(by /u/StormBeforeDawn)
Total Volume: 5 gallons
Style: Dry Rose Mead with Spices
Carbonation: Still
Target Original Gravity: 1.093
Target Final Gravity: 1.000 - 1.012
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey | 13 lbs | Wildflower |
| Rose Petals | 1 lbs | Be careful about pesticides. Some roses are not meant for consumption. |
| Hops, Czech Saaz | 2 oz | Bag to allow easy removal from boil. |
| Ginger | .5 lbs | Grate, shred, cube, juice. All work, finer brings more flavor faster. |
| Cinnamon | 2 sticks | |
| Oak | 2 Spirals | Med toast American oak. May use cube or chips at preference. |
| Fermaid O | 8.5 g | |
| Fermaid K | 9.0 g | |
| Lavin 71B | 5 g (dry yeast package) | Rehydrate in the Go Ferm using 290 ml water at 110 F |
Method:
Rehydrate the yeast using the GoFerm PE.
In a pot or brew kettle heat rose and ginger and 1 gal water to 150F and hold for 2 hours.
Drain into must, discard petals.
In a separate pot boil 1/2 gal water. Add 1 lbs honey, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 1 oz hops. After 10 minutes add second oz hops, boiling 10 more minutes.
Remove hops and add to must.
Add remaining honey to must and fill to 5 gal. Stir vigorously to aerate and pitch yeast once cool enough for yeast to survive.
After 24 hours add the 1/3rd of the nutrients, then the next at 48 hours, and the last at the 1/3rd sugar break.
Ferment at 62-65° F.
Stabilize and backsweeten as desired, or leave to ferment to FG.
Rack off lees after 1 month and add oak spirals, aging on oak as desired.
Bulk age or bottle and store for 12 months.
Additional Notes:
Also consider similar recipes with hibiscus. More reading on detailed process notes is available here. Consider dry hopping, adding more cinnamon, or ginger all in secondary to taste, after examining acid/sugar/tannin balance after some aging.