goatilocks
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So if you make a fruity mead, is the taste of honey really strong? I dont much care for honey but the orange and spicy meads sound yummy!
Beer, Wine and Mead Makers Thread
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GardenWeasel
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Just bottled up my very first batch of strawberry wine. We got 10 1.75 bottles of it! It is a little dry for me but DH and the egg customer who turned me on to making it said it was lovely. I tried it last night again using the syrup from a failed batch of Strawberry-Black Pepper jam and it was quite tasty. Got another batch in the carboy already. Thank goodness for that failed recipe.
Lesa
Lovin' The Homestead
Isn't it exciting?? Strawberry wine sounds delish! I just tried hard cider and my first batch of mead. Putting it together seemed pretty easy- the waiting is the hard part! Enjoy!
Lesa
Lovin' The Homestead
I have been reading a year, minimum- best to wait two! The apple cider was a lot quicker. It was drinkable after about two months. I am sure it will get better with age, but it isn't awful!
You can make a aloholic beverage from any thing that has a fermentable sugar in it or something that you can convert into sugar. Beer is malted to convert the starches in barley or wheat into sugar. What it ends up tasting like is where the art is.valmom said:Wow. Maybe I should add alcoholic beverages to my SS skills, especially now that we have bees. One day we will have honey to spare! Can you make anything with maple syrup? I have tons of that...
I am going to have to look into this
Mickey328
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I started out with wine...the idea of Dandelion Wine has always seemed so romantic or something, LOL So, off we went, picking...whew...lots of work! Made a couple more batches of different types of fruit wines and then...omgosh...mead! I've always been intriqued by the notion, but wasn't sure I'd like it. We have a meadery about 40 miles from us and they offer free tours. So, we went and the fellow was helpful in the extreme! We sampled about 6 different kinds and they were all good...then we tasted the "Reserve". It was a 7 year old black raspberry mead and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! Black raspberry is just about my all time favorite fruit flavor and this had aged so long it was smooth as butter. That did it...came home and made my first batch of mead the very next day.
At the moment, I have about 15 gallons of mead and wine that really needs to be bottled and hauled down to the crawl space, but...well, the produce is all coming on so canning is taking precedence.
At the moment, I have about 15 gallons of mead and wine that really needs to be bottled and hauled down to the crawl space, but...well, the produce is all coming on so canning is taking precedence.
GardenWeasel
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Experienced wine makers help me out. I have only made one batch of strawberry wine and it turned out pretty good. I just bottled my first batch of concord grape wine after a year of being in the carboy. When I opened it I noticed a white gray film on top. Is it ruined? It doesn't smell bad and I sipped a tiny bit of it and didn't get sick. It just doesn't look appealing. I strained it through a pillowcase cause I didn't have a jelly bag. I do now. What are your feelings about this as I have a 4 gallon batch just started and don't want the same thing to happen.
doc_gonzo
Power Conserver
G weasel,
aahhhhh i'd be kinda leary.... i'm not sure about mead, but as far as wine or beer goes, funky grey stuff growing on top of a primary or secencary ferment is not a good sign in my experience. if there was any rye in the process you might have some organic LSD going on. that could be good or bad depending on youre mind set. just say'n. i worked in a sub shop back in the early '80s and we used a certain rye pita bread that when it went moldy........yeeeeeehaaaaa fun with organic chemestry. c'mon gd~ help me out, youre the chemistry guy here.
doc
aahhhhh i'd be kinda leary.... i'm not sure about mead, but as far as wine or beer goes, funky grey stuff growing on top of a primary or secencary ferment is not a good sign in my experience. if there was any rye in the process you might have some organic LSD going on. that could be good or bad depending on youre mind set. just say'n. i worked in a sub shop back in the early '80s and we used a certain rye pita bread that when it went moldy........yeeeeeehaaaaa fun with organic chemestry. c'mon gd~ help me out, youre the chemistry guy here.
doc
Emerald
Lovin' The Homestead
On wines I would be careful of a fine layer on top.. but on mead I have had beeswax on top of my meads after fermenting and while aging. it is a very fine (usually) white or cream little bit on top.
GardenWeasel
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No rye involved just Concord grapes and sugar and champagne yeast. We (not sure of terminology) took it from the carboy three times and left the dregs on the bottom. The film is more white than grey, could it still be fermenting. If it is funky what did we do wrong? The strawberry wine was made in the same way and did not get a film. Would restraining through a jelly bag make it stay clear? Don't want to throw it away if possible to save.
