Jay's Brewing

When I go on hikes and can start to smell the honeysuckles in bloom, I know that it is time to make this wine.  Honeysuckle wine usually turns out to be a pretty dry wine.  Over the years I have ended up making it more of a mead then anything else.  This one is pretty easy to make though.

It’s best to use the flower part of the honeysuckle not the stem.

One suggestion that I don’t include in this recipe is that you might want to back sweeten this wine with more honey. 

Yield: 1 Gallon

6 cups honeysuckle flower petals (loosely packed)

7.5 pints of water

• 2 lbs Honey

2 tsp acid blend

• 1/8 tsp tannin

• 1 tsp yeast nutrient

• Champagne wine yeast

Directions

• Take flowers and rinse off
• Put flowers in a small pot
• Add 1 quart water and bring to a simmer.
• Let pedals steep for 3 hours  
• Bring water and honey up to boil (2 parts water 1 part honey)
• Remove from heat and cool.
• Add honey mixture and flower mixture into primary while straining out flower pedals
• Add all remaining ingredients
• Let wine ferment until vigorous fermentation is completed
• Rack into secondary and fit airlock
• Let wine sit for 30 days, rack
• Set aside for 6 months
• Rack again in 3 months
• Bottle and put into wait for 6 months to drink

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When it starts to get warmer outside, it means one thing for wine makers – it’s easier to get good fruit.  Cherry mead is a refreshing mead that is a light red color, and has a slight fruity flavor.  I’m pretty sure that you won’t find this mead at a wine store so it’s an opportunity to try to make one.  This is the recipe I use for my cherry meads.   It’s simple, refreshing, and a favorite among my friends.

Yield: 1 Gallon

Ingredients

3 lbs clover honey

1 lb dark cherries, halved

1 teaspoon acid blend

1 teaspoon pectic enzyme

1 package champagne yeast

1 teaspoon yeast nutrient

Instructions

• Boil honey in large pot (1 part honey 2 parts water)
• Put cherries in a 2 gallon plastic container
• Pour the honey mixture over the fruit and let it cool
• Add acid blend, pectic enzyme and enough water to make 1 gallon
• Stir
• Add yeast nutrient and yeast to mixture
• Let it ferment for 1 week
• Rack into 1 gallon fermenter
• Let it sit for 3 months
• Rack again
• Let it sit for about 6 months
• Bottle and let it age for 6 months

This is a wine/mead that I’ve made in the past and it turns out pretty well.  I can remember making this with my uncle when I was just a kid.  Today a lot of people call it, “Apple Jack”.  I’m not really sure if it’s the same thing, I just call it, “Apple Mead”.  It has a citrus like flavor to it and it is a bit sweet because of the honey.

Yield: 1 Gallon

Ingredients:

3 lbs honey

1 gallon apple cider

1 teastpoon acid blend

1 teaspoon pectic enzyme

1 package champagne yeast

1 teaspoon yeast nutrient

Directions

• In a large pot, boil the honey (1 part honey 2 parts water)
• Let mixture cool down, and transfer it to a 2 gallon plastic container
• Add cider, acid and pectic enzyme.
• Rehydrate yeast and add nutrient to mixture
• Once yeast starts bubbling add to must
• Put on air lock and lid, let it ferment
• After 7 days, rack into another fermenter
• Refill with water if needed.
• Rack after 3 months
• Rack again after 6 months
• Then bottle
• Don’t drink for 1 year

It’s  a pretty simple recipe, but one that is worth making time and time again.  Hope that it serves you well!

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One of the things about mead is that you can really do what ever you want.  It sometimes becomes confusing for newbies in the mead world to figure out what recipes to do.  Well I can assure you this is a great mead recipe.  This is a ginger mead, so get ready for a bit of spice.

Ingredients

3 oz ginger

1 cup white grape juice

Juice and zest of 1 orange

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Juice and zest of 1 lime

3 lbs of honey

1 teaspoon pectic enzyme

1 package of champagne yeast

1 teaspoon yeast nutrient

1.5 cups of orange juice

Directions

• Put ginger, grape juice, juices and zest into a container
• Boil the honey in the water (1 part honey 2 parts water)
• Pour honey mixture into the 2 galloon container and let cool
• Add pectic enzme and enough water to make 1 gallon
• Add yeast and yeast nutrient as well as orange juice
• Mix in with everything else.
• Ferment for 3 months
• Rack and then let it ferment for 6 months
• Bottle, then let it bottle for about 6 months before you drink.

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Sack meads are pretty sweet to begin with.  Since this one has the tea it in, it gives it a bit of a different flavor as well.  To me this has a very, “Eastern”, feel to it.  Something different to try if  you are looking for a recipe for mead.

Ingredients 

3.5 lbs Clover Honey

Honey 2 oz Golden Raisins

1 tsp Acid Blend

1 tsp Pectic Enzyme

1 cup Chinese Green Tea

1 package of sweet mead yeast

1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient

1/4 teaspoon of grape tannin.

Directions:

• In a large stainless steel pot, boil water in pot.
• It it cool and then transfer it to a 2 gallon plastic container
• Add the acid, pectic enzyme, tea and enough water to make 1 gallon.
• Add yeast and and tannin
• Let it sit for 1 month then rack
• Let it sit for 3 months
• Rack let it sit for 6 months
• Bottle and let it sit for 6 months

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While I don’t normally munch on cranberries, they do make a pretty good wine.  If you let it sit for a bit, the fermentation really does mellow out the flavors for it.  It turns into an amber/orange color.  In the past for this wine, I’ve made it and have turned it into a wine that I end up cooking with.  At the end it’s pretty good and something different that normally tilts some heads.

