Mead

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Dabinett

Joined: 23 Dec 2010
Posts: 90
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 11 5:09 pm Post subject: Mead
I'm going to have a go at making some mead. Has anyone here made it before? If so, any tips, or even better, recipes you'd like to share? It all sounds quite straightforward from what I've seen on t'internet but first hand advice is always good

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 11 5:21 pm Post subject:
I think that a lot depends on how purist you want to be. I've made the ginger mead in this thread a couple of times. I use ordinary grape juice instead of concentrate and just add less water. It works better with a strongly flavoured honey. Technically I think it may not be mead at all if you flavour it though.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 11 5:25 pm Post subject:
Spiced mead is called metheglin. I once made a couple of gallons from the honey left on cappings & it wasn't to my liking. Mead not methaglin. Last edited by Tavascarow on Sun Jan 30, 11 5:26 pm; edited 1 time in total

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18409

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 11 5:25 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

Technically I think it may not be mead at all if you flavour it though.

Metheglin or melomel ?

Marts

Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 352
Location: London

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 11 5:40 pm Post subject:
A famous (or maybe infamous) recipe is Joe Mattolli´s ancient orange mead. I make a batch every year and it never fails to be great. I´ve encouraged friends who never thought of brewing before to give it a go and they all loved it. I once managed to keep a bottle for two years and it was like liquid gold Hereś a link.

hedgehogpie

Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 684
Location: Kent

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 11 5:57 pm Post subject:
Never mind the recipe - I love the instructions. Brilliant.

Dabinett

Joined: 23 Dec 2010
Posts: 90
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 11 6:02 pm Post subject:

Cheers, some interesting looking recipes. I was planning on a fairly simple straight honey one but might go for some other additions.

I've heard that some meads have honey added after fermentation but before bottling to sweeten them. Obviously you'd have to be sure that all the yeast was gone to prevent further fermentation. How would be best to do this? Is it safe to assume that once it is clear it is free of yeast? Or is it possible to pasturise or add sulphite as is sometimes done with cider?

nature's child

Joined: 14 Aug 2005
Posts: 194
Location: Midlands

Posted: Sun Jan 30, 11 6:14 pm Post subject:

As my wife who's ds account this is keeps bees I get to make mead every year.
You can just use water yeast and honey
10 pints water
5 lb honey
7gram yeast
(a teaspoon of orange juice is a good kick starter but isn't technicaly pure mead)
I have found that the purer the water the better the mead (chlorinated or tap water gives it a dry bitter taste).
Mix one pint of water with the yeast and let stand for a few minuets then the other nine with the honey then combine. When you add the honey to the water make sure its a blood temprature too cold when you mix and it takes longer to react too hot and you get very weak mead at the end. It prefers to be kept at room temprature dureing fermentation in a dark place. all that said and done for recipes try here https://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/brewing/mead-recipes.php

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 11 8:53 am Post subject:

Mead is a doddle.

Start out with honey and water - I use 3lb per gallon, heat it to just below boiling point for an hour or so, and skim off the scum that forms. If you want a bit more body also add a little tin of condensed grape juice while you're heating it.

Use a champagne yeast, into a demi-jon after a week in a bucket with a good cover, then ferment it on the lees (or leeeeeeeees as a great old bee-keeper from the fens told me), and bottle when its good and done. Age it for a few months and you've got a marvellous drink.

(edited to correct stupid error gleefully pointed out by Blue Peter

)

Last edited by cab on Mon Jan 31, 11 3:49 pm; edited 1 time in total

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 11 8:54 am Post subject:

Dabinett wrote:

I'd decant the mead into a jug with a couple of extra spoons of honey shortly before serving. That works fine. Its the best way to drink a mead if you've been a little impatient with your first batch and it hasn't been in the bottle long enough; the extra honey hides the fact that it'll be a bit rough if its really young.

Dabinett

Joined: 23 Dec 2010
Posts: 90
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 11 12:35 pm Post subject:
Nice one, thank you all for your help.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 11 1:12 pm Post subject:
If you've made wine before, and you're familiar with how to keep everything clean, it'll be a cake walk. Have fun

Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 11 2:52 pm Post subject:

cab wrote:

Mead is a doddle.

Start out with mead and water .

Throw away the water, and you're done, eh?

Peter.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 11 3:49 pm Post subject:

Blue Peter wrote:

cab wrote:

Mead is a doddle.

Start out with mead and water .

Throw away the water, and you're done, eh?

Peter.

Edited

Blue Peter

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 11 4:22 pm Post subject:
Do you need to boil, actually? Honey is pretty sterile, antiseptic even. I'm fairly certain that (a long, long time ago) I've just dissolved in water and gone straight ahead, Peter.

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