Raspberry Star Thistle Mead

For those of you familiar with homebrewing/mead making, a simple recipe follows. If you are new to brewing mead or just want to add to your knowledge base, I highly recommend Michigan author Ken Schramm's book, The Compleat Meadmaker.

This recipe yields 6 gallons of finished mead. The hardest part of the whole operation is waiting for the fermentation to finish. I fermented this mead in 3 stages. I wanted the sweet wine-like qualities the Montrachet yeast would impart, but didn't want to overwhelm the yeast with too high a starting gravity, so I added some honey later on. The fruit was added after the initial, volatile fermentation had subsided, so raspberry aromas would not be scoured out of the mead by the huge amounts of carbon dioxide being released. The third stage was adding more honey to boost the alcohol content and make certain the mead finished with some sweetness. Champagne yeast, which is more alcohol-tolerant than Montrachet yeast, was added at this time.

Ingredients
18 pounds Star Thistle honey (I used Millie Hathaway's Bees honey from P.O. Box 333 Suttons Bay, MI 49682, available at the T. C. farmers' market)

1 can (96 oz.) Vintner's Harvest Raspberry Wine Base (available at Diversions on Front St. in T. C.)

3.75 teaspoons Yeast Energizer (Diversions)
3.75 teaspoons Yeast Nutrient (Diversions)
1 package dry Red Star Montrachet Wine Yeast (Diversions)
1 package dry Red Star Pasteur Champagne Yeast (Diversions, yet again)

Procedure

Dissolve 15 pounds honey in 2 gallons water.
Heat to 150-160 degrees F.
Hold at temperature for 15-20 minutes.
Add 2.5 teaspoons of Yeast Energizer and 2.5 teaspoons Yeast Nutrient.
Add 1.5 gallons cold water to sanitized fermenter.
Pour in warm honey mixture and mix well.
Wait for it to cool to below 105 degrees F.
Add rehydrated (follow pkg. instructions) Montrachet Yeast.
Stir or shake for 5 minutes to thoroughly oxygenate the brew.
Your starting gravity should be about 1.106.
Fit the fermenter with a fermantation lock and place in a dark corner where the temperature remains between 65-80 degrees F.

When the mead has cleared (in my case, this took about 3 months)and the gravity has dropped to about 1.02 or so, rack (siphon) into another sanitized carboy, leaving the yeast on the bottom of the first fermenter.
Add the Raspberry Wine Base at this time, along with 1.25 teaspoons of Yeast Nutrient and 1.25 teaspoons of Yeast Energizer.
If fermentation does not visibly start in a few days, add the rehydrated Pasteur Champagne yeast.
If fermentation takes off without the yeast addition, add the Champagne yeast with the following.
About a month after adding the raspberry wine base, add 3 pounds of honey, dissolved in 1 gallon of warm water.

When fermentation stops (my batch glugged along for over a year) and the mead clears to a brilliant pink/red, test the gravity.
Mine finished out at 1.010.
Bottle.

Chill and enjoy. You'll find it's worth the wait.

Filed under Recipes • Drinks