Yield: 1 Gallon

3 lbs fresh cranberries

2 lbs lbs white sugar

1 lb clover honey

2 juice of large oranges

2 teaspoon orange zest

.5 lb golden raisins

1/4 teaspoon tannin

1 teaspoon yeast nutrient

1 teaspoon pectic enzyme

1 package of montrachet yeast

Directions

• Wash cranberries
• Cut berries and put them into blender
• Cover the cranberries with sugar
• In a saucepan add everything with honey and .5 gallon of water and bring to boil
• Skim off any foam that comes off
• When no more foam rises to the top pour the honey water mixture over the cranberries
• Add orange juice, zest, raisins, tannin, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme to the mixture
• Add the yeast and start stiring
• Let it ferment for a week
• After a month rack into another fermenter
• Let it sit for about 6 months
• Then rack into another fermenter
• Let it ferment for 2 months then bottle
• Let sit in the bottles for 6 months

If you are into Meads, then this a pretty good Metheglin.  It has a lot of flavors in it and with some time it really comes out to be a pretty good Metheglin full of fall aromas.  You won’t find this Mead to be overly sweet, it really puts the spices up front and center.

Yield: 1 Gallon

Ingredients

1 Vanilla Bean

1 Cinnamon Stick

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

1/2 Teaspoon Allspice

Juice Of 1 Large Orange

2 Pounds Clover Honey

1 Teaspoon Acid Blend

1 Teaspoon Pectic Enzyme

1 Package of Montrachet Yeast

1 Teaspoon Yeast Nutrient

1.5 Cups Orange Juice

1/4 Teaspoon Grape Tannin

Directions

• Put the spices and juice of 1 orange into a 2 gallon plastic container.
• In a large pot, boil honey with water – 1 part honey and 1 part water
• Pour the honey spices over the spices and juice and let it cool
• Let it cool
• Add acid, pectic enzyme and enough water to make 1 gallon
• Take yeast, yeast nutrient, and orange juice – mix together
• Add this mixture to the must
• Allow the mixture to ferment
• We recommend racking after the most vigorous fermentation, siphon into a one gallon jug
• Put air lock on top
• In about three months, rack into another container
• In 6 months rack again
• Let it sit for 3 months
• Then bottle
• Let it sit for about 6 months before you drink one

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This mead is a purple mead, and is full-bodied on the tongue.  After every sip you can taste something different.  This mead is one that I always lean on just about every year I make a batch.

5 gallon Batch

Mixed Berry Mead

12 lbs Clover Honey

3 gallons Water

2 tsp yeast energize

2 tsp yeast nutrient

3 lbs strawberries

3.5 lbs black berries

1.5 lbs raspberries

2.5 lbs sweet cherries

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Ferment the base (or must) for 2-4 weeks until it slows down.  Then add the fruit.  let it ferment for a few more weeks.  Rack it if you would like, then bottle it.  If you want to have it flat, add Pot. Metasulphite to it (1/2 tsp per gallon).

It’s a really easy mead, one that I make just about every year and one that I think that you might enjoy if you are new to mead or an avid mead maker.

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This is one of those wines that is just amazing.  Very wimple to make, taste delicious, you really can’t ask for more.  Grape melomel was pretty popular back in the times of ancient Egypt.  If you make it and take off the grape skins then it will be light purple, if you leave them on the wine will be it dark purple.  Not to dry of a wine and very easy to drink.

Yield: 1 Gallon

3 lbs Concord Grapes

3 lbs Light Honey

1 Teaspoon Acid Blend

1 Teaspoon Pectic Enzyme

1 Campden Tablet

1 Package Champagne Yeast

1 Teaspoon Yeast Nutrient

Directions

• Crush grapes in a 2 gallon plastic container.
• In a pot boil water and honey (1 part honey to 2 parts water)
• Pour the honey mixture over the grapes and let it cool.
• Add the acid, pectic enzyme, and enough water to make 1 gallon.
• Add the Campden tablet, if desired and let the mixture sit for 24 hours.
• Add yeast, yeast nutrient.
• Allow the mixture to ferment, once the mixture is done with the most vigorous part of the fermentation…
• Rack into a 1 gallon fermenter
• Rack again after 3 months
• Let sit for 2 months
• Bottle and let it sit for 6 months before drinking.

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Apricot wine is one of those wines that is really good for certain seasons, I enjoy it in the summer.  This wine has a yellow/orange color to it.  Apricot wine has tart flavor to it in my opinion but is pretty good as a spritzer.

Yield 1 Gallon

Ingredients

3 lbs Fresh Apricots

1.5 lbs Sugar

1 lbs Honey

1 lb dried apricots

juice 2 lemons

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon tannin

1 teaspoon yeast nutrient

1 teaspoon pectic enzyme

1 package wine yeast

Directions

1. In a large pot, boil Apricot, lemon, sugar, and honey in 2 quarts of water for 1 min.
2. Cool down to room temp and put into 2 gallon bucket.
3. Add acid blend, pectic enzyme, tannin and enough water to make 2 gallon.
4. Stir very well
5. Add yeast and yeast nutrient
6. Cover and put an air lock on top.
7. Rack after strong fermentation is complete
8. Let it sit until the wine is clear, and then cork
9. Don’t drink for 6 months

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