So, it's been a while. Seeing lots of blogs has made me want to start back up and maybe take this a bit more seriously! So a lot has changed since the last time I posted. I've gotten married, I've become a master beer judge and mead judge with the BJCP and I've really gotten into mead making. Like really. Like diving in headfirst really. A big part of it was purchasing my first gallon of tupelo honey, which became an NHC award winner, taking silver in 2013. So that was pretty neat. A quick run down of meads I've completed so far:
Standard/Still/Semisweet Cranberry blossom traditional, Standard/Still/Dry Raspberry & Orange zest with Orange blossom melomel, Sack/Petillant/Sweet Tupelo Traditional, Sack/Still/Sweet Blueberry/Cherry Mesquite blossom melomel, Sack/Still/Sweet Mesquite blossom cyser, Hydromel/Sparkling/Semisweet Cherry cyser with Starthistle honey, Standard/Still/Dry Mesquite traditional, Standard/Still/Dry Tropic Wild (Orange Blossom & Saw Palmetto) traditional, Standard/Still/Dry Buckwheat traditional, Standard/Still/Dry Starthistle traditional, Standard/Still/Dry Rainforest honey traditional, Sack/Still/Sweet Triple Berry Melomel (raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, Orange Blossom Honey).
That's all the finished ones. Of these, some where absolutely phenomenal, with my favorites being the Tupelo Trad, Dry Mesquite & Dry Starthistle, Cherry Cyser & the sublime Triple Berry.
The Tupelo trad, as I mentioned, was the silver medal winner at the 2013 national homebrew competition, as well as winning Drunk Monk gold last year for traditional meads. It had stalled out initially but by adding a touch of carbonation, it helped add some acidity to balance out the sweetness. This is what bumped it to the next level. Tupelo honey is such a gorgeous product that I wish it was the only honey I used. Unfortunately, it is prohibitively expensive for that purpose. The mead itself offered up fresh apple notes, along with cinnamon, faint anise and some light tartness. Vanilla is prominent as well. Beautiful stuff and I have another gallon en route that I'm excited for.
The dry meads are interesting, as they are the most challenging to the palate and require the most patience and have a narrow range of balance. The Mesquite and Starthistle were the real standouts, with the Starthistle adding a fennel-like note, along with faint vanilla and a subtle limeade tartness that is also present in the Mesquite. The Mesquite is more earthy, both are very drinkable and clean. Both are also nearly water clear in color, which is cool.
The Cherry cyser was my interpretation of Zombie Killer from B. Nektar and turned out phenomenal. It's very straightforward, with an equal balance between the apple, cherry & honey. The key is arresting fermentation to leave some residual sweetness, which is a challenge in a relatively low gravity mead. I also added a bit of cinnamon to the secondary to add a layer of complexity which really popped. This one took gold at Spooky Brew last fall and is a great tipple!
Lastly, of the completed meads, is the Triple Berry. This was my first go at a big ass melomel (OG around 1.160). The great thing about fruit is that it actually helps to brighten up the finished mead due to the tannins dropping with the yeast. I also learned that OB honey works beautifully with the berries and that's my plan going forward. This one had a huge raspberry component with balancing blueberries & blackberries. With the tannin level, the FG, which was ~1.040, was kept in check. Very balanced, even with the sweetness. Great acidity and balance. Awesome stuff that I can't wait to make again as I'm down to the last half gallon or so!
Up next: Stuff in the tanks!
