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Published December 4, 2019 By Gigi Mitts 5 Comments

Blueberry Mead Recipe

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.

Blueberry Mead Recipe
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Fermentation is magical. This natural process turns milk into cheese, dough into bread, and cabbage into sauerkraut. The formula is simple: sugar + water + microbes = alcohol + carbon dioxide. When I realised how simple the process was, I was hooked. My kitchen soon turned into a giant lab with counters and cabinets filled with jars of homemade kimchi, sauerkraut, cheese, and yogurt.

My passion soon led me to experiment with brewing. I had so much fun making cider vinegar, beers, and wines that I was soon brewing up a storm! Lately, I have been trying out different types of mead. Mead, in its simplest form, is fermented honey, water, and yeast. The resulting brew is sweet, boozy, and reminiscent of summers!

You can check out my recipe of traditional honey mead. Towards the end of last summer, I experimented with making Morat or Mulberry mead and I am proud to say that my first batch turned out pretty awesome.

Encouraged by these results, I made blueberry mead next. Blueberries are available year-round these days and that really helps. You can use fresh or frozen berries for this recipe but freezing helps break open the cell walls of the fruit to release more juice.

The resulting drink is light and refreshing – it is a perfect beverage for warm summer evenings. Serve it up in a mason jar with a wedge of lemon and a handful of fresh berries. You will love it!

Note: blueberry mead takes time to make. Be patient and you will be rewarded!

Let us dive into the recipe of blueberry mead also known as blueberry honey wine or melomel.

Table of Contents

  • How to make blueberry mead
    • Equipment and Tools
      • Fermentation vessel
      • Airlock and stopper
      • Large stockpot
      • Bottling auto siphon
      • Miscellaneous
  • Blueberry Mead Recipe
    • Description
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Did you make this recipe?
  • Conclusion
    • Related Posts

How to make blueberry mead

Equipment and Tools

Fermentation vessel

This is a truly essential piece of equipment and is a worthwhile investment to make. Always use a vessel that is at least 10% bigger than the size of your yield. This extra room, called headspace, is very important. The shape and the material of your vessel is entirely up to you.

Brewers usually go in for plastic bucket fermentation vessels or glass carboys. I personally like glass carboys as they are not prone to scratches – a common issue in plastic vessels.

This way, there is less room for growth of unwanted bacteria and fungi. You will be racking the mead (explained below) so you’d need at least 2 carboys.

Airlock and stopper

Glass carboys come with airlock and stopper. Alternatively, you can buy them separately.

These are universal-size stoppers that fit most 5-gallon carboys. These are essential to maintain the seal of the carboy to prevent debris from entering into the fermentation vessel.

Airlock also has a special mechanism to allow the bubbling gases to escape without letting air into the vessel.

Large stockpot

We will be heating up water in the stockpot, so make sure it is large enough to hold 3 gallons of water.

Bottling auto siphon

This siphon tube helps you siphon off or rack the mead into bottles while leaving the fruit bits, yeast cake, and other sediments at the bottom of your fermenting vessel.

Miscellaneous

You will need a large spoon or stirrer. Make sure you sterilize and sanitize all of the equipment you use. Place a clean towel on the surface on which you work. This will help you dry items when you need to.

You also need Red Star Cote des Blanc wine yeast.

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Blueberry Mead Recipe


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  • Author: Gigi Mitts
  • Total Time: 1 hour
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Description

This recipe makes about 5-gallons of blueberry mead. You can adjust the quantity based on the size of your carboy. If you decide to follow this recipe, make sure to use 5 or 6.5 gallon carboys.


Ingredients

Scale
  • Water – approximately 5 gallons
  • Wildflower or clover honey (raw and organic) – about 11 cups or 8.25 lb
  • 3 oz fresh ginger (optional)
  • 2 lemons and 2 limes washed, cleaned, and dried.
  • 4 tsp yeast nutrient
  • One (5 g) packet of Red Star Cote des Blanc wine yeast
  • ¾  cup corn sugar
  • 1 gallon of frozen blueberries.

Instructions

  1. In the stockpot, simmer 3 gallons of water.
  2. Add honey and stir continuously so that it dissolves and does not stick to the sides and the bottom, burning.
  3. Continue to simmer the must. You will see white foam rise on top. Skim away the foam.
  4. Cut up or grate ginger and add it to the must. Continue to simmer.
  5. Remove the stockpot from the flame. Cut up lemons and limes into quarters or halves, squeeze their juice into the hot must, and drop in the used lime and lemon peels in as well.
  6. Next, add the yeast nutrient to the warm must.
  7. Drop in the frozen blueberries, cover the pot and let stand for 15 minutes.
  8. Remove the lemon and lime slices. Pour the must with the blueberries into a sanitized carboy or plastic bucket fermenter (whichever you are using). Add about 1.5 gallons of cool water to the carboy. Aerate and pitch the wine yeast into the carboy.
  9. Seal the carboy with airlock and stopper. Place the mead in a cool, dark place where it can remain undisturbed. Ambient temperature should ideally be about 70°F or 21°C.
  10. After 2 weeks, siphon the mead into a sanitized glass carboy or bottles. This process is called racking.
  11. Again after a week, siphon the mead into a sanitized bottle or carboy. Let the mead age for 3 months. At this point, you can dissolve corn sugar in a cup of warm water and add it to the carboy.
  12. Fill clean bottles with the mead and let it age for another month before enjoying.
  • Prep Time: 60 minutes

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @myfermentedfoods on Instagram and hashtag it #myfermentedfoods

Conclusion

Mead fermentation is slightly tricky because it can be tough to tell when it is done.

Sometimes, you may have a steady stream of bubbles for weeks only to find that the sample tastes cloyingly sweet. You can use a hydrometer to test the gravity and sugar content.

Always make sure that the yeast you add at the beginning is active and healthy. You can also pitch in new yeast with a yeast nutrient that is available readily on the market. I hope you give this recipe a try!

Related Posts

How to Make Mead

Mulberry Mead Recipe

How to Make Fermented Honey

Filed Under: Recipes

Author

Gigi Mitts
Hi! I’m Gigi. A fermentation nerd passionate about healthy food and great diet. I believe that our wellbeing and beauty starts in our gut and that each of us has a responsibility to get informed, take action, and look after their body. I’m here to spread that message, bring back the benefits of ancient nutrition to modern life, and show you all the latest cool ways to ferment and preserve food at home.

Comments

  1. Eric R says

    January 15, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    What is the purpose of the corn sugar? I when brewing beer its used for carbonation. Is this for the same use? This is the first time I’ve seen this step in a mead recipe.

    Reply
    • Gigi Mitts says

      January 15, 2020 at 9:09 pm

      Corn sugar is used for priming to make mead sparkling.

      Reply
  2. Nic says

    September 8, 2020 at 1:17 pm

    Can I use a different yeast like EC-1118 or D-47 with this recipe?

    Reply
  3. Andrew B says

    October 30, 2021 at 2:02 pm

    When do I add the corn sugar to the mead? Is it before or after aging?

    Reply
    • Gigi Mitts says

      January 11, 2022 at 2:41 pm

      Add corn sugar after 3 months of aging.

      Reply

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A word from the Founder

Hey, Gigi here. I developed an interest in fermented foods a couple of years ago when I recalled that my mum used to make it when I was a kid. Once I rediscovered the world of fermenting, I started reading about and making the food myself. Here at MyFermentedFoods.com I blog about my journey and share my knowledge with you. I hope you enjoy reading it. Read More…

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