Scarlett's Mead

My niece Scarlett, a life Mead

I'm going to start this by saying, "I'm not a experienced mead brewer."  I appreciate the mead making process, it's just the direct opposite of traditional brewing, which I love.  On the other hand having mead to share with friends is a great experience few people outside of Homebrewing get to enjoy.

Never the one to turn down a good deal in life, hearing Danny (DeeperRoots Brewing) scored a deal on bulk honey I was in.  I procured #15 of Orange Blossom Honey for 2 meads.  The 1st of these meads is detailed below.  I wanted to create this mead with the no boil method.  Adding Tart Cherries in secondary for a sweet cherry sparkling mead.




This mead is a celebration of my sister and brother in law's daughter, Scarlett.  Now 10 months old.  This will all go into bottles and a good majority of it will be sent to D.C. for them to enjoy.  Like my other Mead, Aydan's Mead named after my son, 3 bottles will be kept until his 21st birthday to enjoy together.


 

Scarletts Mead

Other Fruit Melomel

Type: All Grain	Date: 10/15/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 4.00 gal	Brewer: Chris Lewis
Boil Size: N/A	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 0 min	Equipment: Stove
End of Boil Volume	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 4.00 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 0.0 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): TBA
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 1.0 pkg Sweet Mead/Wine (White Labs #WLP720) [35.49 ml] Yeast 1 - 1.20 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Primary 3.0 days) Other 2 - 10 lbs Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 3 100.0 % 42.00 oz Oregon Tart Cherries (Secondary 45.0 days) Flavor 4 - 4.00 oz Tart Cherry Concentrate (Secondary 0.0 mins) Flavor 5 -
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.086 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.089 SG
Est Final Gravity: 0.981 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.003 FG (Before Cherries) .998 After 30 days on Cherries
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 14.0 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 12.01%
Bitterness: 0.0 IBUs	Calories: 291 Cals
Est Color: 2.8 SRM
Mash Profile N/A
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Keg	Volumes of CO2: 2.3
Pressure/Weight: 12.54 PSI	Carbonation Used: Keg with 12.54 PSI
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 45.0 F	Age for: 90.00 days
Fermentation: Ale, 3 Stage	Storage Temperature: 55.0 F
Fermentation Notes
Traditional Starter with 1.40 wort, 750ml volume.  Boil the water on the stove for 10 mins. (2.5 gallons) After boiling/cooling, at 90 degrees I will add the honey for better honey dilution. I will be adding Yeast Nutrient 1.5 tablespoons each day for 5 days. The Oregon Tart Cherries (Canned, in water) will be added in Secondary to taste.  Roughly a  pound per gallon.  I also have tart cherry concentrate for additional flavor if necessary.
Created with BeerSmith Update: Today (11-19-12) I added the tart cherry solution.  It was frozen for a week.  It was added into secondary and the mead was transferred on top of it.    12-30-12,  I racked the Mead off the cherries.  The mead needs more time, but is very drinkable at its current state.  It shows a beautiful peach/pink color.  It is now in a 3 gallon glass carboy for bulk aging.