Mulberry Mead

Classification: mead, melomel, mulberry mead

Source: Thomas Manteufel (thomas@ct.med.ge.com), Mead Digest #148, 6/6/93

This mead recently (March 20) won a first in the mead/cider category of the Brewer's Of South Suburbia (south suburban Chicago) regional homebrew competition. It's a simple recipe that lends itself well to many different melomels. This was a medium mead. If I want a sweeter taste, I use 3 pounds of honey, and a pound of fruit, varying according to the fruit's strength.

Ingredients: (for 1 gallon)

2# wildflower honey
12 ozs. frozen mulberries
water up to 1 gallon
Red Star Montrachet yeast

Procedure:

Pasturized and skimmed honey at 170F for 1/2 hour. Added frozen mulberries at end of heating. Pitched with rehydrated Red Star Montrachet yeast. Used NO nutriment.

Racked to secondary after 9 days, as berries were beginning to bleach. Bottled when 2 months old.

Specifics:

O.G.: 1.082
F.G.: 1.002