The Ultimate Blueberry & Cinnamon Mead Recipe with Tasting 

I just bottled my two gallons today. Started Feb 3rd 23, then bulk aged for 1 year. With a little balancing, this was the best mead I've made. Thank you for the recipe.

Where do you keep the 12 pounds of blueberries when you use the pectic enzyme? In a fridge or just in a closet? As they melt, and thaw, is there no risk of spoiling?

Have you thought about making a chocolate strawberry mead I have seen a lot of cherry chocolate mead videos but I can't find any chocolate strawberry mead

Definitely making this for my next batch. Thank you so much for the tip about the pectic enzyme in the blueberries, I’ve never tried this but am sure going to now.

a tip using spices like cinnamon - instead of calling for "1 stick," weigh it so you can have consistency/predictability in the future. also, I have started using them in primary - i think it gives it a more integrated quality --- for anyone who bakes, it's akin to using it in baked goods before baking, versus that tannic dry quality it can have if you eat it raw/uncooked. i also agree blueberry needs to be about 5-10 points sweeter than you'd anticipate to balance the tartness i LOVE blueberry mead, but haven't done it with cinnamon yet. will try soon

I'd like to see how you would make a elderberry/blueberry mead..

This is exactly what RU-vid was meant for! I really enjoyed the video, thank you very much. Now onto preparation for the brew 🥳 Allow me just one quick question, since 4x4 doesn’t appear to be available in small quantities anymore, what other yeast would yield closest results? I imagine a BM 4x4 to be quite different from let’s say the EC 1118? 🤔 RC 212 maybe? Edit: I have some experience with Port wine yeast, can you tell how that would compare?

Blueberry brews are my favorite to make. I have a Blueberry/ Black Mulberry currently working. I like to get a few deep wiffs off the airlock to see how it's progressing or issues. I noticed an underlying funk to this one. Not quite eggy but definitely something up. Getting my copper wire ready just in case.

where do i get 16 lbs of blueberries for sub $700

Dear ManMadeMead and/or DoinTheMo(i)st, On Reddit people believe using TOSNA is the only way to make mead and are throwing shade on people who don't I know its a lot to ask but have you done or will do an experiment comparing TOSNA, just chucking everything in and no nutrients at all?

Anyone know where I can buy Lalvin BM 4x4? I'm in Ireland and can't find anywhere that can deliver to me. I can however, find the alternate yeasts that are mentioned in the video/recipe. Anyone know which yeast would be best since I can't find the Bm 4x4?

Ive actually pondered this combo but never really tried. Figured I would do it last December. If I had then about 25 gallons of mead still be aging. Life to hobby ratio is leading to unintended long term aging on what I have sitting. Explanation of Vanilla makes since, I used an extract once. A drop of it and my brew flavor profile vanished. Haven’t used it since.

Should I use both Potasium sorbate & Potassium Metabisulfite together?

I've done similar brews but if I did this specific one I think in the secondary I'd use dried blueberries instead of fresh (make sure they aren't soaked in oils or additives). The dried fruits in secondary add a whole different depth and character. Also I would use French oak cubes or spiral over chips which seem to give the worst oak flavors.

I agree about BM4x4 it and RC-212 are my go to yeasts.

Now I am thinking about adding vanilla extract in secondary. Perhaps some cinnamon as well.

CAN I USE ALUM INSTEAD OF BENTONITE FOR CLEARING WINE?ACTUALLY IT WORKS EXTRORDINARY FOR WATER CLEANING .

I never thought about the combination of cinnamon and blueberries. Maybe I need to give it a try. In the moment I wait for my blueberry mint mead. I also need to try to put the blueberries in primary and secondary.

Could I half this? Never done this before and I don’t want to go that big 😂😂

Just transferred from primary stabilized and will add more blueberries tomorrow. Mine is a month old. Slightly floral, very juicy, lovely color. Not tart, and syill tastes sweet, though it stopped at 1.002. I added some cinnamon to a taster. Its amazingly delish and it will be divine when done!!!

I have a newbie question. I am making wines. Don't have plans to do meads. Can these recipes be converted to wine (sugar)? I know it would be different but would it still be good? I did convert your apple pie recipe to wine but have yet to start that one.

is the water up to 5 gal prior to adding the 12lbs of blueberries.

