Another crossover brew—this time, honey meets grape juice in a combination called pyment. This is a very sweet mead with a potent grape flavor.
FOR THE MEAD
1 gal (3.8 L) grape juice, white or red, divided
2 lb (910 g) honey
½ packet (2.5 g) Lalvin D-47 yeast
FOR RACKING
5 g lightly toasted oak chips
½ cup (120 ml) rum, brandy or whiskey (or enough to cover the chips)
1. Gather your ingredients and sanitize your supplies. You’ll need a 1- or 2-gallon (3.8- or 7.5-L) stockpot, a long spoon, a funnel, a gallon (3.8-L) carboy and a bung and airlock.
2. For the mead, gently heat ½ gallon (1.9 L) of the grape juice in the stockpot over medium-low heat. When the juice reaches 90°F (32°C), stir in the honey. Remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture steep and cool for about 15 minutes.
3. Use the funnel to pour the honey-sweetened juice into the carboy. Top it off with as much of the remaining ½ gallon (1.9 L) of juice needed for the must to reach the neck of the jug. The must should be cool enough for you to pitch the yeast immediately.
4. Pitch the yeast. First, cover the mouth of the carboy. Shake the jug for a minute to add oxygen. Sprinkle the yeast into the jug and then recap the carboy with the bung and airlock. Label the jug with the name of the brew and the date and set it aside somewhere out of direct sunlight until it is finished fermenting.
5. A day before racking your pyment over to a secondary fermenter, sanitize a jar. Put the oak chips in the jar and pour your booze of choice over them. Some of the chips will float, but that is fine. Put a lid on the jar and let it sit overnight. Sanitize the first carboy.
6. On racking day, put the boozy oak chips in the carboy, then rack the pyment over on top of them. Seal the carboy with the bung and airlock. The oak chips lend tannic flavor to your brew to give it more balance.
7. After fermentation has stopped, give the pyment a taste. If you are happy with it, go ahead and Bottle it. If you’d rather something sweeter, rack it onto Ginger-Honey Syrup and give it a bit more time in the jug to make sure that fermentation does not start up again. Bottle when ready.