Cold Brew Coffee Mead
Honey and cold-brewed coffee: chocolate, roast, and sweetness without harsh bitterness. A dessert mead.
Cold Brew Coffee Mead is a sweet metheglin made with buckwheat or wildflower honey and Lalvin 71B yeast, fermented from an original gravity of 1.105 to 1.018 for about 11.4% ABV. It is drinkable in 4–8 months.
- Original gravity
- 1.105
- Final gravity
- 1.018
- ABV
- 11.4%
- Drinkable in
- 4–8 months
Ingredients
Amounts are for a 1-gallon batch.
| 3 lb | Wildflower honeySwap a quarter pound for buckwheat for darker notes. |
| to volume | WaterTo 1 gallon total. |
| 2.5 g | Lalvin 71B yeast |
| 3 g | Fermaid-OStaggered over four additions. |
| 8 fl oz | Cold brew concentrateMade from a medium roast. Added in secondary. |
Method
Ferment a traditionalMix, pitch, and feed as for a traditional mead.
Add the coffeeAfter fermentation, rack and blend in half the cold brew. Taste, then add more until it's where you want it.
ClearLet it settle for a month. Coffee oils may form a thin film; rack carefully beneath it.
FinishStabilize and backsweeten. Coffee mead reads best on the sweet side.
Brewer's note. Cold brew gives a smoother result than hot coffee, which pulls more bitter compounds.
Recipe by White Shed Meadery, Chehalis, Washington. ABV is estimated from gravity: (OG − FG) × 131.25. Scale every ingredient in proportion for larger batches.