Will make this next week.

Picked lots of blackberries—they are everywhere and I found a spot where really flavorful berries are—shaded by trees to the north so ripen slowly.

Last winter was pretty damn dry so the berries were pretty bloody small so I bought 2-3 punnets cultivated blackberries. They were also pretty ripe and sweet. Hopefully the fruit sugar is fermented out and leaves some flavor. Bought some raspberries to add a tad of acidity. Might add some lemon juice.

Bought some honey, need to dig it out of my pantry and see what type it is. Want something neutral, let the fruit shine through.

5Kg honey
3.5Kg blackberries—as many as I got in the freezer, need heaps to get flavor!
0.5Kg raspberries
Juice of one lemon  (Only this year because the fruit is so ripe & sweet.)

Clean and sanitise fermenter, esp the tap and tap hole and the sealing ring and grommet. Clean and sanitise airlock.

Bring 5L water to the boil
Gently heat the honey—don’t let it boil

Add honey and boiling water to the fermenter, stir to dissolve the honey. Close fermenter and let cool.

Add fruit—berries removed from freezer the night before, smash up a bit, add to fermenter.

Top fermenter to 22L with cold water. My water is heavy with calcium, won’t do any harm.

Rehydrate either mead yeast or Lallemand Nottingham ale yeast at 30°C and 40°C respectively. The Nottingham can work at lower temperatures (kinda essential here  ) and ferments pretty completely and then drops out leaving the ale mead clear.

After a week rack to a 20L demijohn, fit bung and airlock and let the mead slowly ferment out. Once it is fermented, rack to my 20L oak cask, let stand a month, bottle.

Of course I will take gravity readings tho the Original Gravity reading will be a bit pointless—too much of the honey will be on the bottom of the fermenter. But the later gravity readings will ensure I do not bottle too early—bottle explosions are not funny. Hmmm need to locate wine bottles and corks or other closures, should have 30 x 750ml bottles.

Need to find some luggage labels and rubber bands. Write the name and date the must was pitched and I record the date and gravity at each step on the label and in the brewbook. Loop the rubber band through the hole in the label, then over the airlock.

Leaving the finished mead sit in the oak cask will obviously add a little bit of tannins, will thief a bit after a month and see if there is enough oak character.

Be fun!