Apricot/Blackberry melomel

[Shine0n]

I've been contemplating a different melomel to try and after ALOT of research I decided to combine the blackberries for the acidity and mild flavors and the bulk of the fruit will be apricots 15lb total of them for the body of the mead.

I may add 8 lb of peaches with them at the end for a mixture of NICE!

Base mead will be
17.5 lb clover honey
Home made yeast nutrients, 3 tsp bakers yeast, pinch Epsom salt, 1 tsp lemon juice, 2 prenatal vitamin.
71-B yeast rehydraded in 1 tsp table sugar for 20 minutes.

Mixed very thoroughly with my also home made whip, added yeast mixture and airlocked at 71°f

Will do sna every other day for 6 days (3 nutes addition) and degas every day for 8 days.

This is a base mead (traditional) that I will add the fruit after racking the first time, possibly once down to 1.010ish. still in limbo over that one as everyone I speak with has an opinion. I'm trying not to add too much sugar later as in the past it has made the yeast go well past the abv tolerance so I'm still going with the original way I've spoke on.

24 hours before racking I'll use pectic enzyme to the fruit and then add to the must after racking.
2nd fermentation will be
8 lb blackberry
15lb apricots
OR 10 apricots 5 peach
Or 16 apricots 10 peach.

I want the apricots to shine and as peach and the cots are similar, they are very very different in certain ways and a combo of the two will make this melomel a winner.

We'll see very soon!!!
feel free to comment or suggestions.
Thanks for reading and I hope someone will try this one after my findings.
Shine0n

[Shine0n]

Even with 17.5 lb of honey watered up to 5 gal the 71-B which is a beast has taken off like a rocket.

I heard a thump around 430 am and looked in there and it blew the airlock right out, so I had to install a blow off tube. lol

I'll do another nutes addition this afternoon and then again in 2 days. I believe this will be down to .010 in 10-12 days and if I can get this stuff to clear it should be ready for Christmas this year.

Alot of reading and talking with meadery owners has gotten me leaps ahead of the old school way of waiting for years for meads to develop. Now time is a good thing don't get me wrong but nowa days with the advanced protocols meads can be ready in months.

I love this shit!)

[raketemensch]

Not just ready, but so eager they’ll launch an airlock....

[Shine0n]

Yeah, I've got 2.5 gal heads pace in my new fermenter thank god!
I think I need some new fermaid o, I put another addition in today and it didn't foam or nothing. I did degas very good with my new redneck wine whip tho.

Broke my first hydrometer in 3 years today so couldn't tell you what the sg is right now, I can't make it to the brew shop till Thursday so I'm sol for now but it's going good from what I can see and smell and taste.

Still sweet as hell but not as sweet as the beginning.

[Shine0n]

The yeasties caught a good case of the munchies, and in the last 7 days it's gone down to .025 and starting to settle a little.
I'm going to rack this weekend and put in the fruit, give it 2 weeks and rack again for 3 months.
I'm still in the air about adding chemical to stop all fermentation at a certain level but I think the yeast will tinker out before then anyhow.

I'm taking a gallon out to go dry so if it's too sweet at the end I can try to balance it out some.