Moragh, Uriel, June

Moragh (the original coffee mead)
Cleared nicely. Realised I hadn't properly stopped it yet, so it's off the lees and stopped now.
Planning to put this in 0.33L bottles (since I have so little and want to share it with many!) with one (plastic) 0.5L bottle to bring with me to Wasteland. IDK if that's enough to enter in the contest but it needs to be shared there.

Uriel (5 gallon batch)
Cleared in the bucket but not completely, and I don't like having it in the bucket for long (worried about oxidation because of the huge headspace) so back into the big carboy with yeast stop and bentonite. I've left it on the dining table because letting it fall clear and then moving it is a pain, so.. it's got about 3 weeks before the table needs to be cleared for Christmas.

The plan with it then is to bottle 8-10 liters plain, because I just don't have any plain mead in stock and maybe that's an oversight. I want to fill a few bottles for spice experiments (I have black cardamom, tonka bean and kola nut to try). And as yet no decision what to do with the rest. I could infuse it with the spice tea I used for Lane? That should infuse just fine.  Or do a traditional spiced one for once, with clove, cinnamon, ginger? maybe? and some orange peel? idk

June (maple/cacao bochet, bottled)
Wanted something to drink this weekend and I don't know what possessed  me to think this was a good choice. It is very much Not Ready. Forget Christmas - MAYBE Christmas next year.

Hack42 experiments, Moragh, Uriel

Time for the second part of the mead workshop at Hack42! My batch was at SG 1030 and tasted weirdly thin.  I split my 5 liter batch into 7 regular wine bottles and added, as far as I can remember:
- rosemary
- thyme
- sage
 - thyme honey (into a champagne bottle)
- Rosemary and orange
- Thyme and lemon
- szenchua pepper and lemon

Looking forward to seeing how those turn out!

I had brought Moragh because last time I tasted it, it was gross and I thought I could shift it to more fanantic coffee drinkers. But I tasted it during the workshop and backsweetening has done it a WORLD of good, it tastes amazing! Subtle but distinctly coffee, exactly the right sweetness. It's only about half a year old. It's in the fridge cold-crashing now and I will bottle it in small bottles. I also started

Moragh Too
- coffee cold-brewed from 6 coffeepads
 - 2 kilo honey
- mead yeast

Coffee makes for serious foam, so note for future reference: this needs a blowoff tube. 

Uriel
Finally racked this. It's such a fuss in these volumes (5 gallon batch)

SG1004
Alc ~15%

Doesn't taste bad, just very dry. Backsweetened with a kilo honey to ~1020. It has shown no signs of clearing so far, so I may try to do the superklar treatment so I can split it out.

Dale - tasting

Pulled open a bottle of Dale (pomegrenate/vanilla) and oh, this is interesting. The first wash is acidic, and then it immediately mellows down into sweet and vanilla. a little weird, but not bad at all

Bottlings - Noon & Kearney

Noon - fig mead

Bottled at SG 1020 and ~16% vol
On the dry side of sweet, fruity, nice balance

5 big bottles and 3 small ones

Kearney - Bengal Spice & Cacao

SG 1032 and ~16% vol
The spice is there, the cacao is distant. It might age more forward, but it's pretty nice already.

4 big bottles and 2 small ones

Wasteland Mead Contest!

Bottles I brought with me this year were Lane (Ginger-apple-hibiscus) and Chai (Bengal Spice).  Both very popular with the judges and the crowd. I won the judges choice award for.. I think it was Chai.

The categories this year were Traditional, Melomel and Unique / other. The latter being by far the busiest, and there were almost no traditional entries. I might try for that next year? One of the judges encouraged me. It kind of depends on if they're looking for typical meads ('the meadiest mead' like in the first year) or if they're open to 'that's a cool thing you did with just water, honey and yeast'.

If the second, I should really make another with thyme or sage honey - both those turned out great before. Or give rosemary honey a try. I can't quite remember why I didn't try that initially. 

For ref: Undine - thyme / Veritas - Sage / Wuluwaid - Eucalyptus

Rackings

Seraph (date syrup)
1010 / 17%
Sharp. I don't know what to think. Let's age it and see what happens

Tai
1000 / 17%
Added 500gr honey

Ruby
1000 / 16%
Added 650 gr honey
Not very nice, but orangey, so we'll see what that ages into

Noon - fig
1022 / 18%
Tastes 'winey'. Nice. Yeast-stopped

Paloma - raspberry
1000 / 17%
Obviously dry/acicidic
This might be a good one to make carbonated wine with?

Kearney
1030
Spicy, the cacao is still acidic. This is gonna need time.
Bentonite to clear it

Many Meads

Full to capacity! Only thing I have empty is a 5L and a 10L bottle to make racking easy. 

Uriel

Uriel - 19L/5 gallon plain mead

19 liter! 19!
Starting SG ~1102

6.5 kilo honey
mead yeast

Decided to do this plain and I can split it out to flavour it in secondary or something.

Tai

Tai - 10L

250 gr cacao nibs and 1 box of Bengal Spice chai boiled in a couple of liter water
~3500 gr honey
Mead yeast

Starting SG ~1100

I exhausted the nibs and the teabags by pouring off the tea and then putting in new hot water. Might still add more in secondary if it needs it.
The stopper for this carboy is allllmost in too deep and I am Concerned. MUST get it out when I replace the blowoff tube with an airlock, can't just jam in an airlock or the stopper will end up inside the carboy. Use some kind of hooked thingy through the stopper's hole to yank it out.

update: got the stopper out with a clotheshanger. 

