Marie-Laure | Blueberry Vanilla Bochet | Mead Recipe Kit BeerCo.au

Marie-Laure adored going berry picking in the forests that surrounded her family’s farm in the South of France. She always found the juiciest blueberries by the mountain streams. There are countless ways to enjoy blueberries, but Marie-Laure had her own special recipe. She crafted a Blueberry & Vanilla Bochet, a traditional mead-style that has been around since the 13th century and is made with caramelized honey and spices. This delightful Blueberry Vanilla Bochet will quickly become your favourite too! So, what are you waiting for? Vive Le France and Marie-Laure!

Marie-Laure | Blueberry Vanilla Bochet | Mead Recipe

written by Jimmy from BeerCo.au

Vital Stats:

• Batch Sizes: 5 Litres OR 10 Litres
• OG: 1.082
• FG: 1.000
• ABV: 11%

Recipe Kit Contents:

SINGLE BATCH (5 Litres):

• 2 Kg Archibald’s Honey | Floral
• 1 x M05 Mangrove Jack’s Mead Yeast 10g Sachet
• 1 x Mangrove Jack’s | Wine Yeast Nutrient
• 2 x Vanilla Beans | Grade B

DOUBLE BATCH (10 Litres):

• 3 Kg Archibald’s Honey | Floral
• 1 x M05 Mangrove Jack’s Mead Yeast 10g Sachet
• 1 x Mangrove Jack’s | Wine Yeast Nutrient
• 2 x Vanilla Beans | Grade B

Additional Ingredients and Equipment Required:

• Fresh or Frozen Blueberries: 1.5 Kg (5 Litre Batch) OR 3 Kg (10 Litre Batch)
• Plastic Fermenter and Natural Tap
• 1 Gallon / 5 Litre Demijohn(s)
• 36mm – 45mm Bung | Bored
• S-Type Airlock Bubbler and Grommet for Airlock
• Hydrometer
• Digital Pocket Thermometer
• 250ml Glass Measuring Cylinder
• Easy Siphon
• 10mm Hose Tubing (Approx. 3m)
• Blue Bottler with Spring
• 1 Spoon for Stirring
• 500mL Glass Swing Top Bottles

Method:

1. Freeze the blueberries at least a day before starting your mead. If you bought frozen blueberries, then this step is already done for you.
2. Take your blueberries out of the freezer to thaw. Measure out 1.5 Kg of Honey into a pot at least five times the volume of the honey (ideally a x10 size pot i.e. 15 Litres). Crank the heat on your stove and bring the honey to a boil. Once the honey starts to expand reduce the heat to a simmer. Caramelize the honey for 1 hour – Continuously stirring.
3. Allow the honey to cool.*                                                                                                                             *WARNING: Do not skip this step. It is extremely important the honey has cooled before adding water to it. Mixing boiling honey and water together will cause it to splatter, potentially burning your skin.
4. Weigh out 1.5kg blueberries. Stir honey occasionally while it is cooling.      Optional: For better flavour extraction crush your blueberries just enough to open them up (a sanitized potato masher works well).
5. Fill your fermenter/ brew bucket with approx. 4.35 L of water and pour in the cooled honey. Stir until combined.
6. Throw the blueberries into the fermenter and aerate the must.
7. Pitch ½ a packet of Mangrove Jack’s M05 Mead Yeast. Ferment between 15^oC – 30^oC.
8. 24 hours after pitching the yeast open your fermenter and wet the floating blueberries by pushing them into the liquid using a sanitized spoon – this is to prevent mould. Then degas (gently stir) the mead. Now open the Mangrove Jack’s Wine Yeast Nutrient and distribute approx. ⅙ of the contents into the mead. Aerate for 1 – 2 mins.
9. Repeat the previous step at 48 and 72 hours.
10. Punch the fruit cap (wet the blueberries) mead once a day for the first 7 days of fermentation. Do not open the fermenter (unless taking gravity readings) after this point as you risk oxidization.
11. Once your gravity reads ≤ 1.000 and at least 3 weeks have passed since pitching the yeast grab the 2 vanilla beans and split the pods open lengthwise with a knife. Chuck them into a 5 litre glass demijohn and rack (syphon) your mead on top of them.
12. Leave your mead in secondary fermenter for 3 months. Check the airlock every so often in case it needs to be refilled.
13. Bulk age and/or bottle and enjoy with your mates.

Knowledge Resource and Further, Listening, Reading & Watching about Bochet Burnt Mead:

• Pro Bochet Tips, So You Don’t Botch It! The Meadcast
• Bochets with Hive Mind Mead | The Meadcast
• Making Mead Consistently with Michael Fairbrother | The Meadcast
• The Quest to Recreate a Lost and ‘Terrifying’ Medieval Mead
• An Analysis of Contemporary Sources to Uncover the Medieval Identity of the Drink Bochet