Experimental Mead: Watermelon!
It has been quite some time since we last posted for you guys and that is mainly due to us having a couple of behind the scenes things going on that we are currently finishing up. However we do want to make sure that we do our best to keep you all up to date with what we have going on when we can. With that being said we just started a new mead flavor that we are going to experiment a little bit with and that experiment is watermelon. We are looking to make a watermelon session mead, which is to say a mead with a low abv (4-6%) that can be something that is easily drunk throughout the day. These types of mead tend to be light, fresh, and crisp, and in order to achieve that this mead will be back-sweetened and naturally carbonated.
Let's start off with how we are making this mead. It is pretty simple actually, we took a 20lb watermelon and cut out all of the red fruit which was hand pressed into juice which came out to just about 3/4 of a gallon. Added to that a total of 3lbs of wildflower honey, 1/2 packet of Lalvin 71B yeast, and 3/4 of a cup of (lemon) oleo saccharum that we homemade as well. All of this was combined in a 1.2 gal glass carboy and is currently fermenting furiously. After fermentation finishes the mead will be racked into a new carboy and cold crashed, from there we will taste it and adjust as needed, then bottles will be prepared with some priming sugar and each bottle will be carbonated individually by using the process by which yeast converts sugar into alcohol - one of the byproducts being CO2 gas suspended in the mead - and after a short time of aging should hopefully turn out to be a quite tasty session mead.
Now we are sure you may be wondering why this is an "experimental" mead. Simply put watermelon is extremely difficult to use in fermenting as a whole fruit, or in most other processes that mazers (mead makers) use to infuse fruit flavors into mead. One of the reasons it is so difficult is that watermelon molds extremely quickly if it is not kept wet (and even when it is it still tends to mold), and as you may notice drinking mold is not a good time. Complicating this already complicated brewing process for the fruit is that the watermelon flavor is very light and subtle which can be very easily overpowered by the honey of the mead and other flavors that may be added or develop during fermentation. Getting around that the logical step is to juice the watermelon and reduce it into a syrup that can be placed in an already fermented mead, however cooking the melon fruit causes compounds to form that translate into bad tastes. Similarly using artificial flavors during the mead making process gives either a candy taste or change flavors completely due to the fermentation process and byproducts interacting with the composition of the flavoring agents. Because of all this, watermelon is not typically used in the mead making process because it is too difficult a flavor to bring through in a desirable and consistent way.
Taking all of this into account we thought it best to just replace the water in the mead with fresh watermelon juice, and we will be taking inspiration from commercially available watermelon juices and adding supporting flavors if needed, such as the oleo saccharum, that will help elevate the watermelon flavor without overtaking it. We are not really sure how well this will turn out, but we are hopeful that it will become a very refreshing summertime drink. As always we will keep you updated on the progress this mead makes (either good or bad) as we continue to produce it. Hopefully soon we will also be finished with our behind the scene secrets that we can then share with all of you as well!
Stay safe and remember to love one another!
~ The Forge Meadery
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