Background
We wanted to try our hand at a blackberry melomel (mead made with fruit). We picked a slew of wild blackberries this summer and tossed them into the freezer in about 1-quart parcels. When Shelley thawed them out to make the mead, the freeze/thaw process had taken care of 90% of the juicing.
Brewer
Shelley Stuart (Mead Magic)
Ingredients
- Contents of one Mead Magic kit (we used a Fall Wildflower booster pack for this experiment)
- Blackberries
- Pectic enzyme
When you make mead with fruit, pectic enzymes will help prevent “pectin haze” in your final mead. Pectin is found naturally in fruits, and helps a jelly gel. You can make a melomel without using pectic enzyme (or pectinase) if you don’t care about the clarity of your final drink.
If you order a booster pack to make a blackberry melomel, let us know — we’ll throw in some pectic enzyme for you!
Directions
- Freeze, then thaw 2 pounds of blackberries in a gallon freezer bag. Mash the thawed berries by squeezing the bag (gently) with your hands to extract some more juice.
- Start with Stage 1 of your kit’s instructions. To your must, add 2 pounds of frozen blackberries, and 1/2 teaspoon of pectic enzyme (if you’re using this).
- Proceed with Stage 2.
- When you rack your must at Stage 2A, strain out the blackberries with a piece of cheesecloth or strainer. If you leave the blackberry seeds in with your mead, they might impart a bitter flavor.
- Ferment according to the rest of the Mead Magic instructions.
Brewer
Shelley Stuart (Mead Magic)
Notes from the brewer
April, 2015: When racking to the carboy, we tasted a honey flavor with some berry elements. This mead went dry at the end, with a primary blackberry taste, and was a touch tart upon bottling — it definitely needed time in the bottle. This recipe made seven 10-ounce bottles, and one 16-ounce bottle.
Timetable
January 9, 2015: pitched yeast
January 16, 2015: racked to secondary
April 23, 2015: bottled into seven 10-ounce bottles, and one 16-ounce Mead Magic bottle.