It’s Elderberry season! A friend of mine hooked me up with some amazing locally grown organic elderberries from Heath Hill Farm in Sumner, Maine. So of course I had to do a mead with them.
The liquid base was a chaga decoction, followed by an infusion of 2 sumac drupes (for the tannic and citric acids). I let the liquid cool, and added 14 cups of honey, to go for a bit drier mead than what I’ve been getting with 16 cups (1 gallon).
I used about 2 pounds of elderberries, and whizzed up in the Vitamix. They had the most amazing hue:
![elderberry_mead-elderberries_vitamix elderberries whizzed in the VitaMix](https://bardicbrews.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/elderberry_mead-elderberries_vitamix-300x225.jpg)
I then took this blend and strained it into the must:
![elderberry_mead-elderberries_strained Elderberry puree strained into the must](https://bardicbrews.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/elderberry_mead-elderberries_strained-300x225.jpg)
After a good stir, to make sure everything is dissolved, I was left with a beautiful purple must:
![elderberry_mead-elderberries_must swirly elderberry must](https://bardicbrews.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/elderberry_mead-elderberries_must-300x225.jpg)
Then, a good yeast-pitch, oxidizing shake, and an airlock, and this should be quite delicious in a few weeks:
![elderberry_mead Elderberry Mead](https://bardicbrews.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/elderberry_mead-225x300.jpg)
UPDATE: here’s the label for this batch:
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