Ginger Szechuan
Disclaimer: This recipe is for personal use only.
Mead Master’s Note
This ginger mead has intense aromatics that leap from the glass! Szechuan berries will give this sweet mead an increasingly drier finish the more you drink!
Cheers!
Mead Specifications
Batch Size - 5 litres
ABV - 13.1%
Starting Gravity (SG) - 1.120
Final Gravity (FG) - 1.020
Style - Metheglin
Ingredients
Light Wildflower Honey - 1.8kg
SafAle US-05 - 5.3g
Go-Ferm - 6.6g
Fermaid O - 9.2g, 4.6g per dose.
Potassium carbonate - 2.6g
Fermaid K - 2.5g
Potassium sorbate - 0.9g
Potassium metabisulfite - 0.5g
Spice Blend
Dried ginger root - 15.9g
Dried galangal - 15.9g
Red Szechuan berries - 4g
Green Szechuan berries - 4g
Marshmallow root - 4g
Dried lemon peel - 2g
Must Preparation
To a sanitised ten-litre bucket, add the honey, first dose Fermaid O, potassium carbonate, and Fermaid K.
Add 2.5 litres of room temperature water. We highly suggest using spring water to avoid chloramines found in tap water. Don’t use distilled water.
Mix until all the honey is dissolved.
Add water to slightly below the five-litre mark.
Add the spices from the spice blend to the bucket.
Yeast Preparation
In a sanitised microwave-safe glass measuring jug, heat 165 ml of water to 38°C in a microwave.
Mix Go-Ferm into the hot water.
Sprinkle the provided yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then stir vigorously.
After 10 minutes, add the yeast solution to the bucket.
Note: Do not allow the yeast to sit for longer than 15 minutes.
Fermentation
Store the bucket in a temperature range of 18-24°C. Around 21°C is best.
48 hours after pitching the yeast, add the second dose of Fermaid O.
Monitor gravity to determine when it reaches <1.020. (7-14 days)
Once fermentation has concluded, transfer the mead into a sanitised demijohn.
Stabilising
Cold crash in a fridge until clear. (Optional) Cold temperatures speed clearing, but clearing will occur without it.
Rack the clear mead into a sanitised demijohn.
Add the potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite to the demijohn and mix well. Allow to sit for a minimum of 24 hours, ideally until clear.
Note: After stabilising, there will be a harsh note resembling fusels in the mead for a few weeks. This is caused by the stabiliser and will age out as the stabiliser completes its protective purpose.A few days after mixing, cold crash in the fridge to speed clearing. (Optional)
Bottle into sanitised bottles.
Tips and Tricks
Place your bucket into a larger container to contain any potential spill over from fermentation.
If your home is cold, the top back of the fridge is great for keeping the fermentation warm.
A spray bottle of diluted sanitiser is great for sanitising surfaces, especially hands.
The first time you use a non-graduated bucket, add 5 litres at a time and draw a line for each.
