I was impressed with Al's basic mead and was inspired to brew a melomel which is basic mead + fruit. The primary fermentation was complete after seven days, but this batch still has months to go. Will update when ready.
Boil for 15 minutes 3/4 gallon water, the honey, corn sugar, ginger root, citric acid, Irish moss, and yeast nutrients. Turn the heat off. Remove as much of the ginger as possible, preferably all of it. Off to the side, crush your rasperries and add to the hot wort (NOT BOILING) and let steep for 15 minutes. Pour contents into a fermenter and cool to 70-78F by whichever means you choose. Pitch the rehydrated yeast. Be careful with this batch during fermentation. It has a tendency to go crazy so you may want to attach a blow-off tube, else your airlock will likely turn into a rocket at some point and the mess won't be fun to clean. Anyway, monitor it for a week and rack to secondary with Sparkalloid for a week or until clear. Bottle at let sit for at least 6 months.
