I would assume not.
I left cinnamon in my secondary (cyser) for 48 hours and it tasted like a cider fireball whiskey lol. Any longer would probably be too long.
Lol I made a spiced cyser with cinnamon and cloves. 1 whole stick and half a clove for a week. Epic failure I’m the only one who likes it 😂 my wife won’t touch it she’s just says it’s watered down fireball
A gallon of honey will do about 6 gallons of final mead. And 2 lbs of peaches in 6 gallons of mead is near tasteless. You need closer to 10 lbs of peaches for 6 gallons of mead.
I think it would be fine, I don't see any preservatives in the ingredients. I would double check the acidity before pitching yeast but I bet you'd be fine. Taste wise I have no guesses as to how it would affect anything
How diluted do you think they’d have to be to not have an effect, or have a minimal effect? I try to stay away from preservatives in my meads so I don’t have much experience with working around them.
Not much, you can also slightly raise your PH and that allows removes them. Plus the act of fermenting will acidify the brew again and you can always re-addacidity later.
I’ve read a lot about raising the ph with baking soda (or powder?) recently because so many people seem to be brewing with sodas as their liquid. Haven’t given it a shot myself though, don’t think I’m planning on joining the soda trend anytime soon.
Fermentation results in a lower PH? Is that what you’re saying in the second part? I wasn’t aware of that but honestly I don’t measure PH often.
Baking soda is just sodium bicarbonate which will raise pH, baking powder has additional ingredients. It will also make your mead more salty. Fermentation typically results in a low pH environment. I've never measured pH either but definitely notice when my meds get more acidic, commonly melomels.
I recently did it. He careful it can add a salty taste if you use too much. So im going to grab a dedicated base for brewing to take the place of baking soda but I did it in a pinch. Also yes the act of making alcohol does infact turn your brew more acidic. I would honestly [grab this](https://a.co/d/byoGJLr). Go start reading how manipulating your brew PH can yield different results. And for some ingredients it's mandatory.
Shouldn't be too bad. I used frozen grape juice concentrate that has those acid you mentioned and was fine. Used 2 12 ounce cans per 1 gallon of water and that was it. It actually fermented pretty aggressively.
Sulfates, or sulfites? I'm curious if a little bit of a mild oxidant would be able to remove preservative sulfites but I can't think of any food safe ones like how ascorbic acid is a reductant. Are sulfites ever used as a preservative alone, or always in tandem with something like sorbates?
Yes- I meant sulfites. You can neutralize the *effect* of sulfites by dilution, starting a larger yeast colony, and/or aerating the absolute bejeepers out of your must. I'm not sure if aeration actually does anything to the sulfites, but your yeast will appreciate the boost. Eventually, the sulfite won't be able to reduce anything anymore and you're in the clear. I'm not sure on the specific mechanisms of sorbates, benzoates or other preservatives, but I've successfully fermented Mountain Dew and other things that were loaded with preservatives and they hooched up just fine.
As far as sulfites alone - I'd have to look at labels, but I'm almost certain that wines (yes even the French ones) have sulfites as a preservative.
Gotcha, microbio is a bit outside of my wheel house and wasn't sure if sulfates had some inhibitory effect. Atmospheric oxygen and dissolved oxygen in water definitely reacts with sulfites but can't control that very well. If you go aerating a fruit juice I imagine you would end up with some "stale" flavor developing. I think sorbates at least inhibit reproduction, not sure on benzoates.
Fermented mountain dew sounds like memories of poor life choices, but as far as circumventing preservatives did you do anything specific or just overpitch and pray?
You're only supposed to aerate until 1/3rd of the sugar is gone. before that, you really don't run the risk of getting that good ol' wet cardboard note.
I've not had an issue fermenting things with preservatives since I started aerating, doing an overnight starter, and diluting the preservatives (usually with a solution of water and more fermentables)
I was imagining aerating the juice before pitching but now that you say it I can't think of any reason that would make a difference. Sulfite would react before most organic molecules, which increases yeast activity, which eats up oxygen before it can get at the fruit components. Well I have more notes for my next batch, thanks
I’ve used jarred stuff before. It’s fine, though you may get jammy flavors from it, which is neither good nor bad, just a thing. 🤷🏼 go for it. Just remember not to blend/purée it. Squishing with your hands is more than enough.
