Luikse Siroop Melomel Recipe

Sirop de Liege, also known as Luikse Siroop in Flemish, is a regional specialty fruit spread often found on breakfast tables in Belgium.  It is made from the concentrated juice of apples, pears, and dates.  Today we will be making a Luikse Siroop Melomel.

Ingredients

• 750 grams Du Vrai Sirop de Liege, a.k.a. Echte Luikse Siroop Belgian regional breakfast spread. Made from concentrated apple, pear, and date juices.

• 1.56 lbs Wildflower Honey. I used Arizona Farms brand.

• ½ tsp Pectic Enzyme Powder

• 5 grams Lalvin 71B yeast

• 6.3 grams GoFerm

• 2.2 grams Fermaid-O split over 4 additions, per TOSNA schedule

• water topped up to 1 gallon

Instructions

Make the Must

1. Dissolve the sirop, honey in half gallon of warm (~90°F) water. Stir until dissolved as much as possible.

2. Top up to a full gallon with cold or room temperature water. Add the pectic enzyme and stir to dissolve.

Pitch the Yeast

1. Dissolve GoFerm in 90°F water. Add yeast and gently stir in. Allow to rehydrate for 20 minutes.

2. (alternatively, rehydrate yeast following the instructions on the back of the packet If you do this, then subsitute more Fermaid-O or Fermaid-K for the GoFerm.)

3. Temper yeast slurry with small amounts of must until slurry and must are within 10°F of each other. Pitch yeast into must.

4. Place fermenter in a location where it will reach appropriate fermentation temperature.

Fermentation

1. Let it ferment to clear, racking as needed after gravity is stable. 

Finishing

• This was backsweetened to taste with Coffee Blossom Honey.  

Notes

• My siroop was very, very expired. Don’t try that at home. Belgian Shop sells it new.

• My fermentation temperature was around 65deg F out of convenience.

How'd It Do

Tasty.  This will not be entered in any competitions, since it's unlikely any US-based judges will be familiar with the flavor profile of the breakfast spread.