MC055: Oh Nuts! with Garagiste Meadery

In Episode 55 of the Meadcast we are fortunate to host Chad Wiltz of Garagiste Meadery as he walks us through the best processes to make mead with nuts. I learned a lot in this episode, and if you’ve ever wanted to make your own PB&J mead, be sure to follow these steps to success.

Right click here to download the mp3 directly.

Drinks in this Episode

  • Allen: San Pedro de Atacama (Garagiste)
  • Tysen: Mead by Garagiste… with caramelized honey, tart cherries, espresso beans, cacao nibs, and datil chili peppers

Tips on Fermenting with Peanuts

Chad has some great tips on how to ferment with peanuts in this episode, and the entire audio is well worth the listen. However, for those looking for a quick summary, his biggest tips are highlighted below.

Three Things to Consider to Ferment Nuts
  • Peanuts are naturally covered in bacteria, so you need to kill this to avoid spoilage issues in your mead. Boiling will kill these bacteria.
  • Peanuts (and all nuts for that matter) are fatty. Fat separates during fermentation and forms a layer on the top of your mead, possibly causing your mead to go rancid.
  • The volume of nuts in your must is significant to extract adequate flavor. Fermenting on them is not ideal.
  • A bonus fourth for our beer fans, fats in carbonated beverages will kill your head retention!
The Garagiste Method to Ferment Mead with Nuts
  1. Boil your nuts! Add unsalted, roasted peanuts to a brewing kettle with water. Whole peanuts are better than peanut flower is better than peanut extract, for instance 1 pound of peanut flower equates to 1/2 gallon of lost must.
  2. Boil for 3-4 hours, until the edges of the peanuts become translucent. Crushed peanuts did not provide any benefits in Garagiste’s tests for extraction. The must will become white and frothy during the boil.
  3. Allow your mead to cool, siphon your mead off the nuts, and then place into a refridgerator. The fats will separate from your must as a white film on the surface inside the kettle.
  4. Skim off the fats, making sure to get as much as possible out of your mead.
  5. Siphon the liquid into your favorite brewing vessel, add other ingredients as desired, and ferment away.

Links in this Episode