Recipe Development

[greenmage]

So I've been brewing for a couple of years now (with lots of help from forums, thanks by the way) and I've been wanting to start experimenting with different flavor combinations (I'm a cook so it comes naturally lol). I've been working on a recipe for a little while and any input/recommendations would be greatly appreciated...

5lbs buckwheat honey
~13lbs clover honey
~12lbs blueberries
~12lbs pomegranate
Hibiscus
Meadowsweet
Possibly wormwood or hops for bittering
Red Star premier classique yeast (rehydrated with goferm)
Fermaid O (using TOSNA I've been reading about)
Buhl water (a local spring water)
SuperKleer
5 gallons finished batch size
Target SG of 1.130-1.140

I'm going to be making a tea from the hibiscus and meadowsweet (when my flowers come I will find the ratio I like best) then add honey to SG. Add 2/3 fruit in primary and remaining 1/3 in secondary (after watching a podcast with Steve Piatz I'm going to freeze the fruit beforehand). I don't like to use sulfides or sorbates so I plan on bulk aging til most/all yeasties drop out. Then fining agents to finish.

So questions would be, has anyone used meadowsweet? Is pectic enzyme necessary? What would be better for bittering? Any other tips/recommendations?

Others I've been thinking about include mint/blueberry, chocolate, and burnt honey/banana...

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi greenmage - and welcome. I guess I am always surprised when anyone suggests that they want to experiment with new flavor combinations by making five gallon batches. As a cook, would you experiment with a new dish using enough food to feed 100 - 150 people (1 bottle = 6 glasses , 1 gallon = 30 glasses, 5 gallons = 150 glasses)? But isn't that what you say you plan to do with this mead?

Single gallon batches are good to experiment with and you can then determine by blending whether 1 pint of hibiscus flowers will overwhelm every other flavor or will complement them or whether adding any bittering herbage will spoil the flavors or enhance them and whether even 1 lb of buckwheat honey will make this combination undrinkable or will add very delightful earthy flavors to your recipe. (You can do all that by selecting different ratios from different 1 gallon carboys each filled with key ingredients AS IF you were simply fermenting each individual component separately.Of course, if you intuitively know how these quantities and those ingredients will taste in the combinations you suggest then ignore what I have written as irrelevant. But most folk do not have such well educated palates.

For some reason I have yet to grasp, folk who talk about brewing mead opt for 5 gallon batches as a tryout whereas those who see themselves as wine makers tend to choose gallon quantities... But hey! to each their own.

 

[KTbrew]

Wow looks like a busy mead, and one that I would love to taste and see how it turns out. I have to agree with bernardsmith on this one. Personally, if I were attempting this recipe I wouldn't be willing to use the amount of ingredients, which adds up to quite a few $, in a 5 gallon batch. It's pretty tough to predict how well all of these ingredients are going to work together and what quantities to use.

As far as your recipe is concerned, I notice that you only have quantities listed for honey and fruit. As far as the Hibiscus, Meadowsweet and wormwood/hops and concerned I think it's going to be really difficult to accurately predict how much to add so you can taste it without going overboard. I'd predict that this mead is going to be very much balanced towards acidic, bitter and tannic.

 

[greenmage]

Well my meadowsweet is set to arrive on Monday(as I couldn't get it locally) and I'm going to find the mixture that tastes best to me(thus the no amounts yet) and expand for 3 gallons of tea. I usually use 2 packets of yeast in 12.5g goferm. I haven't done the exact maths on the fermaid o yet though. I guess I was just hoping with the buckwheat honey to get the flavor to shine through the other ingredients...

As far as batch size I'm fairly limited on equipment, I have 6-6gallon carboys(they were a gift) and a 5gallon winemaking kit. As far as cost I have a 60lb pail of clover honey some buckwheat and some orange blossom honeys on hand, plus I can get produce fairly cheap through the distributors at work so not the biggest concern, and as I plan on sharing most of my meads anyway my friends help out with costs...

My main question is the meadowsweet, I've recently become interested in using some more traditional ingredients and there doesn't seem to be much modern info on using it in meads. If it is heavy on tannins or adds just the little bit of bitter I want to counter-punch the sweetness, then I won't need anything else for that.
And I'm curious about the pectic enzyme, a lot of melomel recipes call for it, but the few I've made have come out great without it (strawberry, and a couple cysers).

 

[loveofrose]

Meadowsweet adds a nice flowery element. I generally make a tea with it, then strain the liquid to use for mead making. Example here: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/Froach/

If you want to know about gruit herbs, me and Bernard are probably some of the most knowledgeable around. I have some info here: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/gruit-mead/

My favorite recipe with gruit:
https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/gruit-bomm/

 

[greenmage]

Meadowsweet adds a nice flowery element. I generally make a tea with it, then strain the liquid to use for mead making. Example here: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/Froach/

If you want to know about gruit herbs, me and Bernard are probably some of the most knowledgeable around. I have some info here: https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/gruit-mead/

My favorite recipe with gruit:
https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/gruit-bomm/

Wow thanks a ton!! Been looking for something like this...

 

[johnnyseko]

My favorite recipe with gruit:
https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post

I have to try this one....asap. Thanks!

 

[greenmage]

Ok so my buddy let me use some 1gal equipment and I started 3 test batches. I did the previous recipe (used a tsp/cup meadowsweet and hibiscus tea, did a half gallon, and 1lb buckwheat 2lbs clover honey, a quart of pomegranate juice and 2lbs blueberries) and added a chocolate coffee (used buckwheat honey and cold brewed some dark roast) and a triple berry...

 

[greenmage]

Racked to secondary