Batch #261: Summer in a Bottle
- Status
- Aging on Fruit
- Batch Size
- 1 gal
- Starting Gravity
- 1.108
- Final Gravity
- 0.998
- Approximate ABV (before backsweetening)
- 14.44%
The first batch of an exploration of summer fruit meads
- bulk wildflower honey
- ripe donut peaches from Collins Family Orchards
This is also the start of a new numbering scheme. Batches are now numbered YYN, where YY is the 2-digit year and N is a sequential number of meads started that year.
Most Recent Update
Added more peaches
- 1648g frozen peaches, thawed
Added thawed peaches and their juices.
Full Log
Mixed must
- 3 lbs bulk wildflower honey
- 3 lbs ripe donut peaches, frozen and thawed
- 2598ml bottled spring water (~.66 gal)
- 1 campden tablet
- ½ tsp pectinase
I brought the peaches home earlier in the week, and they were “use immediately” ripe, so I pitted them, broke them down, and froze them.
There’s enough in the freezer to add some more in secondary, and I plan on doing just that—after stabilizing—to try and get as much fresh peach flavor to come through as I can. I may follow those peaches up with vanilla and/or powedered acids for some fine adjustments.
Pitched yeast
- 5g Lalvin 71B wine yeast
- ½ tsp yeast nutrient
Measured the initial gravity to be 1.108 (so potential final ABV of 14.36%). I had to drop the hydrometer directly into the carboy because there were so many little fibers that I couldn’t even get my wine thief to fill properly. I hope those break down over the next few weeks.
Pitched yeast and nutrient.
Racked and began stabilizing
- 1 campden tablet
- 1 vanilla pod
Racked and sampled the mead, and measured the gravity as 0.998. It’s still a little harsh, especially at the end, but there’s still some detectable peach character. It fermented dry enough that I’d like to backsweeten, and my plan is to do that with more peaches. So I’ve got a bag of the same peaches that went into this mead’s primary fermentation defrosting in the fridge right now, and I added one campden tablet to start the stabilization process in advance of sweetening.
I’m optimistic that the combination of age, vanilla, and more peaches will bring this batch to a better place.
Stabilizing continues
- ½ tsp potassium sorbate
Added k-sorb to continue stabilizing. Peaches go in tomorrow!
Added more peaches
- 1648g frozen peaches, thawed
Added thawed peaches and their juices.