Wait…“We have landed on this penultimate, final recipe” means “the next to last, last recipe.” I am not sure if you are making a clever pun here (like, there is never a final recipe) or if you misspoke. Is THIS the FINAL recipe or is there another one coming after this?

Where are you getting your bulk clover honey? I’ve got a solid source for wildflower but still need to find a clover.

Made this mead and my wife and I enjoyed a bottle tonight! It finished last week. Absolutely wonderful flavor! The smell of the blueberries with hint of cinnamon alone made it all worth it. Great recipe. Thank you!

I would really like to make this, my mom has blueberry bushes, she been getting a good crop for many years now

I'm using this as an idea bump for huckleberries we picked in Idaho. Thank you

My first blueberry melomel finished primary before seeing this XD Hopefully i can try this recipe next time. Sounds great

He says he doesn't know what he's talking about

beautiful mead, with a bluish color

How can mold grow in the absence of oxygen?

What a great video! Love how you explain your process. Really helps newbies like myself. Just one question, what temp do you keeps those blue berries at on those first couple days before brew day?

I have ~5 gallons of this coming out of primary right now at 0.998. Tomorrow would be 2 weeks. My SG, according to my notes, was a bit higher than 1.080 at 1.120. Not sure why, but here we are.

I have some questions that I hope you might make a video about: Would it be reasonabke to use a pure 100% Blueberry Juice that is already from a bottle, such as one from Antioxidant Solutions (that's a brand that boasts only juice, not from concentrate or additional water or sugar)? I would like to make a mead, but I don't want to deal with the process of juicing the berries if it isn't necessary. I am also curious if it's possibke to make a single bottle batch directly in the bottle the juice comes in, since they are very thick and easily reusable (transfer from one bottle to another for simplification)? Is there a way to make it a little stronger ABV at maybe 15%, since I find that ABV% to be just right for my preference? I'm asking this stuff as a complete noob to fermenting berries, so I might sound like an idiot for asking. Cheers my friend!

Edward Norton makes mead now?!

This look great! One thing I don't think was mentioned was bucket size for primary. Would this fit in a 7 gallon fermonster?

Thanks for the heads up on the Cinnamon. I have an Orange/Ginger/Cinnamon in the works that I have on the back self that needs tasting before the Cinnamon becomes overpowering.

I’m thinking of using blueberry juice in secondary instead of the fruit, to get a similar effect of 3lbs in primary and 1lb of blueberries in secondary how much juice should I use in 1 gallon?

Just finished this one, it turned out amazing! Hasn't even had a chance to age yet (1month or so) and it's already by far the best I've made. Definitely doing it again! Only downside is the yeast (BM 4x4) seems to be impossible to find right now, so I'll sub that for 71B... and clover honey cost me an arm and a leg, so I'll give it a go with wildflower or acacia. Really gotta go easy on that cinnamon if you're making it though, it can easily overpower the rest of the flavors. All in all this is definitely one worth always having in stock!

Can you do a simple Braggot?

I currently have both the blueberry cinnamon and apple cinnamon Mead's going and have made both before with your recipes. Delicious! I have certainly learned to make quality Mead by following you. Thank you.

Could you replace the blueberries with cranberries also? I kind of want to make both now!

Could you do the pectin enzyme in the brew bucket with the fruit prior to adding the other ingredients rather than dumping them into another container?

Wow, this looks awesome! Definitely going to be making it this summer when blueberries are in season, and I go visit the blueberry fields in Michigan. Thank you so much for sharing.

I'm just starting out making meads and made a couple batches using craft-a-brew kit with included D47 yeast. I'm anxious to try your blueberry recipe now. I'm curious though -- a basic recipe with D47 requires yeast nutrient for optimal fermentation. Do I need a nutrient if using BM 4x4 and blueberries?

Wow 🤯

How do I know how much Potassium Metabisulfite to use?

pectic enzyme, wow that's a great short cut. Ty for the tip!

@manmademead could you please clarify if you add 5 gallons of water to the 12lb of honey and 12 lb blueberries, making up approximate 8 gallons in volume? Or do you add enough water to the honey and blueberries to make 5 gallons in total?

Is there a difference between letting it age in the bucket vs in the bottle?

