SC - peach mead?

[Nick Sasso]

I'm in search of my recipe book for melomels.....though not a period resource.

Basic concepts to remember when using fruit in brewing:
1) Heat will set the natural pectins in fruit.  Rather than boil (EEK!), steep
at 150F for half hour to sanitize your fruit.  Pectin will cause haze that
acannot be cured...no taste problems, but cloudy.  I boil honey till scum
coagulates, skim, turn off heat, then add fruit, cover, and wait 30 minutes.
Then cool with wort chiller and place fruit in the fermenter with the must.
Extracts more flavors.

2) Heat extracts tannins from skins.  The bitterish taste you get in hearty red
wines like cabernet and merlot. Not unpleasant, but to be considered in some
fruits like grapes, blueberries, and peaches to some degree.  Limit extremes of
heat or duration in heat to limit tannin utilizations.

3)  Use fruit that has not been chemically preserved.  It will kill the yeast
and give off flavors.  fresh fruit that is steeped will taste MUCH better.

4)  remove fruit after primary frementation.  After about two weeks, there ain't
much left but grusome looking hunks in the vat.  remove with santitized
strainer, or rack the mead out from under the floating 'carcasses'

5) vanilla beans will add a month to aging requirements....gotta mellow that
stuff out!

you can find a few recipes at my page URL:

http://www.mindspring.com/~grizly/recipesontap.htm

I'll be gald to offer any other help or advise you may need.  I've been
successfully brewing meads and beers for nigh on 13 years.  I've used many
vegetable matters in my mead, including pomegranate, blueberry, honeydew,
rhubarb, strawberries, apple, grape, wheat malt, mint, vanilla beans, cherries,
raspberries, and watermelon.  We have even been invited to brew our wares for
our crowns on a couple of occasions....a humbling honor indeed.

fra niccolo difrancesco
Knaves of Grain


Russell Gilman-Hunt wrote:

> Peach mead?  Peaches and honey?  Peach Mead?
>
> Can I have a recipe too?  *grin*  Or give me a few hints;
> is it like a basic mead + peaches?  Fresh/canned? Boil them
> with the honey?  Hmmm?  Just a hint, I'll work the rest.
>
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