Strawberry Rhodomel

I knew I wanted to try some kind of variation on my favorite mead recipe (from Digby -- see earlier post here). I secured a half-flat of "jam grade" strawberries for a mere $5 today, so I decided to try my hand at flavoring a non-aged mead with fruit. I am likely courting disaster, but I don't think I care. I also "liberated" some wild rose petals, and decided to add those to the mix to make a perfectly seasonal brew. Here's the recipe and process so far:

Ingredients:
1 pint honey (pictured is one POUND of honey; you need between 1.5 and 2 lbs of honey to make a pint)
5 liters water (about 10.5 pints, original recipe is for 9 pints, I think Cariadoc's redaction calls for 11 pints)
3 pint-baskets strawberries, washed and trimmed
about a pint (maybe more?) of rose petals, washed well

Put honey and water into a large pot. Heat GENTLY and stir until honey is dissolved. Turn up heat and bring to a rolling boil (be careful not to let it boil over at this point). Skim off the foam that rises. Keep stirring, boiling, and skimming until the foam stops rising (anywhere from a few minutes to over half an hour depending on how raw and full of bee-goodies your honey is).

Mash the strawberries a little in a mortar, then add them to the pot. Simmer a few minutes. Add the rose petals and simmer a few minutes more, until the petals have lost most to all of their color. Let cool.

(I strained out the spent strawberries and petals at this point and transferred them to another pot with almond milk to turn them into pottage. I will either serve this as a sauce with baked chicken or actually cook some kind of meat in it. It still has a lot of strawberry and rose flavor, and is a lovely pink color.)

Next steps, not yet completed:

Transfer to whatever container you plan to ferment in (I use a 5 liter glass flip-top jar) straining out the chunks, let it cool to "blood heat" and add 1/2 tsp yeast.

Ferment 24 hours, then bottle. I will ferment 24 hours, oak for approximately 12 hours (maybe less), then bottle. Drinkable within a week after bottling. Serve chilled.

Updates as they come!