Strawberry Banana Melomel If it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, Drinkin' strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me! - Pete Seeger Mission A semi-sweet strawberry melomel that's bright and wonderful. The bananas don't really come through but tend to round out the tart berries. Ingredients About 20 lbs of a light colored honey Water to 4.8 gallons (SG of 1.142 before adding strawberries) 18 lbs frozen strawberries (thawed and added to primary) 4 lbs ripe bananas (chopped and added to secondary) 10g (2 pkgs) Lalvin 71B-1122 dry yeast Yeast happiness nutrients General Assembly Clean and prep the 7.9 gallon (extra large) primary Scrub, rinse and then soak the plastic primary bucket/lid/airlock overnight using warm water and Five Star PBW®. Rinse the primary well, then use One Step® and some warm water in each, swish around and drain. Do not rinse again. Prepare the must Thaw the strawberries. Add 1 gallon of spring water to the primary. Add the honey. Top off water to 4.8 gallons - mix well. Adjust honey/water ratio for an SG reading of about 1.142. Add strawberries to fermenter - mix well. Make the yeast happy Backsweetening, racking and bananas As fermentation proceeds, add enough honey to keep the mead semi-sweet. In about a month, wash the bananas before peeling them to remove molds and bacteria. Slice the bananas and push them into the carboy. Rack onto the bananas. Rack off the bananas in about two months. Journals (bottled and currently brewing) Penczak Punch CSC Community Mead 2007