Brewing Method: Sparkling Melomel
Yeast: Prise de Mousse
Yeast Starter: none
Batch Size: 5 gallons
Original Gravity:
Final Gravity:
Alcohol Content: %
Pasteurization Time:
Pasteurization Temp:
Total Amount of Honey: 15 pounds
Color: blush pink
Yeast Nutrient-Amount:
Yeast Energizer-Amount:
Primary Fermentation: 3 months, 60-70 degrees
Secondary Fermentation: a year or more - cool
Additional Fermentation:

Honey Bill:

15 pounds mesquite honey if you can find it, got mine from Mackin's in Texoma

Other Flavorings or Fermentables:

6 pounds ripe prickly pears
2 gallons spring water, at least
1/4 teaspoon Vegemite
1 tablespoon each strong black tea and pectin enzyme
1 teaspoon acid blend
1 package Prise de Mousse yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water

Brewers Notes:

The Method:

Chop the fruit and boil in 2 1/2 quarts of spring water for 2 hours. In another pot, simmer the
honey with 1 gallon water, skim the scum. When the scum stops rising, stir in the vegemite
dissolved in the tea and the acid blend. Strain the juice into the honey. Pour into the food grade
bucket and top to 5 gallons with cold spring water. Vigorously stir in the yeast.

Cover with cheesecloth, wrap in a blanket or 2 and leave it alone for 3 months. Unwrap, siphon
into a 5 gallon carboy and top with more water if needed. Set on the fermentation lock and
leave it for a year. Bottle when it becomes a clear blush color.

This mead takes a long long time to make, but in the end, the taste - that of crystals singing in
the desert - is worth the wait.