Blackcurrant Mead Bottled
Hello all,
Last night was a bottling session. I bottled my blackcurrant mead; I would consider it semi-sweet, bordering on dry, with a terminal gravity of 1.004. To my best estimation the alcohol content is somewhere between 12% and 13%. I chose not to use finings...a sample I took last month appeared very clear. However, when I racked the mead I noticed that much of it was still cloudy, apparently not all the yeast had fully dropped out of suspension. This isn't a major problem, as with time the yeast will flocculate out in the bottle, but it does mean I will have more sediment in the bottles than I would have had otherwise. Not a big issue, but I'll probably clarify all my meads in the future with finings before bottling. This mead had a nice jammy nose from the currants, I think it will mellow nicely in the bottle. Great acidic bite, too!
Let me tell you...a Ferrari floor corker is a beautiful thing. Splendid, consistent corking with ease. Awesome piece of equipment. Brass jaws in the iris, heavy construction...it's a great tool.
Also I racked my Agincourt Ale into secondary. Well attenuated, at 1.023. It has a splendidly estery nose of bananas...the specific ester is isoamyl acetate for you chemistry geeks. Also tutti-frutti and bubblegum aromas, all stemming from the Belgian origins of the T58 yeast strain. Very nice...I'm quite impressed with T58.
Next week I'm having a sampling at my house...I think I might also cook up a Carbonnade (Belgian beef stew) using my Wee Heavy ale.
Last night was a bottling session. I bottled my blackcurrant mead; I would consider it semi-sweet, bordering on dry, with a terminal gravity of 1.004. To my best estimation the alcohol content is somewhere between 12% and 13%. I chose not to use finings...a sample I took last month appeared very clear. However, when I racked the mead I noticed that much of it was still cloudy, apparently not all the yeast had fully dropped out of suspension. This isn't a major problem, as with time the yeast will flocculate out in the bottle, but it does mean I will have more sediment in the bottles than I would have had otherwise. Not a big issue, but I'll probably clarify all my meads in the future with finings before bottling. This mead had a nice jammy nose from the currants, I think it will mellow nicely in the bottle. Great acidic bite, too!
Let me tell you...a Ferrari floor corker is a beautiful thing. Splendid, consistent corking with ease. Awesome piece of equipment. Brass jaws in the iris, heavy construction...it's a great tool.
Also I racked my Agincourt Ale into secondary. Well attenuated, at 1.023. It has a splendidly estery nose of bananas...the specific ester is isoamyl acetate for you chemistry geeks. Also tutti-frutti and bubblegum aromas, all stemming from the Belgian origins of the T58 yeast strain. Very nice...I'm quite impressed with T58.
Next week I'm having a sampling at my house...I think I might also cook up a Carbonnade (Belgian beef stew) using my Wee Heavy ale.
posted by SQLFunkateer at 9:03 AM
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