Update - Pumpkin

Well,

Sorry for the lack of posts. It has been a rough week or so between work (very stressful at this point) and moving to the new house.

Here is an update though. As of last Wednesday (11/12/2008) the pumpkin was finished fermenting. I racked it over on the next Thursday (11/13/2008) due to having to teach on Wednesday nights. At first taste it was quite pumpkin-y if I can use that term. There was a vague sweetness, but it was mostly just mellow pumpkin. Not too much spice remained. I am still unsure where spices fit during fermentation so that might just be an issue on my part.

After racking it was quite clear (although through most of the fermentation it was pretty clear as well). I placed it into the fridge for further clearing however, over the past week not much has changed. Hopefully it has not fully cleared yet and I just need to wait longer. If not then it is definitely the pectin in the pumpkin that has lead to the cloudiness. That will eventually fall out, but that will take months.

As a side note, I might also next time use less pumpkin flesh in my recipe. This much pumpkin has left me with very little mead (appox one bottle). This recipe might need to stay at the one gallon stage for a while before it is perfected.

Pluses to this mead are as follows:

1. Mellow flavor (not rocket fuel), so drinkability while young is good.
2. Quick fermentation time.
3. Easy recipe.

Minuses to this mead are as follows:

1. Pectin may lead to long clearing cycle.
2. Too much pumpkin flesh lead to small yeild.


I did reach my ABV so that was good. Legs are ok on this one.

I'll keep you posted.