Cherry Melomel

Mead comes in a number of varieties. Although pure fermented honey is the oldest form of alcohol, it was soon combined with other sources of sugar to enhance flavor. In this case, I made a little over a gallon with black cherries and Wildflower honey from Stroope's, in Alvin, TX (a little south of Houston). Since I was only going for a gallon, and since I was mixing flavors, I went for 1 1/2lbs of cherries and 3lbs of honey.

I started by tossing the quartered, pitted cherries into the blender to puree. I added this to the mead after it was significantly cooled (about half-way between removing from heat and adding the yeast. This will hopefully preserve the integrity of the cherry taste, as opposed to

After looking at the finished (for today, anyway) product, I was definitely pleased. It is a long way from transparent, but that is only a couple months away.

BB-2 Another Bayou Brew

As I walked downstairs an began to heat up my breakfast of smoked Texas sausage and mustard (don't judge me), I noticed something out of place. It seems as though yesterday, in the brewing pandemonium that ensued here, I left out just enough yeast to brew one more mini-batch. The inherent problem was that there was no more honey.

It should be noted that if someone wants a good man to accomplish something post haste, it would do the aforementioned someone well to express doubt in the possibility of said action. It was at this point that I realized that A.) I had a whole jar of 100% pure cajun cane syrup left, and B.) I should try this as a complete substitute for honey.

My objective is to make a lightly-carbonated drink that tastes similarly to a cold, spiced tea with a shot of mild rum. I went with about twice the herbs, and I let the tea steep in the water for 2-3 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.

It should be noted at this time that when placing a tea bag in the water that is on top of the gas grill, you have two choices.

1. Cut the string.

2. Let it burn.

Unfortunately, I only had time to boil and strain. By this evening when I get home from work though, I should have everything caught up to the point of fermentation.

Bayou Brew

A few months ago, I took a road trip with a very dear friend. I flew up to Baltimore to meet him, and we drove all the way to Houston, TX. Although the company was exceptional, the one place that I can honestly say I wanted to spend more time in was good ole 'nawlins.

I had gone to Louisiana for one week a year to visit family as an annual summer tradition from about ages 8-16. We went to the gator farms, caught various reptiles and even went to Cafe du Monde once or twice. This time, it was "Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go DIRECTLY to Vieux Carre." Well, we stopped to get a hotel in Metairie, because I am cheap like that, but you get the idea...

The people there are superbly hospitable, the atmosphere is world class, and I have already planned a return trip for this summer. What follows is my tribute to the 'Big Easy.' I call this batch BB-1, or "Bayou Brew."

This time, I cut the pound of honey down to 10oz, and replaced it with 6oz of pure cane syrup (Think molasses). From there, it was the usual lemon, cinnamon and cloves with just a hint of tea. Currently, it is roughly the same color as Newcastle Brown Ale, but otherwise has roughly the same consistency/clarity as other brews of its age. I am stoked about this one, as it smells absolutely splendid!

Key Lime Agave Mead/How-to edition

In an ideal scenario, my mead when mature will be between 20-30 proof and drink like a beer. My most successful batches have been an orange-spice tea-flavor and a well-aged cinnamon brew. These are not 'true' meads, as mead by itself is a harsh, yet potent drink. I typically use a 4lb:gallon honey/water ratio, which tends to be about 33% more






Hopefully, the key lime/agave batch will be a crisp, yet smooth beverage akin to a 4x potency Corona w/ Lime. To help ensure success, I am altering each batch slightly, and only making batches with 1 lb of honey and 1qt water











Batch "AN-1" consists of 1lb of organic honey and 2T agave nectar from Whole Foods, 1/4 stick of cinnamon from Thompson Produce by way of the Dallas Farmers' Market, 1/2 of a key lime, 1 whole clove and 1qt Montgomery County tap water.







The variations for Batch AN-2 are as follows: We boosted the agave content to 2oz, as opposed to 2T. The honey from this batch was gathered at R. Weaver Apiaries in Navasota, TX (About 30-miles W of here). Because this is wildflower honey, it will make a much darker finished product than the more commercial clover honey.







With AN-3, we kept the Weaver's wildflower honey and used 3T of agave nectar. We also dropped the honey content from 1lb to 12oz, and incorporated 1/4 lemon, rather than the key lime half. This is the safe batch, in case the lime proves to be overpowering.







AN-4 is another safe batch, with 12oz honey and 3T agave nectar. We used 1/4 of a standard lime, in case there was something about the key lime that proved to bring about a negative result.

















As the mead boils, a layer of scum rises to the top. It is not imperative that the scum is removed, but it is highly recommended as it will help the brew to be clearer from the beginning, so that when it is finished in a couple of months it is virtually transparent.

Left: AN-1, Right: AN-2

AN-3

AN-4

After boiling each batch for 30-minutes, the mix is transferred through a filter and into separate mason jars. For some reason, regardless of how much a given container was designed for fermentation/aging, nothing, and I mean NOTHING makes for a better brew than a mason jar. From there, they will cool to almost room temperature before I stir in the yeast and cover for fermentation. This is done by storing the jars in a cool (55-degreees, +/-), dry place. Traditionally, this was done by burying the containers for a few days, allowing for the right temperature for the yeast to consume the sugar. From there, we will rack weekly to remove yeast carcasses, after which the mead will be consistently more transparent. Full maturity for this recipe is in about 2 months; stay tuned!