Up to PWXX

Mead 1  - 28/12/90                5 US Gallon
5.5L honey (7.15 kilos)
50 g tartaric acid
75 g malic acid
7.5 g tannin
7.5 g citric acid
nutrients (2.5 teaspoons)
11 campden tablets
 
Yeast: Wine art # 1118
Racked: 19/1/91
Racked: 13/4/91
NOTES
??/??/91              This mead had a definite SKUNK odour to it.  Bottles were opened from time to time until the end of July.  Remaining bottles went to war where it was quite popular.  A light carbonation with a slightly sweet taste.  The odour had gone down quite a bit but I still consider it a poor quality wine, although passable as a after dinner sherry.
Raspberry Melomel - 31/12/90 2 US Gallon
1kg honey
6.25 L water
2 campden tablets
1/2 tsp nutrients
1.8 kg raspberries (frozen - unsweetened)
Yeast: Wine Art #1122
Pulp Strained: 3/1/91
Addition: 3/1/91 - 1.5 cups honey added to each gallon
Addition: 7/1/91 - 300 mg red grape concentrate added to each gallon
Racked: 12/1/91
Racked: 17/1/91
Racked: 30/3/91
                Rasp 'A' - bottled as is.
                Rasp 'B' - bottled in 2L, 4T honey added to each bottle
NOTES
12/1/91             Explosive fermentation
15/6/91             'B' restarted but was stopped by pressure.  Campden added and 'B' was rebottled in glass.
16/8/91             'A' was BONE dry when opened at war (PWXX), 'B' was only slightly sweeter.  Both were quite good although a little too acidic.  A definite must when more raspberries are available.


Kiwi melomel - 31/12/90 2 US Gallons
2 kg kiwi
1 kg honey
3.5 L water
2 campden tablets
nutrients
Yeast: wine art 1116
Pulp strained: 6/1/91
Additions: 6/1/91 - 2 cups honey & 150mL white grape juice to each gallon
Additions: 19/1/91 - 2T honey per litre added at racking
Racked: 19/1/91
Racked: 30/3/91
NOTES
16/8/91             Opened at WAR (PWXX).  According to many people who tried it this reminded them of a German desert wine.  I agree.  An interesting flavour.
Strawberry melomel - 9/3/91                2 US Gallon
1.8 kg strawberries
1.5 kg honey
2 campden tablets
1 tsp nutrients
Yeast: wine art 1116
Pulp strained: 16/3/91
Additions: 16/3/91 - 2.5 cups/gallon honey added
Racked: 25/3/91
Racked: 30/2/91
NOTES
18/3/91             Explosive fermentation
16/8/91             Opened at PWXX.  This could definitely have used an extra racking - very cloudy.  Like the raspberry this could have been less acidic but overall a nice flavour.
Blackcurrant melomel - 9/3/91                2 US Gallon
1 bottle Ribena Blackcurrant concentrate
1.5 kg honey
2 campden tablets
1 tsp nutrients
Yeast: wine art 1116
Racked: 15/3/91
Racked: 30/3/91
NOTES
16/8/91             Opened at PWXX.  My second favourite flavour, quite sharp and still a little acidic (although not as bad as the raspberry).


Mango Melomel - 11/6/91                   2 US gallons
2 Mangoes (cut up)
1kg honey
1 campden tablet
Yeast: Wine art 1116
Pulp Strained immediately before bottling
Racked: 27/6/91
NOTES
16/8/91             VERY cloudy, a little sweet but interesting none the less.
Apple Cinnamon Cyser - 11/6/91                     1 US gallon
2L apple Cider
4T cinnamon
1 kg honey
Yeast: Wine art 1116
Racked: 20/6/91
NOTES
11/6/91             Chudleigh's apple cider (0.1% sorbate)
13/6/91             HIGHLY explosive
16/8/91             Opened at PWXX.  This was impossible to hold on to.  Far and away the best flavour I have ever tried.  A little sweet (a 14 according to the measurements) but a WONDERFUL taste.
NOTES on PW XX tasting.
                Types available at war: Basic mead, Raspberry A & B, Kiwi, Apple Cinnamon, Blackcurrant, Mango, Strawberry
Lessons:             
                - Increased number of rackings are necessary to clear out the yeast.
                - Campden does NOT kill yeast merely stalls it out (at 100ppm) and helps settle it out.  Potassium sorbate is the chemical of choice for preventing more yeast growth.
                - Unlike white wine mead loves oxygen.  Those bottles which were opened early and allowed to breathe had a much more palatable bouquet.
                - from Aiden - acid balancing.  This is a lesson well taken when mead is settled at 3 (or so) ppt acid it is VERY nice.
Notes:
                - blackcurrant, strawberry and raspberry were VERY dry, others were sweet, see PW XXI for reasons
                - Apple Cinnamon had first instance of "microbubbles" a sort of carbonation but very fine bubbles almost nonexistent.  Strange.  (2-11-92: My current guess on this is that the mead was not quite dead but could not properly restart.  Thus the "microbubbles" will occur in any batch where something nutritious [mint, herbs, ammonium phosphate] is added later when the Potassium sorbate count is too high to allow the yeast to grow.)
                - All these meads were done with clover honey from Linden lanes apiary outside of Nobleton, Ont


Strawberry Pineapple (Arnora's) - 10/5/91                   5 US gallon
6.5 Kg honey
2kg strawberries
2 pineapples
nutrients (2.5 t)
Yeast: Wine Art 1118
Pulp Strained: 14/6/91
Racked: 14/6/91
Racked: 18/6/92 (yes 92)
NOTES
16/8/92             Very dry and almost an over-powering taste of pineapple.  The strawberry is only a mild hint in the after taste.
Banana Melomel (Arnora's) - 10/5/91                   1 US gallon
1.25 kg honey
1kg banana
nutrients
5g Malic acid
7.5 g tartaric acid
15 g citric acid
300mL red grape juice
Yeast: Wine Art 1122
Pulp Strained: 7/6/91
Racked: 7/6/91
Racked: 15/1/92 - had restarted, hit with more campden
Racked: 15/6/92
NOTES
16/8/92             Depends on who you ask.  This was VERY popular at PWXXI.  I found it to be strongly (almost unpalatably so) flavoured like bruised banana.  There is no accounting for taste.  Rather sweet too.
Rhubarb - 21/6/91                                1 US gallon
1 kg honey
0.5 kg rhubarb
1 cinnamon stick
Yeast: Wine art 1116
Racked: 19/7/91
Racked: 7/6/92
NOTES
16/8/92             Bone dry and a good strong rhubarb taste.


Cherry Melomel - 26/6/91                 5 US gallons
5 kg Cherries (white cherries from Ezra street)
300 ml red grape concentrate
3 Cinnamon sticks
5 kg honey
Yeast: Wine art 1116
Racked: 2/8/91
Racked: 15/7/92
NOTES
16/8/92             Dry very nice.  Good robust flavour.  Final bottle opened 31-10-92 it had mellowed into a very impressive wine. The harshness had gone.  Overall I count this one a big success.