My adventures in making mead

[Consul]

Sorry I haven't been around for so long. It's been a busy summer.

So now I'm making mead. What is mead? Basically, it's like wine, only made with honey instead of grapes. As a result, you get all sorts of opportunities to add flavors and spices.

Last Monday, I started a one-gallon batch of a recipe called Joe's Ancient Orange, which can be found here. Only one gallon, yes, because I'm experimenting, and in the end, I'd rather have lots of batches of different recipes going than bigger batches of just a few recipes.

The Ancient Orange also breaks a few rules: it uses bread yeast, requires no racking (transferring from one container to another to help fermentation and to clear the liquid up), and it usually done in about two months to be drank young. Who would've thought it?

I'm really interested in the use of mead and mead vinegars as ingredients in cooking, so this is quite an exciting experiment for me.

Just thought you all might be interested.

 

[shannon in KS]

yum yum! I love mead! The local store special orders it for me! Fascinating to read you are making it! Keep us posted on your adventure!

 

[Consul]

I know! I haven't even come close to finishing the first batch, and I'm already wanting to do others. I'm also thinking about buying three gallon carboys now, but my family would kill me. I'll probably only be able to do a few one-gallon batches at a time, unfortunately.

The one-gallon carboys and other related gear is pretty cheap, though ($6 for the whole setup, which includes an airlock to let the CO2 out). I also went ahead and also bought a siphon kit and a case of good-quality Grolsch-style flip-cap bottles (I'll be getting a lot more of those as I start making my own beers and sodas). Everything there ran me almost exactly $30 ($3 for the carboy, $3 for the airlock, $6 for the siphon kit, and $16 for the bottles).

So overall, including ingredients, my total investment to start out was no more than $40. Not the cheapest hobby, but by no means the most expensive. I need to make friends with an apiarist now, though.

 

[shannon in KS]

Sorry to be a pest, but curious, what type of honey do you use? Fresh, commercial? My mother makes wine, and she always talks about it being a fairly cheap hobby too, not to mention she she just really enjoys it. Keeping me out of the wine is the biggest challenge she has faced thus far! She always says, "you cannot drink it until there is dust on the bottle".... so I told her I was going to open all their windows and drive up their gravel road 75mph on a good windy day! hehehehehe! Any good books you recommend regarding the process of making mead? I am thinking she may want to try it, she has had a few years where her grapes didn't do very well. Might be a good Christmas present..... can ya tell the wheels are turning?

 

[Michael in FtW]

I, too, love mead! What else are you going to drink on a summer night while eating bread, cheese, sausages and fruit while watching Shakespear in the park? Okay - I like it at other times, too ... like Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years.

 

[ronjohn55]

Whoo Hoo!!

Another meadmaker! Cool!

I know what you mean about trying different batches. I seem to come up with ideas faster than I can ferment them.

Of course, I've only got two 3 gallon carboys, so the majority of the meads get made 5 gallons at a time.

Got a cherry, cinamon, and high gravity aged on oak going right now, with batches of margarita, pineapple, and who knows what else to follow over Christmas break.

John

 

[Consul]

Shannon,

I have yet to purchase any mead-making books. I got most of the information I have from the forums at Got Mead. They recommend a book called The Complete Meadmaker by Ken Schramm. I want to pick this up eventually.

I just purchased store-bought clover honey for the purpose. Ran me $8 for the two bottles I needed, which came out to four pounds worth. The first recipe I tried (which I linked to above) calls for 3 1/2 pounds. In the future, I want to try different, higher-quality honeys but for starting this works fine.

Pineapple mead? That sounds delicious. I'll do that for my next one.

My interests are all over the board. I'm really not a drinker, per se (a glass of wine or Guinness every once in a while), so my interest in making beers and meads is as much for cooking and vinegars as for drinking. I'm looking forward to seeing how this experiment turns out.

 

[ronjohn55]

Ken's book is very good. He gets into some very good, scientific detail, but it also has lots of simple advice that minimalist meadmakers like me can appreciate. Plus he's a good guy. Had the opportunity to meet him and talk shop a few times.

I'll dig up the pineapple recipe and PM it to you. The only catch is that it's for 5 gallons and takes a while to properly age. Lousy necessary patience!!

John

 

[Gerrycooks]

i have heard of mead and I know it is made from honey but what does it taste like?? Can you find it in liquor stores and what is the best flavor?
Educate me please....

 

[Ishbel]

It is still popular in places like Devon and Cornwall - and I've visited a place in Sussex - here's their site. They don't just make mead, but lots of 'natural' flavoured wines and liquers. I have to confess that I don't like mead at all, but my sister does!

http://www.lurgashall.co.uk/aboutus.asp?CTL=%25+%25&PBID=LWINERYS&CPID=A&CTID=1&USID=20051121191946625&ORID=00000000000001666338

 

[ronjohn55]

i have heard of mead and I know it is made from honey but what does it taste like?? Can you find it in liquor stores and what is the best flavor?
Educate me please....

Mead can be found in the states at various wine shops and liquor stores.

As for what it looks and tastes like, well, it depends...

A "straight" mead is made just from water, yeast, and honey. It's taste and color will depend largely on what varietal of honey is used. We've had a wonderful macadamia nut blossom mead for Hawaii, it was as pale as any white wine, and had a slightly sweet taste with a hint of macadamia.

