In an attempt to use up the rest of our plums, and protect against not having any plums next year like we had last year, I am making another 5 gallon batch of plum alcohol. This will be a melomel, and I think the plum and honey flavors will mix well together.
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Process:
Rinsed all of the plums and removed any stems and all of the pits. I then roughly chopped the plums and put them in my primary bucket. I broke them up by vigorously stirring them with a large metal spoon for a few minutes. I heated a couple of gallons until the water was warm but not boiling. I added my honey and let it dissolve, and then poured this over the plums in the primary bucket.
Checked the OG, which turned out to be 1.090. I added my pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient, pitched the yeast, and attached a blow-off tube.
10-5-12: Put into primary bucket. OG measured at 1.090 giving an alcohol potential of 12.0% ABV.
11-15-12: Racked into 6-gallon carboy. There was roughly 1 gallon of pulp left behind in primary, giving 4 gallons of liquid. SG measured at 1.004.
1-20-13: Racked into 5-gallon carboy. SG measured at 1.004 giving a strength of 11.4% ABV. Tasted good on the front, with nice plum flavor, but harsh honey flavor in the finish. This will need to be aged for a while.
5-2-14: Well, this has been sitting in my brew room for some time now. A lack of clean bottles, forgetfulness, and the knowledge that meads/melomels do well with long periods of aging have all contributed to the fact that this has been in a carboy for a little over a year and a half. Bottled into 44 12-ounce bottles, FG measured at 0.997. Tasting revealed a great plum flavor with some residual sweetness, and a nice finish.
Tags: clover, honey, italian plum, mead, melomel, plum
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