Mango Mead: A Summer Classic

So, this is like one of my first fruit mead brews, also known as Melomels.

When I first made mead with no flavours, it was super dry for my taste buds. So, I thought, why not try a flavoured mead to give it a touch of sweetness, right?

And what better flavour to use than the King of Fruits - Mango!

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Honey (Multifloral Natural Honey)

• 1 Gallon Water

• 5-6 Mangoes (to be added 2 weeks after the primary fermentation kicks off)

• Potassium Sorbate

• 5gm Wine Yeast

Equipment:

• 1 Gallon Fermenter (x2)

• 1 Stockpot

• No-rinse Sanitizer

• Airlock

• Racking Siphon

• Hydrometer

Recipe:

1. First things first - SANITIZE like there's no tomorrow! Sanitize everything - stockpot, fermenter, airlock, siphon, hydrometer... basically, anything that might touch the mix.
   

2. Next, let's whip up our honey-water mix. Add 4 liters of water and 1 kg honey to the fermenter. Shake it up real good till the honey dissolves nicely. You can also gently heat the honey to help it dissolve faster. Just don't overheat it, okay? After mixing it well, shake it for another 2 minutes. This not only dissolves the honey but also aerates the mix.
   

3. Once the mix is ready, take a gravity reading. For this mix, the reading was 1.066, which could give us a final product with 8-10% Alcohol. You can adjust the honey amount for your desired alcohol level. If you prefer a sweeter brew, we'll get to that later.
   

4. Now, time to add the yeast. Add 5gm (1 tablespoon) yeast and stir it well for an even distribution. Fill the airlock with sanitized water and attach it to the fermenter. Let it sit for 15 days in a dark spot since yeast isn't a fan of sunlight. 2 weeks later...
   

5. Fermentation should be done. It's mango time! You can add mango during the initial fermentation, but the fermentation is so aggressive in the initial days, it can reduce the flavour. Better to add it post-fermentation, to get more flavour out of the Mango. 24 hours later...
   

6. Two things to do to add flavour

   1. Transfer the mix to another fermenter, add potassium sorbate, and let it sit for 24 hours to stop fermentation.

7. Squeeze the mangoes, heat the pulp to kill any bacteria, and let it cool.
   

8. Time for the secondary fermentation. Add the mango pulp to the mix in the 2nd fermenter, stir, and let it rest for a week.
   

9. After a week, strain the mix to remove any mango pulp. Check the gravity reading - mine was 1.002, around 8% alcohol VoV

Mead is ready!

You can wait another week for sediments to settle for a clearer mead.

Another week later...

Use a siphon to transfer the mead to glass bottles and let it age or enjoy chilled.

Results:

This turned out way different than I expected. It's sweet, and you can feel the alcohol kick as you swallow it. The mango flavour is clearly distinguishable. Cheers! 🥂