Liquid Sex

Having acquired several 5 gallon food-grade buckets from a local bakery, I've been wanting to make a unique batch of mead to fill them. I discovered a chocolate mead recipe from a Lord Rhys who describes the recipe as creating "liquid sex." Well, who can argue with that?

A search of YouTube found only one person that actually made one using the recipe, Larmo22, and it seemed easy enough that I figured I'd give it a try (you can find the recipe in the "Recipe" tab above).

Mead No. 10

After cleaning and sanitizing the pail and lid, I warmed up 15 lbs. of honey in a sink filled with hot tap water to help it flow easier.  I added one gallon of water to the bucket then one 5 lb. container of honey and mixed them together vigorously.

At the home brew stores, they sell for $20 a mixer that attaches to your drill. It seemed rather pricey for a piece of plastic, so I wanted to see if I could make my own. I bought a garden stake from Lowe's, one of those green ones you would use to tie up a tomato or other plant with. I thought it was plastic, but it's actually plastic-coated aluminum.  It's about 2-feet long.

I cut off two 2" long piece from one end and flattened them both in my bench vise. I then flattened the cut end of the stake and drilled a 1/4" hole in the flat end of the stake and at one end of each of the 2" long pieces. I then threaded a small nylon screw through the holes, attaching one of the small pieces on either side of the stake, and then secured it with a nut. Viola! For $1.76, I replicated the $20 tool.

Using the mixer I added all the water and honey. I probably should have held off on adding the last gallon oil the very end because I did splash a little bit while mixing because 4 gallons of water and 15 lbs of honey brings the fill line within a 1/2" of the top.

I then added the cocoa powder and mixed using my home-made mixing wand. I measured the temp of the must and it was 89.7F.  I took a gravity reading and it was 1.113 for an ABV of ___.

Next I rehydrated the yeast, warming up the water to about 107F (the package says between 104-109F) and let sit for 15 minutes or so.

After pitching the yeast I blended up the mixture and then added one tsp. of DAP and one tsp. of yeast nutrient and mixed them as well. I then drilled out the lid of the bucket with a 1/2" bit, added a rubber bung, and secured an airlock filled with sanitizer into the hole. I am concerned about blowout though because of how full the bucket is so I'll need to keep an eye on it.

I did take a taste of the must with the chocolate and it tasted good, though I was thinking it would be more chocolate-y than it seemed. Also wasn't as sweet as I imagined it would be. If necessary, I can always back sweeten the must after primary fermentation. Now I hear this has to store for longer periods of time than typical meads, up to two years, before it really begins to taste good. That might be difficult, but we'll see how it goes.