Rhodomel

Batch size: 5 gallons

Ingredients

Instructions

Boil honey and 5 quarts water for 10 minutes, skimming off foam. Place petals, citric acid, and tannin in a brewing bucket and pour in the hot honey mixture. Add water to make 5.5 gallons. When the must is at room temperature, add nutrient, sprinkle the yeast on top of the must (without mixin), and fit the fermentation lock. After 7-10 days, strain out flowers and transfer the must into a carboy. Re-fit the lock and ferment until clear. Rack as necessary, bottle and age.

Notes

This recipe was heavily inspired by recipes I've found for Lavender Metheglin and Rose Mead.

The rose petals were picked at the beach on Little Nahant, MA, 7 weeks prior to brewing. They were picked through, measured, and frozen in a plastic freezer bag with as much air removed as possible. They weren't rinsed, so they may have been slightly salty from the ocean air.

Alfalfa honey is light and delicate in flavor, so it shouldn't overpower flavor of the rose petals. However, it's fairly dark in color, so the color of the petals might be lost. Time will tell.


This page is maintained by leira@mit.edu.

Last modified: 2000/11/13 by leira@mit.edu