Well, time for a start. I guess.

Wow! I have yet to post to my own blog. How sad is that?

Fortunately, that doesn't mean I haven't been making and drinking mead. In the fermenters right now, I have a gallon of plum infused mead made with honey and fruit from our local farmshare Gorman Farms. The fruit isn't from their orchard but is local. The honey came from on-site. I should be bottling it in another week or two (whenever I find time) and bringing a few bottles to the farm a little later in the season. There's also three gallons of apple-based libation done fermenting as well. They all need another racking and some settling time to clear before they get bottled.

I have been taking the opportunity to experiment with some of my existing bottled meads to try and find some directions to try in the future. Infusing a mix of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries into a straight mead went over very well. The capsicumel back-sweetened with honey did cut the intense heat but the flavor wasn't quite right. The capsicumel back-sweetened with agave, on the other hand, hit the spot. A small trial with prickly pear juice for back-sweetening a straight mead was also very promising.

Next batches to start fermentation will be an homage to New Mexico. I wound up with several pounds of honey from The Chile Casa in Albuqurque that need to be doing something more chemically active than just sitting in the cupboard. Maybe another capsicumel and maybe something prickly pear sweetened. We'll see.