Ginger Mead

started 11/5/2000
bottled 7/8/2001

Alcohol ~16%
Initial SG ~1.135
Final SG 1.019 (at bottling)
pH 2.73 TA ~0.6

Tasting Notes

8/15/2001 Color is pale golden. Decidedly honey nose. Taste is pleasant with up-front honey and lingering ginger heat that tickles the palate. Quite sweet at first, but finishes well balanced with the high alcohol.

10/1/2001 It has fermented in the bottle and now nicely carbonated. The taste is getting better and the sweetness is not quite as prominent.

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Ingredients

3 lb honey dissolved in water to 1 gallon
3 Oz ginger thinly sliced
2 star anise

11/5/2000 Simmered for 1 hour. Cooled. Added 1 nutrient tablet (crushed), 1/2 tsp citric acid, 1/2 tsp tartaric acid. Starter made from fermenting apple wine and some of the must. Only sat for 1 hour. Pitched.

11/6/2000 noon. no fermentation noticed. A package of premiere cuvee yeast sprinkled on top.

11/9/2000 Fermenting nicely

11/12/2000 Still fermenting in primary. SG measured at 1.108. Very high!! Must have been very high to start. Should have checked. Transferred into a 1 imperial gallon bottle and diluted with 2 cups water. 1/2 nutrient tablet added. SG 1.094.

Note: Starting gravity estimated at ~1.135 based on 1361 g/gallon.

http://members.tripod.com/~BRotter/CalcInfo/HydSugAl.htm

11/28/2000 SG 1.052. Tastes sweet, some gingery flavor

12/28/2000 SG 1.028. Fermenting very very slowly in the basement. Taste is nice.

1/9/2001 Looks like fermentation has stopped. No bubbles and beginning to clear. Racked into a clean gallon bottle containing 0.4 g potassium metabisulfite. SG measured 1.023. pH 3.05. The bottle was about 1 pint shy, so water was added to top it up. Remember to check SG and acid again. Hope the dilution will dilute the sugar and acid a little.

3/17/2001 Clearing nicely. Racked. SG 1.020, pH 2.90, TA ~0.55 Taste is sweet with a hint of ginger. Very nice. Maybe use more ginger next time. ~16% alcohol

7/8/2001 Racked SG 1.019, pH 2.73, 0.4g sulfite. Bottled into 10 12oz beer bottles.