MintMetheglin

From Simreal

1 Mint Metheglin
- 1.1 Notes

Mint Metheglin

by Matt and Susan Pinsonneault and Beth Loubet

A mint honey mead. Makes 1 gallon.

Amount	Ingredient
4 1/2 lbs	orange blossom honey
1/2 cup	chopped peppermint leaves
1 1/2 cups	orange juice
1 tsp	acid blend
1 tsp	yeast nutrient
1 tsp	pectic enzyme
1 pkg	Red Star Pasteur Champagne dry yeast
1/4 tsp	grape tannin
2	campden tablets

1. Dissolve the honey in warm water, 2 parts water to 1 part honey.

2. Pour the honey mixture into the fermenter, top off with water to 1 gallon, and add the mint, acid blend, and pectic enzyme. Then crush and add campden tablets. Cover and let sit for 24 hours.

3. Make yeast starter culture with dry yeast, yeast nutrient, and orange juice. Shake vigorously and wait 1-3 hours, or until bubbly. Pitch yeast and add tannin.

4. Leave in primary until most vigorous fermentation is over (~7 days), then rack to secondary.

Notes

16-Jun-2007: Tried cold mixing and sanitizing with sulfites instead of pasteurizing or boiling. Added campden at 7PM.

17-Jun-2007: Made starter culture. Pitched yeast at 7PM. S.G. 1.148 @ 80 deg. (Took reading after pitching.) Put enough yeast nutrient in starter culture for a 5-gallon batch by mistake. Austin Homebrew says it's not a big deal; what the yeast doesn't eat will eventually settle to the bottom.

18-Jun-2007: Added grape tannin and aerated must again. Still no activity.

19-Jun-2007: re-inoculated with fresh yeast and aerated again. Still no activity.

20-Jun-2007: Still nothing. Looked at the must and saw some bubbles. Maybe the small fermenter has a poor seal and air is getting out around the lid instead of through the fermentation lock. We'll take a specific gravity reading in a few days and see if anything's happening.

23-Jun-2007: Racked into secondary. Could not get good hydrometer reading, but whatever it was, it was less than 1.080 so something is happening. And we're getting outward pressure and lots of tiny bubbles in the secondary. And it already tastes awesome!

4-Jul-2007: Large sediment buildup, so racked again. Fermentation slow and steady.

25-Jul-2007: Still some outward pressure, but fermentation has almost stopped. Very little sediment is visible.

3-Sept-2007: Some sediment, so racked it again. Clear, pale yellow. Alcohol content 15-20%. Tastes like plastic, probably from excess yeast nutrient. Potential for awesomeness is there once it settles out.