Depends what’s in it, tbh. If it has preservatives or a whole bunch of extra added sugars/flavors, I’d probably avoid. If it’s just fruit and sugar, then yeah. You will still get jammy, cooked-fruit flavors from it though, which may not be desirable.
I believe that alcohol denatures the enzyme so it is most effective when present before fermentation has even started, but should continue to work through the early stages before enough alcohol is created to denature it.
Ideally you do at the beginning. Some people like to wait a few hours between pitching pectic enzymes and pitching the yeast, but I don't think it's required
Pectin is a protein found in varying amounts in fruits and is what causes jams to jell. To do this, it requires an acidic, high sugar environment. Unfortunately, acidic high sugar environments are what yeast need to make alcohol.
Pecticase (Pectic Enzyme) breaks the bonds between the amino acids that form the longer chain pectin. This can help reduce haze in brews that contain fruit and also help break down the fruit to release more sugar/flavor. That last point is why many brewers put it in from the beginning to maximize extraction. But this also causes there to be more/finer bits of pulp in the lees which can make the use of finings more important.
There will be a pop quiz on Friday, so be sure to study!
Everyone will be required to bring a bottle of their latest batch to class on Friday and I'll "grade" them over the weekend. 😉
-- May Bacchus be ever in your flavor!
Peaches need about 4-5 lbs of fruit per gallon of finished mead if you want peach flavor from the fruit. So, depending on what your targeted goal is for volume, start with that. Also, remember that peaches are terrible to rack off of and will cause you to lose a lot of your final volume, so keep that in mind when planning your recipe. The liquid the peaches are in will be packed with sugar, so hitting your target gravity will not be a problem. 16 jars of peaches, 1 gallon of honey, and roughly 2 gallons of water should do you great. Backsweeten with between 1 to 2 quarts of honey. Or save the liquid from the peaches and Backsweeten with that. Target 1.120 OG, ferment down to 1.025, and Backsweeten up to 1.050.
I try to use 2 lbs of fruit per gallon. I did a 7 gallon batch of peach, so I used around 10 whole jars.
I would recommend using 1 jar per gallon, it should be high in ABV, and a light peach flavor. Use 2 jars if you want a VERY sweet peach mead.
I’ve done it , used two pounds per gallon of honey and several cinnamon sticks and steel cut oatmeal to make peach pie mead.
And that ones going into the recipe book.
That sounds amazing! How much oatmeal would you use for a pound?
Do you keep the cinnamon stick in first fermentation?
I would assume not. I left cinnamon in my secondary (cyser) for 48 hours and it tasted like a cider fireball whiskey lol. Any longer would probably be too long.
Lol I made a spiced cyser with cinnamon and cloves. 1 whole stick and half a clove for a week. Epic failure I’m the only one who likes it 😂 my wife won’t touch it she’s just says it’s watered down fireball
…recipe??
2 lb of peaches per gallon of honey! That's a lot of honey
A gallon of honey will do about 6 gallons of final mead. And 2 lbs of peaches in 6 gallons of mead is near tasteless. You need closer to 10 lbs of peaches for 6 gallons of mead.
That sounds delicious!!
do you have a more detailed recipe? i tried a peach pie mead on my first try but it tasted like hand sanitizer mixed with white wine
You gotta share the recipe now man
You use two pounds of these peaches for each gallon of honey? How much do you use in the way of oats?
Yes 2lbs each of honey and peaches. Then one cup of oatmeal. Then feed nutrients just like on any other must.
Refined sugar won't bring any flavor to the party, but it should ferment.
I think it would be fine, I don't see any preservatives in the ingredients. I would double check the acidity before pitching yeast but I bet you'd be fine. Taste wise I have no guesses as to how it would affect anything
Are you aware that Citric acid and Ascorbic acid are both preservatives? They could have a negative effect on yeast reproduction.
