Meads

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

By Sonja Raschke

(3 gallon)

3 - 12 oz. Bag cranberries, picked over (I didn't pick them over)

12lbs honey

1 cup Firmly packed brown sugar

6 - 3 in. cinnamon sticks

18 whole cloves

3 tsp. Freshly grated nutmeg

Brew Water

Combine all ingredients and about 2 cups of the honey and a splash of water.  Simmer mixture until cranberries have burst and the mixture thickens (about 20-30 minutes).  Add the rest of the honey and water and brew mead as usual.

I removed the cloves and cinnamon sticks before placing mixture in carboy.  Fermentation is very slow.  I recommend using a yeast starter and over pitch.

I took the above recipe and modified it mildly.  I tripled it for a 3 gallon batch, I only used a total of one cup of brown sugar and 12 lbs of honey for a 3 gallon batch.  Cook the cranberry sauce first then make the mead.  When the mead was finished I removed the cinnamon sticks and picked everyone of those darn cloves out of the brew.  I'm glad I did.  The spices are prominent enough without leaving them in fermentation.  I also used a white labs champagne yeast (which 2 days later still hadn't started fermentation) and a dry package of champagne yeast since the first one failed.

Blueberry Pie Mead

10 - 12 lbs Crocket Honey
12 lbs fresh blueberries
1 lemon - squeezed for juice
1 cup brown sugar
Champagne yeast

Simmer blueberries with brown sugar and a few cups of honey.  Add lemon
juice, stir often and mash blueberries.  Simmer until mixture thickens
then add water and the rest of the honey and heat to pasturization (180
degrees) for 20 - 30 minutes.  During last 10 minutes of pasturization
add yeast nutrient (as directed by manufacturer).

Remove the mead from the heat and cool the mead down to 70 degrees using
a wort chiller or an ice bath.  Pour the mead into a clean  6 1/2 gallon
carboy and pitch your yeast.  Note:  use a bigger carboy to allow for
expansion or co2 build up.

Fermentation will be very stronge.  I suggest you watch the carboy
closely the first 24-48 hours or attach a blow off tube.

Enjoy,

Sonja Raschke