June - Chocolate mead!

I remembered how nice Ehle (eventually) turned out and figured I should make a new batch so I'd have new chocolate mead in oh, 5 years or so. Adding the cacao right at the start made a huge mess last time (bubbles not popping but making a gross yeasty chocolate mousse that came right up through the airlock) so this time the plan is to let the primary fermentation slow down and only then add the cacao.

It's a 10 liter batch so the must is in a bucket right now and I can get the first sediment from the caramellisation out when I transfer to the demijohn and add the cacao.

JUNE

• 4 kilo lidl  honey - caramellised medium dark
• 5 gr mead yeast
• teaspoon of energiser

To be added:

• 200 gram Dutch cacao

Bottles!

Quite Windy (needs some time)
sg 1040 
Alcohol 15%

Tuve (yum)

sg 1044 
Alcohol 19%

Lisidh (Eh)
sg 1022 
Alcohol 16%

Shattered Spankerboom   (Don't open before 2016)
sg 1012 
Alcohol 16%
This does NOT want to calm down. Added yeast stopper last year, but the moment I racked it it was fizz city. Also pretty dry and sourish sadly.  Added a small amount of sage honey and bottled in champagne bottles. Should probably leave it at least a year and hope the sour note ages out. 

Jove Apple (Nice)

SG 1040
Alcohol 18%

Ehle Chocolate Vanilla (Nice. Could do with some time)

SG 1024
Alcohol 17%

Ehle Chocolate (Yum yum yum)

SG 1032
Alcohol 18%


And a surprise of the happy accident kind:

Bob Ross 
I made a 200ml bottle of honey syrup at some stage to mix honey into something. Forgot about it and it started to ferment. Needed the bottle and was about to chuck it when I smelled it and - well I would have been happy to smell that from a demijohn. Wild yeast though! It tastes like honey syrup with a very sharp kick.
SG 1170 (!!)
Alcohol 17% 
Put it in a different bottle and added a very small amount of port yeast. Let's see where this goes :-)