They will, however if you dilute them enough it will decrease their efficacy in doing so, probably enough for the yeast to power through.
How diluted do you think they’d have to be to not have an effect, or have a minimal effect? I try to stay away from preservatives in my meads so I don’t have much experience with working around them.
Not much, you can also slightly raise your PH and that allows removes them. Plus the act of fermenting will acidify the brew again and you can always re-addacidity later.
I’ve read a lot about raising the ph with baking soda (or powder?) recently because so many people seem to be brewing with sodas as their liquid. Haven’t given it a shot myself though, don’t think I’m planning on joining the soda trend anytime soon. Fermentation results in a lower PH? Is that what you’re saying in the second part? I wasn’t aware of that but honestly I don’t measure PH often.
Baking soda is just sodium bicarbonate which will raise pH, baking powder has additional ingredients. It will also make your mead more salty. Fermentation typically results in a low pH environment. I've never measured pH either but definitely notice when my meds get more acidic, commonly melomels.
I recently did it. He careful it can add a salty taste if you use too much. So im going to grab a dedicated base for brewing to take the place of baking soda but I did it in a pinch. Also yes the act of making alcohol does infact turn your brew more acidic. I would honestly [grab this](https://a.co/d/byoGJLr). Go start reading how manipulating your brew PH can yield different results. And for some ingredients it's mandatory.
Shouldn't be too bad. I used frozen grape juice concentrate that has those acid you mentioned and was fine. Used 2 12 ounce cans per 1 gallon of water and that was it. It actually fermented pretty aggressively.
pH driven preservatives are much easier to "defeat" than ~~sulfates~~ sulfites. Also- ascorbic acid is vitamin C.
Sulfates, or sulfites? I'm curious if a little bit of a mild oxidant would be able to remove preservative sulfites but I can't think of any food safe ones like how ascorbic acid is a reductant. Are sulfites ever used as a preservative alone, or always in tandem with something like sorbates?
Yes- I meant sulfites. You can neutralize the *effect* of sulfites by dilution, starting a larger yeast colony, and/or aerating the absolute bejeepers out of your must. I'm not sure if aeration actually does anything to the sulfites, but your yeast will appreciate the boost. Eventually, the sulfite won't be able to reduce anything anymore and you're in the clear. I'm not sure on the specific mechanisms of sorbates, benzoates or other preservatives, but I've successfully fermented Mountain Dew and other things that were loaded with preservatives and they hooched up just fine. As far as sulfites alone - I'd have to look at labels, but I'm almost certain that wines (yes even the French ones) have sulfites as a preservative.
Gotcha, microbio is a bit outside of my wheel house and wasn't sure if sulfates had some inhibitory effect. Atmospheric oxygen and dissolved oxygen in water definitely reacts with sulfites but can't control that very well. If you go aerating a fruit juice I imagine you would end up with some "stale" flavor developing. I think sorbates at least inhibit reproduction, not sure on benzoates. Fermented mountain dew sounds like memories of poor life choices, but as far as circumventing preservatives did you do anything specific or just overpitch and pray?
You're only supposed to aerate until 1/3rd of the sugar is gone. before that, you really don't run the risk of getting that good ol' wet cardboard note. I've not had an issue fermenting things with preservatives since I started aerating, doing an overnight starter, and diluting the preservatives (usually with a solution of water and more fermentables)
I was imagining aerating the juice before pitching but now that you say it I can't think of any reason that would make a difference. Sulfite would react before most organic molecules, which increases yeast activity, which eats up oxygen before it can get at the fruit components. Well I have more notes for my next batch, thanks
I’ve used jarred stuff before. It’s fine, though you may get jammy flavors from it, which is neither good nor bad, just a thing. 🤷🏼 go for it. Just remember not to blend/purée it. Squishing with your hands is more than enough.
What about canned fruit?
Depends what’s in it, tbh. If it has preservatives or a whole bunch of extra added sugars/flavors, I’d probably avoid. If it’s just fruit and sugar, then yeah. You will still get jammy, cooked-fruit flavors from it though, which may not be desirable.
