Blackberry Mead

Fall in Victoria is always a wonderful time, but the thing I love most is the free berries that grow just about everywhere! In past years I've managed to pick a few small bins to make a bit of blackberry wine, but this year J. and I went out and pulled in a huge harvest. After washing, processing and filling our freezer with berries, we thought about what to do with them all. It didn't take long to decide...

Blackberry Mead
Courtesy of CeltNet and Nemeton ancient recipes

Ingredients

3l unchlorinated water
2.7kg honey
1kg fresh blackberries boiled until soft with 3kg honey and 2l water
pared zest of 2 oranges
4 tsp yeast nutrient
6 tsp pectic enzyme
Yeast (Epernay II is good but champagne yeast would also work)

Method:

As with most of the other recipes here, this has been gauged to make 5l of mead. Only a basic listing of ingredients is given, and for a brewing method please see here for a step-by-step mead brewing guide. Also I have a list of brewing materials you will need if you've never tried mead making before.

Prepare the blackberries by boiling in with 3kg honey and 2l water until soft and mushy. In a separate pan combine the 3l unchlorinated water and 2.7kg honey. When the honey has dissolved mix in the blackberry mixture. Stir-in the orange zest and yeast nutrient then pour into your fermenting bucket. Cover and allow to cool to room temperature then stir-in the pectic enzyme and set aside for 12 hours.

Add the yeast and cover then set aside in a warm place to ferment for about 8 days, stirring every day until vigourous fermentation subsides. Remove the nylon bag at this time (but make certain you squeeze any liquid from it into the fermenting bucket before discarding.

Strain the liquid into a demijohn then make up to 5l with more water. Fit a bung and a fermentation lock and leave to ferment in a warm, dark, place for between 60 and 90 days (or until all fermentation has stopped. Rack the wine ino a second fermentation jar, add a bung and a fermentation lock and set aside for 45 days. Rack once more into a clean demijohn and set aside in a cool, dark, place for 45 days more, or until clarified. Rack the mead into bottles and cork securely then lay the bottles down in a cool place and allow to mature for at least 6 months. This mead, however, will age and develop over 2 years if you can leave it that long.

Blackberries and honey stewing on the stove

We got our honey from Peace River Honey Co. here in Victoria (call (250) 388-7002) and they gave us a very reasonable rate on the bulk honey we ordered. Can't wait to try this!

Mike stirring blackberries

Bottled: First ever all-grain beer (YUM!)
Racked: Oktoberfest Ale (Brewhouse kit)