Mead-toberfest and Frankenbrew are now fermenting.
As I said in my last article, I wanted to start keeping track of my mead somewhere and decided that place was here.
First up is Meadtoberfest. I had no real motivation for this name other than it is currently October and the first thing that came to mind was Octoberfest. Anyway, I started with Wellesly Apple Cider in a 1 gallon jug and 3 lbs of Amber honey from Bulk Barn. I brewed some Chimney Fire tea in the must while I was mixing in the honey. I didn't end up using the full 3 lbs of honey since I tested the must with the hydrometer when most of it was in and my potential alcohol by volume was already way over where I wanted, so I added in more apple cider to bring it down a bit. I used EC-1118 yeast and yeast nutrient and the starting gravity was about 1.116 which should give me a potential ABV of a little over 15%. A little higher than I was aiming for (11-12%). Next time I'll be measuring the SG earlier in the process of adding the sugars. Once it starts getting up around that potential 15% I'm a bit concerned it will start producing the flavors I was trying to avoid this time. Only time will tell. And now I know better not only how to use my new hydrometer, I also have a better idea of when to use it so I don't make this mistake again in the future.
To end up at that SG I needed to dilute my must much more than I thought I was going to need too. So, I decided to end up making 2 batches instead. One was going to be solely the ingredients mentioned above, and the other was going to be a much more crude batch. Just topping up with tap water and the random left over honeys from previous batches. With Halloween coming up and all of random stuff thrown together to make it and the corners cut to get there Franken Brew seemed like an appropriate name.
Frankenbrew contains all of ingredients from Meadtoberfest, but in what proportions, I don't know or care. There is also some added Barrie tap water, some Buckwheat honey from Muskoka and some generic honey (Honey Bear!). Much less of the final product is apple cider, so I wouldn't even call this one a cyser. It is closer to just a generic mead based on how much water I had to add. Also, it has a MUCH lower potential ABV. With an initial gravity reading of just 1.063, it tops out at just over 8% alcohol. So closer to a strong beer than a wine.
Both are fermenting away nicely right now. And despite the drastic differences in proportions of honey and apple cider in the two, they both look very much the same in terms of color at the moment. I expected the much denser Meadtoberfest to be darker, but I guess adding the buckwheat honey to Frankenbrew helped darken that one up.
Right now Frankenbrew is bubbling a little faster than Meadtoberfest. I'm not sure how Frankenbrew will turn out as it does represent the first time I've intentionally gone well outside the painted lines. But, I hope it turns out well. Seemed like a good idea to help get rid of the excess must. It also means potentially 2 gallons of mead from one attempt as opposed to the usual 1 gallon. And lastly, with a meagre 8% potential alcohol by volume I expect that if it turns out, it will be both done and ready to consume in a MUCH shorter timespan than the other. Which also means I have a test subject for the new chemicals and back-sweetening without ruining the batch I had intended to use them on for the first time. Also, the name is better than the other one, so it'll be a drag if it is the first mead I truly need to send down the drain.
First up is Meadtoberfest. I had no real motivation for this name other than it is currently October and the first thing that came to mind was Octoberfest. Anyway, I started with Wellesly Apple Cider in a 1 gallon jug and 3 lbs of Amber honey from Bulk Barn. I brewed some Chimney Fire tea in the must while I was mixing in the honey. I didn't end up using the full 3 lbs of honey since I tested the must with the hydrometer when most of it was in and my potential alcohol by volume was already way over where I wanted, so I added in more apple cider to bring it down a bit. I used EC-1118 yeast and yeast nutrient and the starting gravity was about 1.116 which should give me a potential ABV of a little over 15%. A little higher than I was aiming for (11-12%). Next time I'll be measuring the SG earlier in the process of adding the sugars. Once it starts getting up around that potential 15% I'm a bit concerned it will start producing the flavors I was trying to avoid this time. Only time will tell. And now I know better not only how to use my new hydrometer, I also have a better idea of when to use it so I don't make this mistake again in the future.
To end up at that SG I needed to dilute my must much more than I thought I was going to need too. So, I decided to end up making 2 batches instead. One was going to be solely the ingredients mentioned above, and the other was going to be a much more crude batch. Just topping up with tap water and the random left over honeys from previous batches. With Halloween coming up and all of random stuff thrown together to make it and the corners cut to get there Franken Brew seemed like an appropriate name.
Frankenbrew contains all of ingredients from Meadtoberfest, but in what proportions, I don't know or care. There is also some added Barrie tap water, some Buckwheat honey from Muskoka and some generic honey (Honey Bear!). Much less of the final product is apple cider, so I wouldn't even call this one a cyser. It is closer to just a generic mead based on how much water I had to add. Also, it has a MUCH lower potential ABV. With an initial gravity reading of just 1.063, it tops out at just over 8% alcohol. So closer to a strong beer than a wine.
Both are fermenting away nicely right now. And despite the drastic differences in proportions of honey and apple cider in the two, they both look very much the same in terms of color at the moment. I expected the much denser Meadtoberfest to be darker, but I guess adding the buckwheat honey to Frankenbrew helped darken that one up.
Right now Frankenbrew is bubbling a little faster than Meadtoberfest. I'm not sure how Frankenbrew will turn out as it does represent the first time I've intentionally gone well outside the painted lines. But, I hope it turns out well. Seemed like a good idea to help get rid of the excess must. It also means potentially 2 gallons of mead from one attempt as opposed to the usual 1 gallon. And lastly, with a meagre 8% potential alcohol by volume I expect that if it turns out, it will be both done and ready to consume in a MUCH shorter timespan than the other. Which also means I have a test subject for the new chemicals and back-sweetening without ruining the batch I had intended to use them on for the first time. Also, the name is better than the other one, so it'll be a drag if it is the first mead I truly need to send down the drain.
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