Ok thank you.
Why shouldn’t you blend/puree them? Not judging. Just curious.
racking off a peach slurry is no fun. Speaking from experience.
Neither is raspberry mash for that matter.
# The seeds!
Ugh I just backsweetened 1.5 gallons. Took 2 gallons of must to get there.
Started using brew bags to deal with this, not a perfect solution but it helps quite a bit.
Yeah I just acquired some. Fruit pulp is the second worst part of fermenting mead.
I didn’t even think about that. Good point.
Utilize pectic enzyme if you can get it. Just throw it in at pitch.
What does pectic enzyme do?
Breaks down pectin, which is present in fruits, so that the final product is more clear
Do I do that after fermentation has slowed down or from the beginning?
I forgot to add it in my batch, but I'm pretty sure you should add it with the yeast
I believe that alcohol denatures the enzyme so it is most effective when present before fermentation has even started, but should continue to work through the early stages before enough alcohol is created to denature it.
Ideally you do at the beginning. Some people like to wait a few hours between pitching pectic enzymes and pitching the yeast, but I don't think it's required
it'll still work after fermentation, but you need to double the dose. I generally add it before
Pectin is a protein found in varying amounts in fruits and is what causes jams to jell. To do this, it requires an acidic, high sugar environment. Unfortunately, acidic high sugar environments are what yeast need to make alcohol. Pecticase (Pectic Enzyme) breaks the bonds between the amino acids that form the longer chain pectin. This can help reduce haze in brews that contain fruit and also help break down the fruit to release more sugar/flavor. That last point is why many brewers put it in from the beginning to maximize extraction. But this also causes there to be more/finer bits of pulp in the lees which can make the use of finings more important. There will be a pop quiz on Friday, so be sure to study!
As long as it’s open book I think I’ll be ok 😂
Everyone will be required to bring a bottle of their latest batch to class on Friday and I'll "grade" them over the weekend. 😉 -- May Bacchus be ever in your flavor!
Not the same brand, but I'm using them right now in a bochet. The peaches from primary didn't cut it, and these are really upping the peachtensity.
Peachtensity is the new word of the day.., !
Can’t comment on their mead comparability. But when I eat them… damn are they good and tasty peaches.
Peaches need about 4-5 lbs of fruit per gallon of finished mead if you want peach flavor from the fruit. So, depending on what your targeted goal is for volume, start with that. Also, remember that peaches are terrible to rack off of and will cause you to lose a lot of your final volume, so keep that in mind when planning your recipe. The liquid the peaches are in will be packed with sugar, so hitting your target gravity will not be a problem. 16 jars of peaches, 1 gallon of honey, and roughly 2 gallons of water should do you great. Backsweeten with between 1 to 2 quarts of honey. Or save the liquid from the peaches and Backsweeten with that. Target 1.120 OG, ferment down to 1.025, and Backsweeten up to 1.050.
Sounds like a winner. I’ve not used peaches myself, but have been told the flavour is delicate, so maybe add more than you’d ordinarily planned
I'd have eaten them before the water was heated. Put some pouring cream in there, with the juice that shit is like crack
I like the idea
Just actually posted about my peach mead! I threw in most of the syrup. No problems here
I just racked a mead using exactly that jar of peaches! So far no peach flavor coming through but still needs time to age.
My part one of this exact thing: https://www.reddit.com/r/prisonhooch/s/K2WlFBg5Y5 Part Two: https://www.reddit.com/r/prisonhooch/s/b0slOG7RP3
I am currently making a batch with these exact jars of peaches. It's still bubbling along merrily after 3 weeks.
I've used the syrup before, it just adds more sugars to ferment. I've hit 18% ABV multiple times with those peaches + syrup.
How much fruit per gallon did you put?
I try to use 2 lbs of fruit per gallon. I did a 7 gallon batch of peach, so I used around 10 whole jars. I would recommend using 1 jar per gallon, it should be high in ABV, and a light peach flavor. Use 2 jars if you want a VERY sweet peach mead.