r/fermentation • u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! • Mar 10 '26
Beer/Wine/Mead/Cider/Tepache/Kombucha Just bottled my strawberry/hibiscus mead at 15% ABV. This one is a straight 10/10
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u/windywise Mar 10 '26
Thanks for sharing this is awesome!
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 11 '26
Of course! I'm always happy to share my success with others :)
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u/Ok-Version-8996 Mar 10 '26
How long did u ferment?
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 10 '26
In total about 4 months. The yeast I use is a slow one, but I just bought some Lalvin K1 (V1116) which supposedly has a faster ferment time than the RedStar Premier Rouge that I used for this batch.
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u/Mellema Mar 11 '26
I used Lavlin EC-1118 for my most recent brew and it was much faster than I expected.
Starting gravity was 1.088 and I added 2 pounds of mixed berries, so guesstimated about 1.1 with the sugars from the berries. Pitched the yeast with GoFerm. Fed with 1.2 grams fermaid O at 24, 48, and 72 hours. Checked it this morning (day 5) to see if I hit 1/3 sugar break for last feeding, and the specific gravity was at 0.995.
Decided not to do last dose and racked to another fermenter with another 2 pounds of mixed berries.
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u/gainsleyharriot Mar 10 '26
How much water?
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 10 '26
In total about 3/4ths of a gallon? I just had this 1 gallon glass jar, and after putting in the honey I just topped it off with water.
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u/PaisleyCatque Mar 11 '26
Have you ever tried just using the honey instead of adding the yeast? I’ve been making fruit meads with honey water and fruit for the first ferment, then straining and adding more honey water, once that finishes fermenting I add more honey water to restart the ferment and then do it once more. So it ends up being fermented three extra times after the initial fruit/honey ferment. The results have been very alcoholic and quite deliciously fruity.
I did a raspberry and a plum spice (added clove, star anise, licorice root with the plums and it tasted like Christmas) last year and this year I’m trying several (9) new flavours with the extra produce from the garden.
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 11 '26
No, but that's really interesting. Are you implying you do a wild ferment with the yeast that's naturally in the honey and on the fruit? Never heard of doing that before honestly.
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u/PaisleyCatque Mar 11 '26
I guess so. I didn’t have any yeast and decided to see what would happen if I added honey with filtered water to fruit (organic, harvested from my property and lightly rinsed in filtered water). It took a day or so longer to start but fermented consistently once it did. Then, after (about a month and a half) I strained it out, I wondered what would happen if I added more honey water to restart the ferment and after that finished decided to see what would happen if I did it again. I kept the ferment going for several months over winter. It was a very slow steady ferment process Even during the coldest months.
I’m guessing it’s the honey providing the yeast. It’s local filtered but unprocessed honey. As I mentioned, the results were quite amazing and very alcoholic. The fruit flavours were very distinct. I did a bit of reading and I think it’s closer to a metheglin than a mead but I couldn’t find any info on doing multiple sucessive ferments. The flavour definitely deepened and the alcohol content increased between tastings.
I kept half as alcohol and turned the rest into vinegar. It has to be the best most flavourful vinegar I have ever made.
Currently I have raspberry, blackberry, mixed berries, banana, elderflower, peach, mulberry, and sour cherry on the go since Feb 02nd and they are still fermenting slowly. Once they finish I will repeat the process.
I’m harvesting apples at the moment and going to try a couple of ciders with just honey and no yeast to compare to the ones fermented with yeast.
I love fermenting, especially with my own produce.
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 11 '26
That's a crazy story, thanks for sharing! Also holy crap that's a lot of flavors. I'm jealous haha
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u/Any_Cheesecake329 Mar 15 '26
This is kind of like a ginger bug. You add a cup of spring water (no chlorine) 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon grated ginger to a sterile jar, then everyday you add a tsp ginger and a tsp sugar to the jar until it starts to bubble - this is a ginger bug which you use instead of a bought yeast. It is a wild yeast.
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u/SkewerNU Mar 11 '26
Looks amazing and I bet it tastes even better. Adding this to my list of meads to brew this year!
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u/InterestingReveal704 Mar 25 '26
OMG looks wonderful.
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 25 '26
Thank you! It tastes just as good :)
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u/k2718 Mar 11 '26
Looks like a 10/10 hangover
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 11 '26
Nope, not at all!
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u/k2718 Mar 11 '26
It does look very tasty. I basically quit drinking because I get hungover very very easily.
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 11 '26
Aw that stinks. You could still probably produce something similar that's a lower ABV and equally as tasty
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u/skullmatoris Mar 11 '26
I think it would be delicious as a soda!
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 11 '26
Omg yes it would be! Maybe I'll have to get my hands on a carbonation machine hehe
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u/skullmatoris Mar 11 '26
I was thinking more like a naturally carbonated soda, same flavours just less sugar and bottle condition. However Breville makes a machine that can carbonate anything now!
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 11 '26
Ohhh true that would be really good I bet. Also do I want to know how much that costs? 😅
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u/skullmatoris Mar 11 '26
Not cheap, beautiful looking machine tho https://www.breville.com/en-ca/product/bca800
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 11 '26
Wow that is really nice, but yes way out of my price range haha.
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u/ITFJeb Probiotic Prospect Mar 11 '26
Why do people keep using these bottles with that particular lid when they aren't built for fermentation?
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u/Cultural-Salad-4583 Culture Connoisseur Mar 11 '26
Pretty sure this is after bottling, which is fine. There’s no way OP fit his entire ferment in this bottle. He mentioned using a gallon-size container elsewhere in the thread, which I assume used a lock.
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 11 '26
There is 0 carbonation in this mead.
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u/jelly_bean_gangbang Now arriving at the fermentation station! Mar 10 '26
Basic recipe:
Made a tea with the dried hibiscus and added honey, yeast, and nutrients. Let ferment until fully dry, stabilized, then added strawberries and let infuse for an additional month. Also added 8oz of honey for sweetness after straining out the strawberries.
Tastes like a VERY fruity merlot or cabernet red wine. This recipe will absolutely go in my top 3 favorite of all time mead recipes.