Mead and Cider (and Peary too) Mmmmm

[NewEnglander]

I added 7 oz. of brown sugar to my gallon of fresh cider and pitched the D47. It was happily bubbling away within 3 hours of pitching and still going strong this morning. I also added a few raisins and a couple cinnamon sticks to this batch we'll see how it turns out.
I opened a couple bottles of last year's cider, added a splash of fresh cider to the glasses and thoroughly enjoyed them yesterday afternoon.

[Dirka Skene]

Could you adopt me?

[MMorgan]

Franklin Ohio? As in just south of Dayton? We'll be driving through there on the way to my wife's family late next month. Well, maybe not quite. We usually take 35 east instead of heading through Cincinnati and down along the river. That is a nicer drive, but takes much longer. She has sisters in both Dayton and Cincinnati.

yup just south o dayton and north o cincy lol pretty much smack dab in between... Franklin is pretty much an armpit and wouldnt recommend anyone living here.....
my girl lives in xenia which if your going 35 east you drive pretty much right through

[Kerr the Walker]

I was inspired by this thread. I've now got 4 one gallon jugs (cider + brown sugar + champagne yeast) bubbling happily in my spare room.

[jkane]

Got 20 lbs of cranberries last week. 2 grocery sacks full. Smacked the yeast pack last night, and have the honey sitting on the counter. We'll be starting it tonight. :-)

That'll be our last batch for the year. It's just racking and stirring them for the rest of the year.

[Old Hippie]

Ooooohhhhhmmmmmm...Cranberry mead! And when the cranberries are done fermenting you can cook them down into a heavenly cranberry sauce. You'll have enough for the next year! Extra B vitamins from the lees, too.

I picked up an Honourable Mention for mine in competition. It was still a little young at the time. At two years in now it's gorgeous.

[jkane]

We got a 2nd place a couple months ago with our last years cranberry. It is like drinking cranberry juice cocktail! Very berry. My wife added some ginger to it, but the cranberries overwhelm it and I can't even tell with a couple handfuls worth added to 5 gallons! That's cranberry overload!

Not sure about making something out of the berries after. Might be a bit yeasty unless they are washed first. We have 4 lbs of berries for eating, and since I don't like them that much, those might be in the freezer yet next fall!

I found a couple lbs of blue berries in the freezer last night! Darn! Forgot to ferment them. Hmmmm. What to do with them now. ;)

[Old Hippie]

I went a little lighter on the cranberries for mine -- I wanted to keep the delicate floral notes of the local honey I was using. It could have used more cran (hence only an Honourable Mention) but it did well up against some of the more wine-y traditional fruits. I wasn't too broken up about it, because my stout got a first that year.

[piperdbh]

Would it be possible for someone in, let's say, western North Carolina to obtain (legally, of course) a bottle of the pear cider when it's finished?

[jkane]

If you are ever in the Milwaukee Wisconsin area, PM me and we can work something out. ;)