A clover honey, or especially something like buckwheat would have a much darker color and heavier flavor.

Then there are the flavored meads, and those are all over the map in terms of taste, flavor, and color.

John

 

[Consul]

Ken's book is very good. He gets into some very good, scientific detail, but it also has lots of simple advice that minimalist meadmakers like me can appreciate. Plus he's a good guy. Had the opportunity to meet him and talk shop a few times.

I'll definitely pick his book up. It sounds like a good reference to have around. Do you perchance know of any good beer-brewing books I could pick up while I'm at it?

I'll dig up the pineapple recipe and PM it to you. The only catch is that it's for 5 gallons and takes a while to properly age. Lousy necessary patience!!

That would rock! Thank you very much for your generosity!

 

[ronjohn55]

For brewing books, there are a couple out there right now that I really like.

Papazian's book (The New Joy of Homebrewing) is a good one. It isn't the most technically accurate book, bon't it won't let you take beer brewing too seriously, which is good.

There's one called The Brewmaster's Bible that has a bunch of useful conversion charts in it. Always handy to have around on a brew day to check your numbers against.

Lastly would probably be Ray Daniels' Designing Great Beers. This book focuses on styles and the beers that people have entered and won the national homebrew competition with. If you're going to put together a recipe for a certain type of beer, this will help steer you in the right direction - especially for homebrew competitions.

I've also got a copy of Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing, I'm going to read it over the Holiday break, but I've heard it's very good.

John

 

[Consul]

Cool, thank you for the list. I'm not really interested in competitions, but I'm always interested in experiencing new flavors.

 

[Consul]

Well, I bottled my first batch, the Ancient Orange mead, and I must say, I really enjoy it. It has a nice taste with a very smooth finish and aftertaste.

I now have a pineapple mead going, as well as an apple cider. So far, this is a lot of fun.

 

[fireweaver]

Darren, that's awesome. being the wine-fiend i am, i keep thinking i need to start fermenting things around here...then i just keep drinking what i bought and decide to leave it to the experts...

but i **looove** mead, probably as a hold-over from the chaucer's served at the TX ren faire. if you ever get a hold of this, buy 2 bottles: one to drink for today, and one to store for a while. it's tough, but force yourself to lay it in, just like a decent bottle of wine, for just under a year. **amazing** how the flavors change in that time, get more complex & mellower, just don't leave it there too long or it'll go off (mead is typically drunk young of course). have fun, and keep updating on how your mead-brewing works out.

 

[ronjohn55]

it's tough, but force yourself to lay it in, just like a decent bottle of wine, for just under a year. **amazing** how the flavors change in that time, get more complex & mellower, just don't leave it there too long or it'll go off (mead is typically drunk young of course). have fun, and keep updating on how your mead-brewing works out.

LOL!

That's why I've always made so much - the shear volume allows for aging!

Maybe it's just the ABVs that I reach, but I have several meads at 3-5 years that are still going strong, even without sulfites! One of the berry ones is turning a bit of a tawny color, and throwing some sediment. It's actually quite a cool process to see over time as the taste changes.

If Darren is using my pineapple recipe for his batch, I think he may find that it will definitely benefit from a year or more of aging. When I bottled it the first time, my notes looked something like this:

Pineapple Mead - Great color, huge pineapple aroma, tastes like cheap vodka!

A year later, it was nirvana (or at least a tropical resort) in a glass!

(Speaking of which, I need to get some pineapples...)

John

 

[Consul]

Well, time to resurrect this topic! I just racked and backsweetened the pineapple mead, and yes, it tastes like cheap vodka. I'm looking forward to it finishing.

I still have some of my first Ancient Orange batch, and I've started on another. My plan for the remainder of the first batch is A) make some vinegar (I purchased a mother) and B) try my hand at a mead reduction sauce for the heck of it.

I love my hobbies.

 

[BrianMorin]

Shannon, ...

My interests are all over the board. I'm really not a drinker, per se (a glass of wine or Guinness every once in a while), so my interest in making beers and meads is as much for cooking and vinegars as for drinking. I'm looking forward to seeing how this experiment turns out.

I haven't made mead, but I bought the book. I have, however, made wine, softdrinks, apple cider, wine and cider vinagers. Lots of fun. I made a softdrink, that I was taught to make by a Bulgarian friend of mine, call bozza, in which bread yeast was used. You let softdrinks ferment for a fairly short period of time, two days or so, not to hot please if you don't want the caps to fly off, or the bottle to burst.

I make vinager all the time because it's so easy if your are making the same type (apple cider vinager or red wine vinager, etc.). After the first batch you take one part vinager, and you add 2 parts juice, (grape or apple or whatever you have in mind) and you leave 1 part empty (i.e. 1 quart vinager, 2 quarts juice in a 1 gallon container). I use deli jars. I cover them with paper towels and secure them with an elastic band and let it sit for three to six months.

Of couse you have to make the first batch of cider or wine first. The cider is very simple. If you'd like to hear my method just give me a shout...

Take care

 

[BrianMorin]

...make some vinegar (I purchased a mother) and B) try my hand at a mead reduction sauce for the heck of it.

... ...

Just to let you know, a mother will form on it's own if you leave your juice in a cool 12-13° C (about 55° F) with a cotton cloth, (I use scott towels), over it. It's best in a non-smoking, clean but not too sterile an environment - too sterile will kill the bacteria your trying to attract.