Mead making

[Andrei]

So they say mead is the oldest alcoholic beverage made by humans so few yrs ago I gave it a try.
First year it came sour and did not like it.
Second yr I did not had patience and finished it before it matured.
Last year batch came really good and that gave me courage to make more.
This year I started 5 gallons and it is in the fermentation process right now.

So one needs a container, preferably glass.
1.4 lbs of honey per gallon.
Yeast.
Flavors as a backtaste I like.

Clean the jug to kill all bacteria that would spoil it with bleach and rinse good.
Mix water and honey and boil it few minutes to kill bacteria.
Put it in the jug and add the rest of the water and let it cool.
In a glass of warm water put the yeast to hydrate for few hours.
Pour the yeast into the jug and stir.
Close with a fermentation breather and watch it bubble.
Wait at least 40 days before you siphon into bottles and add the flavor of your choice.
Orange peel, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, lime peel, ....
I make each bottle a different flavor and let it sit for few more months.

 

[Andrei]

As it got colder fermentation slowed and stopped but that does not mean it is done.
I have made the mistake years back to open and drink and it was still sweet.
It has to ferment at least 40 days and I do not touch for 60+ days.
And even after that I will separate it in glass jugs and bottles with different flavors like nutmeg, cinnamon, sage, rosemary, coffee, mint flowers, ...... and let it for 2 more months.

 

[Four Winds Ranch]

Aproximatly how much yeast do you use per gallon?

 

[Andrei]

Half a teaspoon and on yeast quantity is not that important because if it is warm it will multiply very fast.
The best temp is between 65 - 75F.

 

[Gryphon]

A friend of mine gave mead-making a shot, it was delicious. She made a few different flavors, the blueberry one was pretty good, but there was one I thought was fantastic, and that was (I think) buckwheat. It had a real subtle flavor and the honey was allowed to come through. I really dislike beer so I wasn't expecting to enjoy mead so much, but there ya have it.

 

[trampledbygeese]

What a great thread. Thanks for all the flavour ideas.

I love making mead. My recipe is for a wild mead, as in you don't pasteurize or add any yeast. It's based on the book Wild Fermentation by Katz.

Basically, wash everything, but don't' sterilize or use antibacterial soap

Ingredients

• 1 part Unpasteurized honey
• 4 to 8 parts Water (I boil and cool mine because some tap waters have additives that will kill the yeast and beneficial bacteria)
• fruit scraps, spice, even veg as desired
• fruit juice as desired (up to 4 parts)

Stuff

• wide mouth container
• airlock container
• bottles (beer for sparkling or wine for still mead)

This recipe uses the wild yeast in the honey as well as the yeast present in the air, something like sourdough bread. The results are less consistent than pasteurizing and using commercial yeast, but I've always had yummy mead from this. Though the alcohol content was considerably higher than anyone else I know who uses the modern method of mead making. If the taste of the mead is poor, then I just rack it and leave it for 6 months, this transforms the worst mead into something exceptional.

Combine water and honey in the wide mouth container. Add any fruit, spices, whatever you like to it. Stir until the honey is dissolved.

Stir at least twice a day for a week to 10 days. This helps to active the natural yeast. It will start to bubble a bit then after a few days calm down, when it does, it's time to rack it into an airlock container (strain it first if you added fruit or other stuff to it). You can bottle it now, but do so in containers that can take pressure as it will carbonate in the bottle in a few days. This makes a pleasant mead soda with a mild alcohol content, usually 2 to 3 percent.

Rack the mead - ie pour it from one container to the other - then leave it alone until you can't wait any longer. Two weeks is recommended, 6 months is better. If you get to a point when there is nothing else to drink in the house, bottle it, otherwise, when the airlock stops bubbling, rack it again. What racking does is add oxygen into the liquid, which is a good thing in this case. Sometimes yeast get's stuck and stops eating up the sugar and turning into alcohol. What racking does is remind the yeast that hey, it has a job to do, so get to work making my drink go from sweet to 'special'.

Some people say that you must wait 4 years for the mead to age properly, racking it every 2 to 4 months, but honestly, people with that kind of time oh their hands obviously don't have livestock? I bottle mine when I need the carboy or I run out of wine. If I forget it's there for a few years (or 6 - ops), then well, that's fine too.

The younger the mead is, the more likely it is to carbonate in the bottles, so use something that can take the pressure. After about 6 months, it should, in theory, make a still mead and be good for wine bottles. I still use flip top 'pop' beer bottles even for well aged mead. Just in case... and no corkscrew required when you are out camping with friends.

My favourite mead right now is one I made with cranberries leftover from Christmas dinner and some Cranberry juice that was in the back of the fridge for goodness knows how long. The alcohol and antibacterial qualities in the honey killed off any nasties, and the result was simply amazing! Best Mead Ever. Such a shame I only made two liters. Oh well, got 22 ltrs in the basement brewing... reminds me, I should bottle it soon.

Quince and poudre forte (a medieval spice mix) make a pretty good mead too.