Peanut Butter Mead

[Anthony]

Starter Mixed @ 19:30 on 6/25/05.

500 ml filtered water @ 74 F.
50 ml purple sage added
1/2 t. Superfood Plus (shaken to mixed).
5g K1-V1116, rehydrated 15 min. @ 104 F. befor added to starter.
Activity in starter within 5 min.

Must started @ 21:00 6/25/05.

12 pounds Purple sage honey
6 pound organic peanut butter, oil drained off.
5 qt. filtered water.
1/4 C. Black tea, loose leaf

1/2 t. Irish Moss & 1 1/2 t. Superfood Plus added after must was removed from heat.

slowly brought to a boil then simmered over medium heat for 40 min.
oils and scum scimmed from surface, moved to a cold burner, covered and left to cool over night.

05:30 6/26/05

removed 3 qt. of muck that had come to the surface.
Drained to 3 gallon carboy, filtered water added to bring level to 3 gallons.
Sample drawn:
O.G.: 1.148
P.A.: 20%
Balling: 35%

Pitched starter:
6/27/05
09:30
76 F.

Covered with sanitized cheese cloth, will fit airlock in 2 days.

Notes.

First 5g packet of K1-V1116 was bad, no activity after 90 min.

During the night, the starter foamed up and through the cheesecloth covering the beaker (quite a mess), next time I'll place it in the sink before retiring for the night.

Tasted the sample pulled for first readings; PEANUT BUTTER!

The very first impression both sniffing and sipping the must is peanut butter, with a honey after taste (very sweet at this point) I'm sure that will change over the next month or so.

------------------------------------------------
7/16/05
17:51
74 F.


Mead har fermented dry so I added 1 1/2 lb honey in half gal. of water.

S.G. 1.030
P.A. 4%
Brix 8

Look, this mead is gold in color, when swirled it coats the glass very nicely and is slow to run back into the glass (Great legs on this one).

Smell, peanut butter & alcohol with a hint of honey.

Taste, warm and a little sweet, almost buttery, peanut butter, a little astringent. Long, creamy, warm finish.

This one is much better at room temp then chilled or cold.

I hope aging will smooth it out a bit, still a little of rough.

19.5% A.B.V.

Anthony

[Anthony]

7/16/05

Added 1 1/2 lb honey in half gal. of water.

S.G. 1.030
P.A. 4%
Brix 8

Aroma, peanut butter & alcohol with a hint of honey.
Taste, warm and a little sweet, almost buttery, peanut butter, maybe a little astringent, long creamy warm finish. This one is much better at room temp then chiiled or cold.

I hope aging will smooth it out a bit, still kind of rough.

New P.A. 23.5%
-------------------------------------------------
7/25/05 - 04:29 - 78°

SG; 1.020
PA; 2.5%
Brix; 5%

The honey is taking the foreground both in flavor and aroma, while the peanut butter has become very subtle, almost to much so. Even with the ABV up to 21%, it does not dominate the flavor or aroma but lends a warmth from the first sip well into the finish.

When chilled it almost seems bland with the peanut butter and honey showing mostly in the finish. At room temp. it shines, you can really taste the honey and peanuts from the first sip.

I'm going to simmer 3 lb of dry roasted peanuts in a quart of water for a few hour's, scim off the oil, add 1 t. Irish Moss & 2 lbs of honey. I'll put this into a clean carboy then rack the mead into it.

Sweeter with a more pronounced peanut flavor is the goal.
------------------------------------------------
08/05/05 - 05:22 - 74°

S.G. 1.010
P.A. 1.5%
Brix 3%

Simmered 3 lb. of peanuts for about 18 hours before scimming of the oil and blending 3 lb. of honey into the liquor, let that cool covered over night. Aerated the new must this morning before adding it to a clean carboy with the mead.

Have to check the SG, PA and Brix when I get in from work, I estimate them to be close to:

S.G. 1.040
P.A. 5%
Brix 11 (about 2/3 as sweet as soda)
22% A.B.V.
------------------------------------------------
08|05|05 - 18:06 - 74°

S.G. 1.036
P.A. 5%
Brix 10

Success! I was out to make a "Peanut Butter Dessert" mead, sweet with a high A.B.V. and thats exactly how it came out. This mornings addition of 2 quarts fresh must to the mead brought it to exactly where I wanted it.

The aroma of peanut butter and honey is delightful and well balanced, there's an faint hint of alcohol, until I looked for it I didn't notice it.

It coats the glass wonderfully and has legs for days. Very light Golden color fading to clear at the edge.

The flavor is a beautiful thing, sweet and delicate, no astringency & no alcohol bite or after taste. Simply peanut butter and honey, from the moment it starts to dance across your tongue through to the finish, mildly warming.

I drank a glass of this mead while writing this post and feel like I finished a six pack, it's hard to believe it's 22% A.B.V. from the aroma and flavor, not by the effect. It might be hard keeping out of this one until it clears enough to bottle.

Anthony