Blackberry-Rose Mead - Primary Fermentation

Today we put together and started a blackberry-rose mead. Our goal for this is to turn into a semi-sweet melomel (fruit mead) that contains a strong floral aroma from the rose. This is the recipe we used for a two-gallon batch:

1.5 gallons (US) filtered water

6 lbs clover honey

4 lbs frozen blackberries

2 oz dried rose petals (brewed into 0.5 gallons water as a tea)

1/2 packet Lalvin 71B yeast

After all instruments, utensils, and body parts were sanitized using Starsan we filled a 2.5 gal (US) food grade bucket with the filtered water and dissolved the honey into it which was warmed to allow easier pouring. Next the blackberries which had thawed were mashed a little bit and added to the bucket. Lastly the yeast was pitched into the mixture and the whole thing was rigorously stirred to ensure maximum dispersal of the yeast. We then too a specific/starting gravity reading of the must which came out at roughly 1.128-1.132. Assuming there are no fermentation problems and the yeast performs to its specifications we should have an end product with an ABV of 14% and a residual gravity (sugar remaining in solution after fermentation completely ceases) of ~1.025, which puts it on that border between semi-sweet and sweet.

Now you may have noticed that the rose "tea" was not mentioned in the process above, and that is because we are going to be adding that 24-48 hours after fermentation has begun. This will infuse the must with nitrogen for the yeast and tannin that will give the finished mead a complex aroma and mouthfeel. There will probably be an additional pound or two of blackberries added in the conditioning phase, depending on the balance of flavors when we taste it and what we decide is needed to achieve our desired result. More updates on this mead will be coming in the future.

Stay safe and remember to love one another!

~ The Forge Meadery