Chocolate Mead

Ingredients:

Total Volume of 3 3/4 Gallons.
~10 lbs of honey (SG 1.100)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup double strength tea
8 oz can Hersheys Chocolate
1 1/2 TBS Fermax
Lalvin D-47 Yeast

Directions:

Date: SG Comments

Dec 25, 2004 1.100 From all I've read, this particular mead needs a LONG time to age before it's ready to drink. I plan to sample/bottle this mead next Christmas and at that time determine if it is ready to drink or needs another year to age. I plan to feed additional honey to the must when it approaches the end of fermentation so that the yeast ferments to completion and I have a FG of ~1.020.

Dec 26, 2004 As expected, everything is bubbling like crazy this morning!

Dec 28, 2004 Now that everything is frementing away, I can understand why this stuff needs a minimum of 1 year to age. This is the only mead I've made so far that smells BAD! I'll be glad when primary ferment is drawing to a close so I can rack into a carboy and bury this stuff in the back of the closet!

Jan 8, 2005 0.995
1.020 Eveything had completely stopped, so I opened the bucket and checked the SG. It was setting at 0.995. I added some additional honey to bring the SG up to 1.020. By the evening, everything was again fermenting away. This should put the alcohol level near tolerance for the yeast, so hopefully, I'll just have to sweeten one last time before putting this away to age.

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Date:	SG	Comments
Dec 25, 2004	1.100	From all I've read, this particular mead needs a LONG time to age before it's ready to drink. I plan to sample/bottle this mead next Christmas and at that time determine if it is ready to drink or needs another year to age. I plan to feed additional honey to the must when it approaches the end of fermentation so that the yeast ferments to completion and I have a FG of ~1.020.
Dec 26, 2004		As expected, everything is bubbling like crazy this morning!
Dec 28, 2004		Now that everything is frementing away, I can understand why this stuff needs a minimum of 1 year to age. This is the only mead I've made so far that smells BAD! I'll be glad when primary ferment is drawing to a close so I can rack into a carboy and bury this stuff in the back of the closet!
Jan 8, 2005	0.995 1.020	Eveything had completely stopped, so I opened the bucket and checked the SG. It was setting at 0.995. I added some additional honey to bring the SG up to 1.020. By the evening, everything was again fermenting away. This should put the alcohol level near tolerance for the yeast, so hopefully, I'll just have to sweeten one last time before putting this away to age.