Vanilla kilju mead recipe
A vanilla and sugar cane syrup flavored mead recipe perfect for vinter days.
Kilju is the Finnish word for a mead-like homemade alcoholic beverage made with cane sugar or honey, yeast, and water.
Equipment:
- 2 x 5 l Demijohn
- 5 l stockpot
- Hydrometer
- Thermometer
- Bung
- Airlock
- Funnel
- Spoons
- Siphon
I used yeast Lalvin 71B from Lallemand
https://mr-malt.se/jast/vinjast/torr/lalvin-71b-1122-vinjast-5-g
For sterilizer I used pbw https://mr-malt.se/utrustning/rengoring/rengoringsmedel/pbw-450-g-1-lb
Ingredients:
- up to 4,5 l Water
- 1,4 kg Honey
- 2,5 dl Sugar cane syrup
- 5 g Yeast - Lalvin 71B
- 1 stick Vanilla bean
Instructions:
-
Wash
Wash a demijohn.
-
Sterilize demijohn
Fill the demijohn with water and sterilizer.
-
Wait
Wait 30 minutes.
-
Wash stockpot
Wash the stockpot.
-
Sterilize stockpot
Pour the sterilized water from the demijohn in the stockpot.
-
Wash extra equipment
Wash a spoon, a funnel, a hydrometer, a bung and an airlock.
-
Sterilise equipment
Put the equipment in the stockpot with the sterilized water.
-
Wait
Wait 10 minutes and rinse the equipment thoroughly and put them in a dish rack.
-
Dissolve honey
Dissolve the honey with 1 l of new fresh spring water in the stockpot. If nessesary heat the water to a max ~32°C to dissolve the honey completely.
-
Dissolve sugar cane syrup
Dissolve the sugar cane syrup
-
Fill the demijohn
Pour the must in to the demijohn.
-
Oxidize the must
Swirl and shake the demijohn to oxidize the must.
-
Measure the gravity
Measure the gravity with a hydrometer.
-
Fill up with water
Fill up with water to desired amount of must.
-
Measure the gravity
Measure the gravity with a hydrometer.
-
Add the yeast
Pour the yeast in to the demijohn.
-
Bung with an airlock
Put on a bung with an airlock on the demijohn.
-
After 24h degas.
Oxidizing the mead can turn it into vinegar, do not shake, swirl lightly to degas the mead.
-
24h nutrients
After 24h add nutrients.
-
Fermentation
Let it ferment for at least one week.
-
Measure the gravity.
Measure the gravity with a hydrometer.
-
Add the vanilla bean
Slice the vanilla bean open and put it in the demijohn.
-
More fermentaiton
Let it rest for at least one more week.
-
Measure the gravity.
Measure the gravity with a hydrometer.
-
Clean and sterilize
Clean and sterilize the second demijohn.
-
Rack to second
Rack to the second demijohn
-
Pasteurize
Heat the mead, prefarbly in a water bath, to 60˚c (120˚F) let it be so for 22 minutes to pasteruize it.
-
Cool down
Let the mead cool down
-
Rest
Let it rest for at least 2 weeks.
-
Bottling.
Transfer into bottles.
-
Enjoy,
Drink, enjoy and scold in the company of good friends!
To calculate the ABV you can use the formula:
(OG - FG) / 7.5 = ABV
OG : Original °Öchsle
FG : Final °Öchsle
After fermentation my result: (120 - 20) / 7.5 = 13,3 ABV
Or this formula:
(OG - FG) x 131 = ABV
OG : Original Gravity
FG : Final Gravity
After fermentation my result: (1.120 - 1.020) x 131 = 13,1 ABV
19-11-25 Prime fermentation
22-11-25 Swirl and added nutrients
30-11-25 OG: 1.057
30-11-25 Added the vanilla bean
15-12-25 Back to demijohn and pasteurized
30-12-25 Bottled
