#no.092423

I'm pleased with how I did.

My hōjicha tea mead scored well overall, but based on the judge's feedback I think it would have worked better as a semi-sweet mead instead of a completely dry mead, to help balance the acid/tannins.

Notes for "Tujku" hōjicha tea wildflower mead:

Judge 1: David S

Bouquet - Honey, very slight Alcohol Tea comes through. 8/10

Appearance - No complaints! 6/6

Flavor - Acidic, slightly hot. Tea comes through, Sour. 18/24

Overall - 7/10

Total - 39/50

Feedback - A bit acidic. Very slightly hot. Smoke comes through as well as the tea. A bit unbalanced. I would pull back on the acid a bit.

Judge 2: Shawn B

Bouquet - Nice nose, honey, curious smoke/grass 8/10

Appearance - amber brown, clear 5/6

Flavor - a bit tannic and tart, but nails the described flavors 20/24

Overall - 7/10

Total - 40/50

Feedback - Interesting mead. Each ingredient choice shines through. A bit tart, dry. Could be better balanced

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The mead I used for my experimental rice wine "braggot" lost a lot a lot of points due to the fact that the mead I used in it had a flawed ferment. I didn't add enough nutrients. Aging helped some, but not enough.

Notes for "The Empress" 60/50 cactus mead/forbidden rice wine blend:

Judge 1: Jake Tweedy

Bouquet - chalky, fruity, heavy mineral presence 10/10

Appearance - 6/6

Flavor - interesting blend of flavors, presenting as acidic fruit mixed with gently floral honey. Faint bitter aftertaste lingers. 10/24

Overall - 7/10

Total - 33/50

Feedback - An interesting blend, there's a heavy mineral presence amongst a bright, zesty, fruity honey character. But a lingering bitterness keeps this mead from landing a world class score. Please keep experimenting! This was fun to try!

Judge 2: Susan Jimenez

Bouquet - prickly pear - mineral notes, clean & interesting med alcohol, inviting 9/10

Appearance - very clear, small bubbles around the rim 6/6

Flavor - low honey, lower acid and soft lingering tannin smooth alcohol for a sack. I get a tuna fishy off-flavor in the taste. maybe sulpher 10/24

Overall - 6/10

Total - 31/50

Not that you could tell, lmao. As you can see, it looks black unless it's backlit.

First photo: hōjicha tea & wildflower honey mead on the left; elephant cactus blossom honey mead on the right

I'm about to start the batch of cactus flower mead.

I racked the Yosemite wildflower honey. I'm not sure it's 100% done fermenting, but there was negative pressure in the airlock and it's looking much clearer and, most importantly, I needed to free up that fermenter for my new batch, so out with the old, in with the new.

I put airlocks in the containers I racked it into just in case it still has more fermenting to do, so there won't be any bottle bombs.

So! Cactus flower honey.

Vendor description:

Cactus honey is made from the nectar of the Pachycereus pringlei cactus, also known as the elephant cactus or cardón cactus. This cactus is native to Mexico and Arizona, and it blooms from March to May. The honey made from its nectar is almost white and has a thick, syrupy consistency.

The honey is ... very difficult to pour.

I suppose I could just spoon it out, but that's messy, and I don't feel like it. Luckily the honey jar is the right size and shape to sit upside-down inside the lid of my wide mouth fermenter without falling in, so I'm going to just leave it there and let gravity do most of the work. Once at least ⅔ of the honey has poured out I'll add water to the honey jar and dissolve the rest.

to more easily transfer samples of my brews into the beaker I use for hydrometer readings

to siphon liquid from bottles that are too full to fit my auto-siphon into without spilling

Months ago I tried ordering a glass turkey baster for these same purposes and immediately broke it. Lesson learned.

Today I'm adding my last packet of Super-Kleer to uh... a bunch of things. Yosemite Wildflower Honey Mead No.070723 Sage Blossom Honey Mead No.090123 Cactus Blossom Honey Mead No.092423. Those were all gallon batches but only one of them is still in a gallon bottle, so measuring out the correct amounts of the fining agent is a bit of a pain.