Rhubarb Mead

Classification: mead, melomel, rhubarb mead

Source: Robert C. Santore (rsantore@mailbox.syr.edu), Mead Digest #326, 7/10/94

I like fruited meads to have dominate fruit flavor but I don't think that 7 cups rhubarb per gallon was at all excessive. At bottling this was sour with some sweetness, hot alcohol flavor typical of young mead. Overall very nice. I am looking forward to tasting this in the future.

Ingredients: (for 1-1/2 gallons)

1 gallon water
1 tsp yeast nutrient (ammonium phosphate)
3.5 cups wildflower honey (between 2.5 and 3 lbs)
7 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
sweet mead yeast

Procedure:

Water was boiled to drive off chlorine, then nutrient and honey added to dissolve, brought back to just boil then heat turned off and rhubarb added. Allowed to cool covered in pan overnight. Next day the mixture was poured back and forth between pan and plastic fermenter to aerate. Then the yeast sediment from a 1 qt starter of yeast was pitched. SG of honey mixture (before fruit) 1.092. Racked to secondary after about 1 month, bottled when still with priming sugar.

Specifics:

O.G.: 1.092