Raspberries, blackberries, peaches and more: From grocery stores to farmers’ markets, fresh fruit is abundant come summer. So it’s the perfect time to try a melomel, a mead made with honey and fruit.

Melomels are a very approachable style of mead, both to drink and to make. Mead isn’t for everyone, and those who object to the one-dimensional flavor of plain meads often find they love the flash that a bit of fruit can add to this fermented honey brew. Thanks to natural acids and nutrients from the fruit, melomels also ferment to completion faster and are less “fussy” than pure honey fermentations. Beginners will find melomels the easiest type of honey beverage to make; home-winemaking veterans will see using honey as a creative and logical way to replace some of the sugar in what closely resembles a country wine.

Melomels can be made with almost any type of fruit you have on hand. But fresh, organic fruit that’s free of pesticides and herbicides is the best choice, because residual chemicals could harm the yeast. As with buying honey, finding local sources for fresh, seasonal produce can be almost as fun as making the melomel. Try farmers’ markets, roadside produce stands and specialty markets for berries, tree fruits and other fruits in season.

Fruits with high acid contents, like citrus fruits, should be used in moderation. Melomels made with them should have titratable acidity (TA) within the accepted range of 5 to 7 grams per liter. In general, the riper the fruit, the less acid it will contain. You should always run a TA test on your fruit and make sure it’s within the range of 3.2 to 3.7. This guideline allows yeast to be happy. You can buy a TA testing kit at any homebrewing or winemaking supply store.

Creating your own melomel is almost exactly like making mead, with a few exceptions. Though the added fruit will contribute some nutrients (especially nitrogen) and acids to the “must,” it’s still wise to use yeast nutrients. These additions will make for a quicker and healthier fermentation. The fruit will also add pectins (long-chain carbohydrates) to the brew, which can potentially cause hazes down the road. Pectic enzyme, added at a rate of ten drops per gallon, breaks down these chains. It will help to clear and settle your melomel once fermentation is over. By the way, mead should always be fermented between 70° and 78° F.

As in regular mead-making, there’s an argument over whether or not to boil. Brewers of the “non-boil” school swear that boiling the honey before fermentation causes the delicate aromas and flavors to escape with the steam. Instead, you could simply hold the hot honey and water at 160° F for 20 minutes to kill any bacteria, skimming off the foam that forms on the surface.

The “boilers,” on the other hand, emphasize that boiling helps coagulate albumin proteins and other impurities in the honey, and also kills any spoilage microorganisms. Both contribute to a more consistent, predictable and stable fermentation. Furthermore, adding the crushed fruit to the just-boiled honey will help to kill any harmful microorganisms residing on the fruit. Just be sure never to actually boil the fruit or a damaging amount of pectins will gel in the brew. The recipes below both have a boiling step for those who wish to practice this technique. Those who do not care to boil their honey can skip this step, but beginners are encouraged to follow the recipes exactly.

Down the road, another option is adding the fruit during the secondary. Pasteurize it first by holding it at 160° F for 20 minutes. Then add it to the fermenter along with pectic enzyme. If you’re using canned fruit, it’s already been pasteurized and you can add it straight into the fermenter.

Melomels, like meads, occasionally have difficulty fermenting to dryness. If this happens, don’t despair. Many people expect their melomels to be sweet. It’ll just be necessary to add potassium sorbate, at a rate of 3 teaspoons per five gallons, in order to keep the wine from re-fermenting in the bottle. You could also choose a different yeast strain; champagne yeast, for example, should ferment completely dry.

If carbonation doesn’t bother you, bottle the beverage when it contains about one percent sugar. Use beer or champagne bottles with crown caps to withstand the carbon dioxide pressure. It’s not wise to add any pre-bottling potassium sorbate here, as it will kill off the remaining yeast — and then you won’t have any sparkle. If the melomel does go dry (below -.05 degrees Brix or 0.0995 SG) and you want a little fizz, bottle in beer or champagne bottles following the directions in your favorite homebrewing book.

Honey can be used as the priming sugar at the rate of one cup per five-gallon batch. You could also prime a five-gallon batch with 3/4 cup corn sugar or 1-1/4 cup extra light dried malt extract (any British variety would do). The DME will add a creamy texture. No matter which priming sugar you choose, remember to boil it for 5 to 10 minutes in 1-1/2 cups of water before adding it to the batch.

Raspberry Melomel
(one gallon)

This raspberry melomel is perfect for summer brewing. It’s  even more perfect for conjuring up memories of summer when it’s opened and enjoyed later.

Ingredients
• 3 pounds honey
• 2 pounds raspberries
• 1/2 cup sucrose (table sugar)
• 2 teaspoon acid blend (like Vinacid R)
• 10 drops liquid pectic enzyme
• 1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
• 1 packet Montrachet yeast
• Enough cold, preboiled water to make up 1 gallon

Step By Step

In a large, non-reactive kettle boil the honey and some water. The ratio should be one part honey to two parts water; use the empty honey container to measure the water. Boil for 10 to 20 minutes, skimming off any scum and foam.

Add the raspberries, gently crushed, to the hot honey and let cool until warm. If you did not boil the honey, treat the following step as your first step.

