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Author Topic: How many fruits and solids should go to the wine/mead must?  (Read 1124 times)

Offline TheGC

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How many fruits and solids should go to the wine/mead must?
« on: September 28, 2022, 10:15:46 pm »
Okay, Okay.
I'm really glad I found this forum. I can see a lot going on everywhere here and for sure I will take a look in everything I can :)
For now I got to say that I'm really new in mead/wine making, as I'm new here. So, if needed, please point me to the right section, as example.

Let's start.

I have certain trees on my yard since my childhood and we NEVER made anything with them rather than juice.
I decided that I will try to make a melomel out of them, and also a wine. Let's see what comes from it, right?
Then I plan to try to make both products out of a lot of fruits from my region that are basically unknown for the rest of the country.

Days ago I stepped on a subject that glued to my head: how many fruits do I add to my wine/mead must?
I've seen a lot of videos on youtube and I'm reading some books, but none of them gave me the answer yet.
They really make it look simple but I know it's not that easy.
For example, I can get the OG when I make a must with honey and water, then add the fruits. Problem comes from the fact that the fruits already have sugar, so it will interfere on the alcohol calculation.
Also, the solids of the fruits will also interfere while reding an hydrometer.

How can I solve this problem since not all of the fruits I want to give a try have their % of sugar known and all of them vary on the % of water/solids?

Offline joe_meadmaker

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Re: How many fruits and solids should go to the wine/mead must?
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2022, 08:19:59 pm »
First, the caveat.  There isn't just one correct answer to your question.  The amount of fruit and method of adding it will vary depending on who's doing it, and what specifically is wanted from it.  And there are different ways to do it.  With that said, this is how I usually handle fruit.  And also just to mention, I've never made wine so this is about mead in particular.  But I don't see why the method wouldn't work either way.  Just your fermentable will be different.

I always add fruit very late.  When I add fruit the intention is to get the flavor of it, so I don't want fermentation to be happening or to start back up.  I'll usually make a batch and let it ferment out and sit for a bit.  Around a month total, sometimes a bit longer depending on the fermentation time.  I'll then rack the batch off the sediment and let it sit again.  This time usually around 3 months.  One more time I'll rack it off the sediment and give it another few months or so (or until I'm ready to do something with it).  If you aren't set up for a closed transfer for the racking, you can add a sulfite (Campden tablet) to help protect the batch.  After the second aging of the batch, any yeast that were present should no longer a concern.  Fruit can be added (and I'm normally able to back sweeten as well) without any fermentation picking back up.

The amount of fruit will vary depending on how strong the flavor is and how much you want.  I've found that 1 lb per gallon works well with most fruits.  And I'll usually leave the fruit on for a week or so.  This adds a good amount of flavor but doesn't cover up the honey.  Something else to keep in mind is that this will change depending on how strong the flavor is of your mead.  As with anything, it's usually better to be a little conservative with the fruit addition and taste the batch after a few days (a week, whatever).  If you need to add more fruit you can.  But if it's too much you can't really do anything other than make another batch and blend it.  I actually have a batch I'm doing that with right now.  I got a few too many raspberries in that one.  ;)

Another option if you want to do a post-fermentation fruit addition but don't want to wait as long as I do, you can use potassium sorbate.  This is the chemical often used to prevent fermentation when back sweetening.  I've used it many times myself, but I always end up letting meads age for a while anyway.  So it's just easier to let the aging take care of the problem with fermentation starting up again.

Good luck!

Offline TheGC

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Re: How many fruits and solids should go to the wine/mead must?
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2022, 10:36:29 pm »
Now that's an answer I wasn't waiting.
I usally see them talking about adding on seondary fermentation. Sometimes on primary but it is usually this way.
It seems to be REALLY easier than trying to solve my question.
If I can't solve it, for sure I will do your way.
Any result and any process will for sure be a good experience for a first batch.

Thanks a lot!

Offline erockrph

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Re: How many fruits and solids should go to the wine/mead must?
« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2022, 08:52:46 am »
There are charts that will give you an estimate of the sugar content of most fruit. Here's an article regarding adding it to beer, but the math is the same for extrapolation to wine or mead. https://www.morebeer.com/articles/fruit_in_beer

For wine, you are going to want to add your fruit in primary, otherwise you're just fermenting sugar to start. For mead, Joe covers the scenarios fairly well.

Another option if you want to do a post-fermentation fruit addition but don't want to wait as long as I do, you can use potassium sorbate.  This is the chemical often used to prevent fermentation when back sweetening.  I've used it many times myself, but I always end up letting meads age for a while anyway.  So it's just easier to let the aging take care of the problem with fermentation starting up again.

You can also use this method to backsweeten with juice, if you want to boost the fruit flavor post-fermentation. I do this with my apple cider and it works quite well.
Eric B.

Finally got around to starting a homebrewing blog: The Hop Whisperer

Offline pete b

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Re: How many fruits and solids should go to the wine/mead must?
« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2022, 07:16:07 am »
I take a different tack altogether that works well for me but it is not the only way. I should mention that I hate sweet mead so never add fruit or honey post fermentation and also my wife is sensitive to sulfates.
I simply add the fruit in mesh bags when I make the must. Stone fruit gets halved and pitted, berries just go in whole, except cranberries get macerated. I heat water just enough to mix the honey and add the fruit when it’s still warm. The next morning I measure gravity and pitch yeast. The fruit stays in for the first few days, getting punched down with a paddle every time I degas.
When making cyber I press the apples and use the cider to make the must, just cider and honey, no water.
Don't let the bastards cheer you up.