Peach Melomel III

Last summer in northern Utah, I picked up a 24-lb bucket of local wildflower honey to bump up mead production for DeAunn. When we returned to Reno, we also bought several pounds of fruit at the local farmers' markets for various fermentation projects, which we prepared and socked away in the freezer. It took me until earlier this month to finally do something with all of it.

While she's been very receptive to all of my mead making endeavors, DeAunn has always particularly loved my peach melomel. Having only six pounds of peaches to dedicate to the cause, I aimed for a three-gallon batch. Fermenting in a full-size carboy or bucket sure beat working with the little two-gallon bucket or one-gallon wine jugs I've used before.

Also new and exciting was using the TOSNA (tailored organic staggered nutrient addition) method as detailed by Sergio Moutela of Melovino Meader on Mead Made Right. I've followed the conventional SNA, as set forth by champion mead maker Curt Stock, for past batches and have been pleased with the outcome; I'll be curious to see how this batch might differ because of this altered method. Both methods champion relatively quick turnaround: two to three months to being drinkable versus a year or more that more traditional methods require.

Having just transferred to secondary, my only change for future batches right now would be to bag the fruit in primary. There was around four and a half gallons of material in the primary fermenter; from it, I couldn't quite squeeze out a full three gallons to transfer, leaving behind a massive amount of peach sludge. It will get close to a month in secondary before bottling so we can take plenty with us for our summer travels (and age the rest for the next year). Now to decide what to do with the rest of this bucket of honey...

Peach Melomel III

Batch size: 3 gallons
Projected OG: 1.100

Fermentables
10 lb Utah mountain honey
6 lb Peaches (peeled, frozen)

Yeast
4 g Lalvin 71B-1122 (rehydrated)

Extras
5 g Go-Ferm (yeast rehydration)
15 g Fermaid-O (TOSNA: 3.75 g @ 24, 48, 72 hrs, 7 days after pitching)

Brewed: 4 May 2016
Rehydrate yeast: 100 g boiled water
OG: 18.8P (1.0 - Figuring honey isn’t totally diluted, nor are the peaches

Fermented in swamp cooler at 62-64F. Degassed twice a day for the first week of fermentation.

After the first week, left town for a few days; swamp cooler ambient reached 69F. Upon returning, cooled it back down into 62-64F range and degassed about once a day for the remainder of primary.

Secondary: 22 May 2016
FG: 1.010
ABV: 13.7%
Added 1.5 tsp bentonite dissolved in 1.5 cups boiled water.

Incredible amount of peach sludge; struggled to extract nearly 3 gallons from 4.5-gallon primary.

Bottled: 9 June 2016