Recipe

Sparkling Blackberry Mead

a mead flavored with blackberries and heather blossoms
trying out Ken Schramm's "No Heat Method"
(The compleat Meadmaker, p43)

Batch Number:		030708	Starting Gravity:	1.096
			Final Gravity:	.997

Fermentables:
	12 lbs Howell wildflower honey

	Other 1:	4 lbs Spartan (store brand) frozen blackberries
	Other 2:	2 lbs Spartan (store brand) frozen raspberries
	Other 3:	2 oz Brewer's Garden dried Heather Tips (Calluna vulgaris)
	Other 4:	2 tsp Wyeast nutrient
	Other 5:	1/2 Cup Howell wildflower honey for priming at bottling time (change this! - see notes)

	Yeast:	2 packets (10g) Lalvin Bourgovin RC212

Process:	Put 3 gallons of room temperature water into sanitized (glass) fermenter dissolve Wyeast nutrient in this water add honey add water to make 5 gallons (adjust temperature of water to keep within 5 degrees of ambient temperature of room) rehydrate yeast (15 minutes in 1/2 cup warm water) oxygenate (1 minute of O₂ through stainless airstone in bottom of must) pitch yeast cap with airlock wait until fermentation slows place heather tips in muslin bag place muslin bag and berries in secondary (plastic) fermenter rack mead onto berries and heather seal with fresh airlock after 2 weeks, taste - if sufficient flavor has been picked up by mead, it is time to bottle. If not, allow more time. Repeat this step as necessary. rack into 3rd (glass) fermenter if time is needed for clearing When ready to bottle, rack into bottling bucket with 2/3C corn sugar put into bottles and cap put away for several months taste on occasion until it is ready for sharing
Notes:	8 July 2003 - In fact, I did use a little bit of heat - this honey has started to crystalize in its jars (the beekeeper had only 3 lb jars when I bought from him this time) so I set them in a bath of hot water for a while to liquefy it. December '03 - This mead no longer sparkles - it gushes.