Red Raspberry Melomel

• 2 lb 10 oz raspberry (or any other) honey
• 1 lb 4 oz red raspberries
• Water to 1 gallon (about 3 liters)
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• 1/4 tsp yeast energizer
• 1 Campden tablet
• 1/2 tsp potassium sorbate
• yeast

Bring one quart water to boil and slowly stir in honey. Add lemon juice  and slowly stir periodically until water returns to boil. Adjust to low  boil and hold about 40 minutes, stirring periodically and skimming off  scum as it rises. Meanwhile, place defrosted raspberries in nylon bag,  tie closed and mash with flat-bottomed wine bottle in bottom of  primary. Separately, begin a yeast starter solution with mead or  Champagne yeast. Pour honey water onto berries. Wait 15 minutes and add  remaining water and yeast nutrient. Cover primary and wait until must  is room temperature. Stir in yeast energizer and activated yeast  starter solution. Stir twice daily for 4 days, remove nylon bag and  discard pulp. Ferment two more days and transfer to secondary. Attach  airlock and ferment to dryness. Rack into sanitized secondary in which  a finely crushed Campden tablet and potassium sorbate have been dumped.  Top up and reattach airlock. Set aside two months and rack again. Stir  in 1/3 cup of honey until absolutely dissolved and bottle. Age at least  one year. [Author’s own recipe]