Reddit mentions of RiteBrew 812325 Briess - Dry Malt Extract - Golden Light - 3 lbs.

OK so I got the idea from a THIS post a couple days ago here in /r/mead about a S'mores mead...and I knew I had found my next experiment.

These are the ingredients.

For chocolate I used 8 ounces of THIS from vitamin shoppe. They used the full on nibs in the video, but I felt the powder would release the chocolaty deliciousness better.

I used 2.5 pounds of honey

I used a whole box of graham crackers (14.4 ounces) I couldn't find any preservative free so I'm hoping for the best with these.

I used THESE yuppie marshmallows because they had no preservatives.

1.5 gallons of mineral water


For my yeast starter

1L of water

2Tb of Dady Distillers yeast &
2TB of Red Star Bread Yeast

1/4 cup of Dry Malt Extract

I had to figure out how to toast my marshmallows...I live in a condo with an electric stove...so no fire. I decided to try broiling them. They came out OK for not having access to open flame.

I heated up the honey and the water to around 200 degrees and then added the crushed graham crackers and the chocolate powder, and then added in the marshmallows. The spoon wasn't up to the task of getting them to dissolve, so I broke out the hand blender which worked much better. Seriously guys...get a decent stick blender if you want to brew...they are worth the money, having a detachable head makes it SOOOO much easier to clean.

I had originally started with 1 gallon of water instead of 1.5, and it was SUPER thick so I decided to add another 8 cups of water to thin it out a little bit. Once in the carboy I realized that this might come out either horribly bad...or amazing...this stuff is totally opaque...so I have NO idea how it's going to ferment. It was thick and viscous like my old banana mead but that turned out alright so I'm hopeful!!

The must came out with a specific gravity of about 1.090, so it should ferment bone dry with around 12% alcohol. I am going to back sweeten this with Lactose for a creamy mouth feel.

When making my starter, I realized that my DME had solidified into a block...I broke the block up with the back of a knife and tossed it into my food processor after a few minutes of letting it run while I drank a beer, most of the chunks were pulverized. It wasn't perfect but whatever, the yeast won't care. With my finish started whirring along on my stir plate I'm going to pitch the yeast tomorrow, but I figure with a solid yeast starter this brew at least has a chance to ferment...as far as fermenting into something delicious...that remains to be seen.

I'll add more pictures as the process goes along!

UPDATE 1

I pitched this morning before work, there was definitely a sheen of oil at the top of the must, I hit it with a wine whip and poured in my 1 liter starter. I moved it to the sink just in case this turns into something...energetic.

UPDATE 2

I got home from work...and my house smelled like chocolate...I immediately knew there was going to be a mess...it's a DAMN good thing I left it in the sink this morning.

It not only overflowed...but it actually sprayed out of the damn airlock...I'm not actually sure how that happened...but it's everywhere. With my wife coming home soon, I cleaned up before I had a chance to take pictures...you know...don't want to give anyone any ammo about my hobby not being a good idea...

I decided to vacuum degass it by racking into a 6.5 gallon carboy instead of the 3 gallon carboy...when I pulled the airlock out...it actually erupted...again...after I cleaned everything up....all over the wall, all over the clean dishes...all over my shirt. This is a SERIOUSLY effervescent fermentation. I used my vacuum pump to siphon it from the smaller carboy into the large one and swapped my S-type airlock for a traditional 3 piece one. They're easier to clean.

I now have a 6.5 gallon carboy sitting in my sink.

Update 3

So one week in...fermentation has absolutely stopped. I checked the airlock this morning, and it hasn't moved at all, I watched it for like 20 minutes...not even a single bubble. I am going to check the gravity when i get home...we'll see what it's at!