Rhubarb Mead (Honey Wine)

4.38 from 16 votes

This sweet summer honey wine captures the flavor of rhubarb in a bottle. Since it's a small batch, you can make this recipe with just a few handfuls of chopped rhubarb.

Prep Time30

Fermentation Time60

Total Time60 30

Course: Wine

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Mead Recipes, Winemaking Recipes

Servings: glasses (1 quart, about 1 bottles)

Author: Ashley Adamant

Equipment

Wide Mouth Quart Mason Jar for a quart batch
Mason Jar Fermentation Lids for a quart batch
One Gallon Wide Mouth Carboy If making a one-gallon batch

Ingredients

1 cup Rhubarb chopped
1 cup honey
3 cups water
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 packet wine yeast Lavin QA23 is my favorite mead yeast

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

**This recipe makes a micro batch (1 quart, or about 1 bottle). Quantities for a standard 1 gallon batch (4 bottles) are in the notes.
Add the honey and rhubarb into a quart mason jar. If you'd like, allow the honey to draw the juices out of the chopped rhubarb for 24 hours, but that's optional.
Add the lemon juice and water to the mason jar and stir to incorporate and dissolve the honey.
Dissolve 1/4 packet of wine yeast in a small amount of water. Allow it to bloom for at least 5 minutes before adding it into the mason jar. Top the jar with water if necessary to bring it to within an inch of the top.
Seal the quart mason jar with a mason jar fermentation kit and allow to ferment at room temperature for about 6 weeks.
Once fermentation has stopped, gently pour the mead into another container, leaving behind any sediment in the jar. Pour it through a fine-mesh strainer to remove any rhubarb hunks.
Bottle in a flip-top Grolsch bottle and let it age for at least 2 more weeks before drinking.

Notes

For wine yeast, my favorite yeast for mead is Lavin QA23. I've tried many types, and it gives the best results regardless of the mead type.

To make a standard 1-gallon batch, simply multiply the quantities by 4. You'll need:

4 cups chopped rhubarb
4 cups honey (about 3 lbs)
12 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 packet wine yeast

The instructions are the same: simply use a fermentation bucket for the primary or a wide-mouth glass carboy.

You can also make a larger 3 or 5 gallon batch. Just multiply the recipe, except for the yeast. A single packet of yeast is sufficient for anywhere between 1 gallon and 5 gallons of wine or mead. For micro batches, a full packet is overkill, so just do a tiny bit from the packet (about 1/4 or so).

Nutrition