Mead is super easy to make. And turns out GREAT!! (most of the time)
Depending on your Recipe. It can Take as little as a month, years, or even up to a life time for it to ferment.
The recipe I will post first is great for is GREAT for first starting out. And only takes a Month or so to ferment.
Also Mead is one cheep and easy ways to gift for the holidays.
If you have ever wanted to start to brew. This is something easy and fast to try, just don't hesitate, you only live once.
Depending on your Recipe. It can Take as little as a month, years, or even up to a life time for it to ferment.
The recipe I will post first is great for is GREAT for first starting out. And only takes a Month or so to ferment.
Also Mead is one cheep and easy ways to gift for the holidays.
If you have ever wanted to start to brew. This is something easy and fast to try, just don't hesitate, you only live once.
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Signing UpStep 1: What is Mead?
Mead or honey wine is the oldest alcoholic drinks known to man. It is made from honey and water via fermentation with yeast. It may be still, carbonated, or sparkling; it may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.
Unlike beers and cider, meads (being wines) are drunk in small quantities. Therefore, we make them as strong as we can. The amount of alcohol we can make in meads is limited by the capacity of the yeast we add to withstand alcohol. And it is important to understand that yeast cannot live in a solution containing more than 14%of alcohol by volume. This is the usual amount that will destroy the yeast. But under certain circumstances and with suitable yeast the percentage might be as high as 18%. On the whole an amateur is unlikely to produce more than 16%, this is because he is unlikely to be able to carry out ferments under laboratory conditions with constantly favorable temps and a scientifically balanced must.
Depending on local traditions and specific recipes, it may be brewed with spices, fruits, or grain mash. It may be produced by fermentation of honey with grain mash, mead may also be flavored with to produce a bitter, Beer-like flavor.
Mead is independently multicultural. It is known from many sources of ancient history throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, although archaeological evidence of it is ambiguous. Its origins are lost in prehistory; "it can be regarded as the ancestor of all fermented drinks," Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat has observed, "antedating the cultivation of the soil." Claude Levi-Strauss makes a case for the invention of mead as a marker of the passage "from nature to culture."
Unlike beers and cider, meads (being wines) are drunk in small quantities. Therefore, we make them as strong as we can. The amount of alcohol we can make in meads is limited by the capacity of the yeast we add to withstand alcohol. And it is important to understand that yeast cannot live in a solution containing more than 14%of alcohol by volume. This is the usual amount that will destroy the yeast. But under certain circumstances and with suitable yeast the percentage might be as high as 18%. On the whole an amateur is unlikely to produce more than 16%, this is because he is unlikely to be able to carry out ferments under laboratory conditions with constantly favorable temps and a scientifically balanced must.
Depending on local traditions and specific recipes, it may be brewed with spices, fruits, or grain mash. It may be produced by fermentation of honey with grain mash, mead may also be flavored with to produce a bitter, Beer-like flavor.
Mead is independently multicultural. It is known from many sources of ancient history throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, although archaeological evidence of it is ambiguous. Its origins are lost in prehistory; "it can be regarded as the ancestor of all fermented drinks," Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat has observed, "antedating the cultivation of the soil." Claude Levi-Strauss makes a case for the invention of mead as a marker of the passage "from nature to culture."
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You can also use a handful of raisens. again, consult recipies or youtube videos for the amount needed.
also note that in some recipies, nutrient is added in incriments during primary fermentation. many sites offer suggestions for this step. or you could just add some raisens =]
this website gives a little tutorial on how to get stuff to make mead from your local store. if you want the equipment in this instructables, the glass carboy is about 45 bucks the airlock and bung is like another 2 bucks.
www.morebeer.com is a good website to look at brewing equipment.
I was going to test it out on a very small scale at first, using a 1.7 liter glass bail top bottle, with an airlock i saw on this site.
I saw that you said that the basic amount was 70% honey. That is cool, but what amount of lemon juice should I use?
a basic mixture ratio is all I really need.
Also, I have been having extreme trouble with finding brewing yeast. Can I use bread yeast? any other kind of yeast?
I can't wait to try this!
the yeast will change the over all taste.. i havnt used bread yeast but it can make it taste a bit different.. the yeast i used was shapaine yeast. i would stick to wine/mead/shapaine yeast. mead will take much longer to make with mead but it will break everything down slower.
what happens when its chilled. you will not get the entire flavor of the mead. but on some you dont want the entire flavor. might be to tart sour bitter sweet etc.
Just got to experement. I do prefer to try it first chilled. and go from there. some room temp and some chilled.
I will tell you how it came out.
I am having fun. Again, thank you!!!
*Question: I noticed the longer I wait on it, the fizz dies down and seems also, my friends liked it a lot at the 3rd week, but after that seems the buzz isn't that strong.
And it gets flat after the 4th week. But didn't last long after that. (we drank it all byt hen)
* with your recipe I make 4 one gallon jugs. I don't know if it is bad that I don't end up with 5 jugs? I guess I needed to add more water at the end?
* I just started a batch of strawberry guava. Warning, big foam!! I got my vents clogged on the day after. so I took them out and rinsed and replaced them. seemed to continue well. It was bright pink almost red at the beginning. Now it is soft pink. Looks cute. :)
* I have been racking when the bubbles stop, usually in 2 or three weeks. It has been working well.
Thanks again for getting me hooked on this hobby, it's so much fun. Anyother flavor ideas on what I could try next? I know we have to be careful of preservatives in the frozen juice. I am considering trying to find pinneapple. But for now, maybe orange? does orange work well?
hi
As i am new to this wine making
i have 2 questions that i would like to ask
why do you use lemonade drinks ?
would this be a alternative to the lemon and the orange fruit ?
and the second is my mead is not clearing after 4 weeks ?
would you have any Suggestions please
thank you for your time
ktell
when it comes to wine. you can use any fruit there is avaible. there is just more straining or pressing.
when it comes to mead. it dose take longer than wine. there are many things you can use to clear it up. but over all those change the true flavor of the mead. so just let it sit. wate for it to stop bubbling/pooping. and bottle. if you want it to be clearer. siphon it into another contaner and let it settle more. do not do it to afton.. like once every 2 months. mabey once a month. dont rush it.
the beauty about mead. you cant go wrong with it. if it is to tart. sour what ever.. just bottle and let it sit. i know i have over 200-300 bottles i made last year sitting in my basement. it can take years for it to machure.
but have fun with it and just experement. :)
My sudjustion is to make room. Not to sound mean or anything. But it will be sitting there for a long time. very long time. make a spot in a closet that it will not be moved/bumped whatever. dont make a spot in a pantrie. most of them will get to hot. (bottles have exploded because of the heat where i have stoored them before)
or even if you do end up using the crawl space. do it during the cooler time of year. I am sure it would be cooler during that time in the crawl space?