Honey Wine

sharingan

I just sampled my first Honey Wine project tonight and it was already really good.

For one demijohn:
I used about 800g of Honey, topped up with 200g of unrefined cane sugar. I used a basic yeast (youngs wine & beer yeast - nothing fantastic, but it can take higher ABVs) and I dumped in 5 clementines and a sprig of rosemary.

This was one of the simplest brews I used, but I used a brew belt after vigorous fermentation had ceased. But it is simple as hell to do and I would highly recommend it (especially if you can get your hands on gutsy honey).

It takes earthy flavours well (the original recipe called for hops!). I am thinking that this is a good beginners brew now.

John_C

How long did did it take to ferment and age? I make something similar; I use about 1.3kg of honey and no sugar and it takes about 3 months in total.

Most of the forums I read recommend leaving mead for at least 6 months or a year so I'm wondering what your experiences are.

Sky King

I'd love to try mead - it sounds delicious!

Khannie

Sky King wrote: »

I'd love to try mead - it sounds delicious!

Yeah, I might give this a lash too. Sounds easy enough.

Sky King

I put some honey in my cider. Have no idea if it made a difference or not but it sounds nice!

Khannie

Inspired by you and bulmers, I did too. I may prime a future batch with honey too to see how that works out.

sharingan

John_C wrote: »

How long did did it take to ferment and age? I make something similar; I use about 1.3kg of honey and no sugar and it takes about 3 months in total.

Most of the forums I read recommend leaving mead for at least 6 months or a year so I'm wondering what your experiences are.

Well it is strictly speaking a honey wine (I am unclear on the distinguishing qualities of mead beyond the aging necessary).

It is quite pleasant to drink straight away, but I intend to bottle & age it for as long as I can.

Will start a large batch tonight with a similar recipe and all honey.

Fermentation was quite fast - as I used a brew belt to keep the temperature up - about 3 weeks in total, gravity down to 0.990. For future runs, I will likely skip the brew belt (its getting warmer in the flat) and go for longer fermentations.

In addition to being a nice simple ferment, it seems like something that is a good base for flavouring (adding fruits, flowers or herbs).

John_C

Thanks for the info, sounds similar to mine. It takes me about 3 weeks for the fermentation to finish and then a few more for it to clear. It's drinkable at that stage but I give it another month for the flavour to mellow out.

I broke my hydrometer so I don't know what my final gravity is but it's pretty dry.

The last one I made had cinnamon and cloves in it. It came out very well. I'm going to put strawberries into my current batch. I'll let you know how I get on.

sharingan

John_C wrote: »

Thanks for the info, sounds similar to mine. It takes me about 3 weeks for the fermentation to finish and then a few more for it to clear. It's drinkable at that stage but I give it another month for the flavour to mellow out.

I broke my hydrometer so I don't know what my final gravity is but it's pretty dry.

The last one I made had cinnamon and cloves in it. It came out very well. I'm going to put strawberries into my current batch. I'll let you know how I get on.

Its immediately drinkable if you are not too fussy (surprisingly so in my experience).

I could see that aging could turn it into all sorts of awesome. I am keen to constantly have some of this on the go so that it gets the chance to age.

Got strawberries, blueberries and cherries for the next batch. Its going to be fun.

I am really keen to try flower infusions with it.