Seraph

Seraph - date (5L)

1500 gr honey
300 gr date syrup
sherry/mead yeast

Starting SG 1100

Date syrup has an interesting flavour, fruity but with a hint of salt, almost like zwart wit/salmiak powder. Maybe I should have added it in secondary, I don't know.

Racking

Lane - ginger/apple/hibiscus tea

SG 1032
18%

Smells amazing - appley! Tasting both the apple and ginger, not sure if I get the hibiscus. good sweetness. Aftertaste is a bit hot. Currently in the fridge to cold crash.

Wait, did I put yeast stop in this? I've been thinking about doing a carbonated batch and this would work for it. Shit, my notes don't say. Though even if I didn't, I think this is too fermented out to get going again. Might try it a second time with this tea though, I like the result.

Moragh - coffee

SG 1012
19% ?
Was a bit scared to try this but it's not bad. Mostly dry. Smells of coffee for sure. Taste is a bit acidic from the coffee and maybe I just don't like black coffee... but meh. Added yeast stop + 125 gr honey, cold crashing it. IDK if I'll ever want to drink this. Maybe if I age it?

Noon - fig

SG 0.999
17%
+350 gr honey to SG 1022
No taste notes. Kinda too early to tell anyway.

Kearney - cacao + bengal spice 

SG 1030
17%
Oh this smells SO GOOD. Taste is more mellow than the peppery hit of Chai, but very nice. Wish there was a more pronounced cacao flavour but I think it's there. More nibs for the big batch I plan to make (10L). Or make cacao nib tea?

Added yeast stop & bentonite

Ode - strawberry & apple

SG 0.999
14/15% alc

+ 275 gr honey & yeast stop
No taste notes. Kinda too early and too dry to tell anyway.

The Bottling

Sess came to help me and we bottled 40 liters of mead. Go us! My basement storage is suddenly full again.

Hild - 5L - bochet

SG 1040
Alc 15%

Very dark and beautiful colour. Good sweetness with enough complexity. Fruity caramel aftertaste.

bottles:
4 x 0.75
1  x 0.5
3 x 0.33
1 x 0.25

June - 10L - Cacao/Maple

SG 1034
Alc ~19? I think that's probably not right.

Beautiful dark red-brown colour. Currently not tasting the maple.  Right now it has that 90% cacao chocolate aftertaste - the acidity needs to mellow out and then I think this will be wonderful. I might try a little bottle by Christmas, but I think this needs at least a year. It tastes of potential, so I have hope and will make patience.

Bottles:
1 x 1L
8 x 0.75
2 x 0.5
5 x 0.33

Edain - 5L - Lemon Vanille

SG 1052
Alc 17%

Surprisingly not acidic at all - the tannin must have done its job slowly. I wish I had waited to backsweeten until I'd given the tannin some time because I would have liked this better a touch less sweet. It's a little on the over-sweet for me now, the vanilla comes out more and surprisingly the lemon mellowed way down. It's unexpectedly flowery with lemon aftertaste. Very summery.

Dale - 5L - pomegranate and vanille

 SG 1052
Alc ~20%? I don't think that's right

Same thing as with Edain - the tannin must have done more than expected, because the acidity is way down and it's lost that typical sour-dry-bitter mouthfeel.  Very sweet (a bit too much, again) fruity, very drinkable.

Idria (Gaia + Idris) - 13 liter - apple bochet

SG 1030
Alc 13%

Beautiful deep dark colour. And oh, this is GOOD. There's a bit of appelstroop to it, caramellisation is noticeable but not overpowering. Sweetness is just right. Very very drinkable and I'm excited to have 13 liter of it. 

Bottles:
4 x 1L
8 x 0.75
1 x 0.5
8 x 0.33

Ruby - blood orange mead

Ruby - 10L

3 kilo honey
3 liters blood orange juice
port yeast
bit of tannin
bit of enzym

Orange rind (lots!) to be added in secondary to hopefully get a good orangy flavour to it.

10 liters so may end up splitting this out for secondary and do half with cacao and half with rosemary

Quasi - Lemon & Thyme mead (to be)

Quasi - 5L

1150 gr honey
Champagne yeast

Intending to add lemon zest and backsweeten it with thyme honey 

Might be a good candidate to try carbonating?

Mead to-do list

 Fix in primary:

• Bengal spice and cacao - again, long aging
• Bochet with vanilla
• Blueberry juice. Like, a LOT of it. I just finished a bottle of Yngvi and that had no colour at all.  Shame
• Lapsang Sauchong tea mead
• Nettle-rosemary tea mead

  Fix in secondary:

• Lemon (just zest, not juice) and thyme (honey? Or herb?)
• Orange (rind, not juice?) and cacao - note long aging time
• Dates. Or date syrup?
• Rosehip. I have a bag of dried rosehip
• Speculaas spices. 
• Mint? Lemon and mint?
• Cinnamon and mint? 
• Something something rosemary
• A fizzy mead!

Free right now:
5 L  Plain primary, add lemon zest & backsweeten with thyme honey
5 L  Lapsang tea
10 L Bengal spice tea
10 L - orange: split later into half + cacao and half + rosemary
19 L - something accessible. Plain with spices in secondary