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A hardy kiwi melomel ?

19 years ago

Hello,

I am getting a batch of honey from my brother next weekend (he's a bee keeper), and my hardy kiwis are ripe. I want make a kiwi melomel. I have a recipe from "Making Wines and Meads", that calls for the traditional fuzzy kiwi peeled. I plan to use the hardy kiwi unpeeled. The recipe also calls for 3 tsp acid blend. Any thoughts on adjusting a recipe to suit the hardy kiwi? Has anyone done this before?

Thanks in advance,

Carolyn

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Comments (3)

makalu_gw
19 years ago
I've never made a kiwi melomel but I'd think that you could substitute the hardy for traditional without too much problems. I know that with peaches, it's better to peel the fuzz off because it is an absolute pain in the neck to get the fuzz out of suspension after fermentation and it costs at least another racking to get it to drop clear (or a lot more time than I'm willing to give it) so I'd guess that that's the difference.

Kiwis are pretty acidic to begin with so I'm surprised that the recipe still wants acid blend. I'd probably skip the acid blend in the primary and adjust somewhere after the first racking if you find that the taste is thin or otherwise not to your liking. You could also titrate the mead to figure the total acidity and shooot for a number around .6% - .7% if you like to be exact but I usually go with taste alone.
little_rhody
Original Author
19 years ago
Makalu,

Thanks for your response. I'm pretty new at this and haven't tested a must for acidity. Anyway I think you are right about kiwis being acidic and I would think that hardy kiwis are even more acidic, especially if I don't peel them (thay are not fuzzy). So I think I will reduce the acid blend and hope for the best.

Thanks ,

Carolyn
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ian_pairowoodies_com
17 years ago
I made a kiwi melomel back in 2006 and just bottled it the other day. I used this recipe which is based on the one in the book.

I am glad I added the acid blend - and I can tell you that this beverage chilled is just.. awesome! If I had known it would be so good, I would have made ten gallons!

I actually made three gallons and my beekeeper client is going to bring me more honey so that I can start another large batch of it. It's one of the best fermented honey based drinks I've made and tasted.

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