% Brix
• Approximate Alcohol Content: ~13%

I will post about the meads again once they finish aging.