Oh I'm definitely making this one :) my town is in the middle of the forrest where there is plenty of wild blueberries around. Can't wait to have a go at it :)

Got a similar brew in secondary now..2 gallon..did three lbs of berries in primary, racked on top of a second 3 lbs of berries and a Tahitian vanilla bean soaked in vodka…then racked to secondary with a cinnamon stick.. about to yank out the cinnamon stick and add about 1/4 of a medium toast French oak spiral for a week or so

I made a 1gal batch of blueberry demerara wine recently, when it had stopped fermentation and settling out I split the batch in half and bottled one half just blueberry wine and bulk aged in a 64oz mason jar, I then added spices and vanilla and stabilised and back sweetened with more demerara and added a half french oak stick, probably too much but I wanted it to age quicker, the blueberry wine I bottled got consumed quickly at christmas dinner and it was really nice but a bit dry. I should have kept some for comparison but oh well. I used 4.5lb of blueberries and 1.81lb demerara sugar. what I did was thawed the berries 2d before I used them, I put them in a brewing bag, (a sanitised clip works wonders with the brewing bags) and in a 11lt plastic food safe bucket and added the sugar, pectic enzyme and citric acid and boiling water, let it sit for 24hr to break down the berries, took a reading and then add the yeast, I used EC-1118 in half a glass of warm grape juice, leave it for 20m and added it in, added a blow off to the 11lt bucket and let it sit for several days, this is so it doesn't foam out of the bucket, with fruit and wine yeast this sometimes happens to me if I put it straight into the carboy, while adding nutrient, 24,48,72 hrs later and at 1/3 sugar break I siphoned into my carboy with a brewing bag attached to the racking cane end of the siphon then attach the stopper and airlock and cover with a towel or blanket and basically finish fermentation and bottle it or do what I did and stabilise and add more sugar and or more berries but if you add more berries make sure to rack into a wide mouth fermenter, makes it so much easier. Then eventually bottle it. Skol! 👌👍

Hope I have time to try this during blueberry season. I'm 3 days into my first batch of mead, 10lbs of pine barrens honey and 2 gallons of water in a 3 gallon carboy with ec1118. Have you thought about blanching the blueberries instead of using pectic enzyme? It would soften them up and break the skins down as well as killing off any bacteria that might be on them.

I want to make this, but in a 1 gallon batch. Do you have the numbers for 1 gallon of all ingredients??

How often should you puch the cap?

Fantastic!

Have you tried adding more blueberries in secondary? Maybe 8lbs instead of 4? Wonder if it would yield a stronger fresh blueberry character or just be a waste.

Do you have a 1 gallon recipe?

Pectic enzymes work best if first dissolved in water and then added to the fruit

17.2 g fermaid o?! Sounds like a lot.

Quick question in the general terminology that you use when explaining your recipes. 😊 do you add the 12 pounds of honey and then fill it with water to the 5 gallon mark and then add the 12 pounds of fruit on top of that? Making the final amount in the bucket closer to 6 gallons? Sorry for the complicated question i just think I need a little clarification because I don’t want to mess up my starting gravity when I try this😂 keep up the great content!

Good evening. After watching this, we have two questions please. Being new to making mead, I don't think we're ready to jump into the full five gallon batches yet. So, looking at your recipe, is it a matter of simply halving the recipe to make a 2.5 gallon batch? Secondly, my wife is very allergic to sulfites, is it possible to halt the fermentation and stabilize it by only using the potassium sorbate, or do you also have to use the metabisulfite. If so, I think that I am going to be locked into pasteurizing it. Thanks for the advice. Best regards, Don

I wonder if lavender might be a good alternate to cinnamon

I saw this episode pop up and decided to watch and subscribe. Those are some great tips. I made a similar mead last year using 4 or 5 quarts of blueberry juice and B-71 yeast. It finished pretty light and lacked structure considering it started out looking like a red wine in the beginning. It's OK, but not as good as hoped. Your choice of oak and BM 4X4 yeast will get used next batch. Cheerz.

Hey! Do you think you could make a updated video showcasing your 5 favorite meads that’s you have made? Would be interesting to watch. You have gotten me into making my first traditional Mead and soon to be this blueberry one! Thanks!

