HomebrewandBeer.com forum

I'm about to put down a mead and have searched the site for info. I have found posts and recipes that you have made so figure you might be the best person to ask.

In 2 of your recipes, they call for 6lb of peaches in one and 3.2 kg of raspberries or peaches in the other. I don't have either but have an abundance of blackberries and am planning on using 3 kg of them along with honey etc.

My question, you recomend using 1.5 oz of Cascade hops for bittering. Given that blackberries are more tart than peaches, would the bittering hops still be needed?

Cheers

Hashie,

Try this.

Let the mead ferment out with out adding any hops (I am assuming you are making 5 gallons or 23 litres).

Then make a tea up using the Cascade but use say 20 grams of Cascade hops

Bottle half and then add the tea to the remaining half and bottle that.

That way you can try both ways.

Also, are you planning on it being still or carbonated. The CO2 will produce Carbonic Acid which will give it a bit of a twang too.
Dogger

Thanks Dogger, I am planning on a 23l batch and carbonated using brown sugar as you have mentioned before.

Any thoughts on how long it should take to ferment out?

I'm hoping to get it all together some time next week. 7 days in primary, then rack into a demijohn until it's finished.

Hmmh

Just so you know Hashie,

I put one on back in October, its still going

Dogger

5 months...

If mead takes 6 - 12 months to mature, does this time start from bottling, or from secondary?

Also, In your recipe using peaches. You say to put the boil on top of the fruit and leave for 20 minutes to pasturise. Is this for all fruits?

Thanks for the help.

yes to pasturizing.