Add raspberries, honey, sugar and acid blend to your primary fermenter. I’d recommend a plastic fermenter with a lid and airlock. Mix thoroughly. Then add the pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient and enough cold, preboiled water to make one gallon, mixing well.

Disperse the yeast in one cup warm water. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. If the liquid is bubbly and frothy, add to the honey-berry mixture, stirring gently to disperse the yeast. If the yeast have not activated, it might mean your yeast is old or has lost its ability to rehydrate. In that case, buy a new packet from your local homebrew supplier.

Let stand in a warm place (70° to 78° F). Monitor the sugar level (specific gravity) to check for fermentation progression by using a hydrometer occasionally. Stir the must twice daily to keep the floating “cap” of fermenting fruit moist.

After the most vigorous fermentation period is over (about 5 to 10 days), strain the solid material out of the primary fermenter into another clean bucket. Siphon this liquid into a clean one-gallon jug and top up with cold, preboiled water if necessary. Top with a bung and fermentation lock.

Melomels need to be racked every two to three months, depending upon the amount of sediment in the bottom of the jug. The fermentation of this medium-sweet melomel may take a month to finish, and even when the yeast activity stops it may not be dry. Whatever turns out to be the case, you should rack three times before bottling. If necessary, top up with cold, preboiled water to prevent oxidation.

When racking, siphon the clear melomel into another clean one-gallon jug and top up with cold, preboiled water. Fit the jug with a clean bung and fermentation lock. After another week, check the titratable acidity (g/L) of your melomel. If it is much below 5 g/L or tastes flat, try adding your favorite acid blend in order to bring the TA up to around 7 g/L.

After the last racking and before bottling, if you have the equipment, you could filter the mead into a clean carboy. After the acid’s adjusted (and after you’ve filtered, if you did), potassium sorbate will prevent a re-fermentation in the bottle.

After waiting one month, if you wish to bottle your melomel, do so. Adding wine conditioner is an optional step that might improve the body and mouthfeel of the final product. If using, mix well into the wine before you bottle it. Bottle-age for 6 months before consumption.

Cyser Apple Honey Mead
(five gallons)

A cyser is traditionally a “sack mead,” or a sweet mead, that’s made with honey and apples. This cyser is quite like a wine, and will have a wine’s higher alcohol content when it’s finished. An important note: When buying the apple juice or cider, be sure it doesn’t contain any preservatives — like potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate or sulfites — which would kill the yeast. Check at a health-food store or find a cider producer who’ll sell you juice right off the press.

Ingredients
• 4 gal. apple cider or juice   (with no preservatives)
• 10 lb. honey
• 3 tsp. liquid pectic enzyme
• 3 tsp. yeast nutrient
• 3 tsp. malic acid
• Enough cold, preboiled water to bring total volume to 5 gallons
• 1 packet champagne yeast
• 3 tsp. potassium sorbate
• 250 ml wine conditioner (optional)

Step By Step

In large, non-reactive kettle boil the honey with water. The ratio should be one part honey to two parts water; use the empty honey containers to measure the water. Boil for 10 to 20 minutes, skimming off any scum and foam.

Add the apple juice to the hot honey once you take it off the burner. Stir thoroughly. Add the malic acid to your primary fermenter (a seven-gallon plastic fermenter with a lid and airlock works well) and mix well. Add the pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient and enough cold, preboiled water to make up 5 gallons, mixing well. The specific gravity should be between 1.085 and 1.095.

Disperse the yeast in 1 cup warm water. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. If the liquid is actively bubbly and frothy, add to the honey mixture, stirring gently to disperse the yeast. If the yeast have not activated, it might mean your yeast is old or has lost its ability to rehydrate. If that’s the case, you’ll need to buy a new packet from your local homebrew supplier.

Let stand in a warm place (70° to 78° degrees F). Monitor the sugar level (specific gravity) to check for fermentation  progression by using a hydrometer about every other day. When specific gravity has reached about 1.020, siphon this liquid into a clean, five-gallon carboy and top up with cold, preboiled water if necessary. Top with a bung and fermentation lock. The fermentation will continue to progress slowly at this point, often taking a number of weeks to finish.

After three more weeks, or when the specific gravity reaches around 0.995, rack into another clean carboy. At this specific gravity reading, your mead will be dry. Top up with cold, preboiled water.

After another week, check the titratable acidity (in grams per liter) of your mead. If it is much below 5 g/L or tastes flat, try adding an acid blend in order to bring the titratable acidity up to around 7 g/L.

At this point, if you have the equipment, you could filter the mead into a clean carboy. After the acid’s adjusted (and after you’ve filtered, if you did) add some postassium sorbate to prevent a re-fermentation in the bottle. Let the mead sit (bulk age) for one month.

After a month, if you wish to bottle your mead in homebrew or champagne bottles with crown caps, do so. Adding wine conditioner is an optional step that might improve the body and mouthfeel of the final cyser. If you decide to use a bit of wine conditioner, mix it thoroughly into the mead before you bottle it. Bottle-age your cyser for 5 months before consumption.

Alison Crowe is an enologist at the Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz, California, and a graduate of the University of California at Davis’ Department of Viticulture and Enology. She’s also a regular contributor to Brew Your Own and WineMaker magazines.