I started this one around a week and a half ago - it seems to be chugging along nicely! I do have a question though, an issue i've had with this one in particular but is kinda general for whenever you add fruits - how to you take a proper gravity reading? My OG read at 1,18 - which in theory shouldn't be possible since running a calculation, it should be 1,10 , or 1,12 at the very most. I'm guessing that's due to the fruit matter I might have sucked along into the test tube with the turkey baster. I'm kind of afraid this will make it a bit tricky to take a proper FG reading and determine when it's done. is there some trick I'm not aware of to taking readings when you have solids and fruit matter floating around?

Have you ever made this sparkling? Curious what you use to back sweeten, etc.

Is there a trick to not losing to much must when racking off the used-up berries? I've used a sieve but it aerates it to much I think

Any ajustments I need to make for a 1 gal batch? besides dividing by 5

Is there a way we can get an exact list of what you use? What clover honey did you purchase?

I'm already compiling ingredients to make this recipe in the next few weeks🤤 do you think a snowberry honey would go well with this recipe? The tasting notes from Flying Bee Ranch sound like they would pair nicely

Could you add the blueberries to secondary without pasteurizing? I don't want to add chemicals and I can't really pasteurize 6 gallons of wine

Question about the pectic enzyme. I'm about to make this recipe but scaled down to about 1.4 gallons. I will be using 3 lbs of blueberry in primary. My pectic enzyme says 1/2 tsp per gallon. Should I just use 1/2 tsp?

How do you recommend “punching the cap” for primary? Should I use a brewbag for the fermentation to make taking out the blueberries easy?

I did not catch or missed the way you added the yeast nutrients. Did you front load or do additions in schedule?

This Mead looks epic! Just a few questions. At what stage do you add the oak? And how much Vanilla extract did you add? Thank you so much! Love you page, killing it!!

Really Enjoyed Your Video , Thanks ! 🐯🤠

Thanks for the great content! Really been enjoying your videos and your back catalog as someone starting out! (4-5 batches so far) I was thinking of trying this one out next time I have a free carboy, and just wanted to ask a couple things. When you backsweeten it in secondary, do you also use clover honey or go with regular honey (wildflower is what's most readily available around here)? On a more unrelated question about scaling recipes in general... when converting to different quantities, is it safe to assume every ingredient follows the same ratio? As in let's say, downsizing to 1 gallon from a 5 gal recipe would mean cutting everything (honey, berries, etc) to 1/5 of the original? Once again, thanks for the great content!

I made some of this last November. It is so tasty.

This mead look awesome! I'm definitely going to give brewing it a go. It'll possibly be the most complex brew I've tried, but fingers crossed it turns out well! Thanks for the recipe and all the great content.

Love watching your videos. We have 6 meads going right now. What is the bright pink mead in the background?

Question. I made 2 batches of the blueberry cinnamon mead. I pasteurized one gallon and not the other. The pasteurizes one is better, the fruit is bright and the mouth feel is better. I am allergic to stabilizers to either pasteurize or just let sit for a long time. Have you noticed this?

This recipe/mead sounds wonderful. Where can I find Lalvin BM 4x4 in small amounts in the US? Thanks

Skøll!

That’s pretty crazy, I have almost the same recipe brewing right now! Here’s my recipe copied from my notes: Mixed Vanilla Berry Melomel 32oz blueberry juice 33.2oz blackberry juice 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1/2 small cinnamon stick 1 cup strong black tea (2bags) 1lb local raw honey 2 cups sugar Filtered water to make 1 gallon 1 tsp yeast nutrient 1 pack premiere classique Looking forward to trying it!!

Working on trying this recipe out. Did you add the oak chips when you placed the blueberries and cinnamon in secondary, or did you rack onto them when you backsweetened? Just trying to keep my transfers to a minimum to reduce the change of oxidation. Thanks

I accidentally added an extra tablespoon of yeast nutrient. How is this mistake going to effect the mead?

did you use any clearing agents on this recipe?

This recipe sounds delicious! I just started my very first batch of traditional last night but this recipe is high on my list!

I'd like to try your Meads Mayne. Mead Stampede is months away though.

Penultimate means next to last... But irregardless, love the recipe. ;)

a couple things i noted in the video that i typically do that you did not? I like to freeze fresh fruit to break up the cell walls to get more juice. I also like to add K-meta to the fresh fruit and sit for 24 hours to kill off any wild yeasts.

Will using bilberry instead of blueberry affect taste in any way, or quantity of berries used? Living in Norway and having the freezer stocked up with bilberries. Thanks for a great channel. Have learned much over the past years.