Basic Mead

[kiwikeg]

Mead Recipe

The following basic recipe will provide you with a working mead recipe that you can develop to become you most valuable resource and jumping off point. As you gain experience in mead-making, you will naturally make adjustments according to the taste and performance of the mead. Amounts listed here are approximate and intended as guidelines. Remember to keep notes for each batch you make.

The Basic Building Blocks

•Honey: 0.25 - 0.4 kg per litre of water. The amount of honey you use will vary according to the style and strength of mead you are making.
•Water: Good water (spring or bottled) to make up the total amount of the recipe
•Yeast: One packet of wine or ale yeast per 5 to 20 litres of mead.
Using these three basic ingredients will enable you to make show mead. Show mead, made from these three ingredients only is eligible for competition entry. Starting from a base of show mead, you can tinker with additives and adjuncts. Additives affect the working of the fermentation process, while adjuncts affect the taste, colour, or character of the final product. Technically, any time you add an adjunct, you have a mead variation rather than a straight mead.

Remember, honey is the primary ingredient in mead and should never be used as an afterthought or a mere flavouring. Variations should be built on a solid foundation of good mead-making. Use fruits or herbs only to enhance and complement the honey. Keep your priorities straight and consider honey first.

Additives

1. Yeast Nutrient or Energiser: equivalent of 1 teaspoon per 5 litres.

Honey, particularly when diluted, lacks sufficient nutrients to maintain healthy yeast activity. This problem is further exacerbated by boiling the must. Feed the yeast beasties so they can maintain sufficient energy for the long haul.

Alternative sources (per 5 litres): Raisins (handful); Bee pollen (1-5 tablespoons); Crushed bee larvae.

2. Acid: equivalent of 1 teaspoon per 5 litres

Alternative sources: Juice and (one) peel of any citrus fruit; Other fruit juice, pulp, skins

3. Tannin: equivalent of 1/4 teaspoons per 5 litres.

Alternative sources: Brewed black tea (1-2 tablespoons); Cream of tartar; Leaves, stems, and bark; grape skins

Note: exact amounts of alternative additives will vary with the recipe and personal preference. Use the "equivalent" amounts as a rough guide, remembering that those amounts represent concentrated amounts, and that amounts are per 5 litres.



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[kiwikeg]

Mead Recipe Part 2

Now that you have a good idea of what elements go into the making of mead, let's look at a good working recipe.

Mead for All Seasons - A Basic Mead Recipe

This mead is appropriate for any season, ritual, or celebration. The recipe makes over 20 litres (about 27 standard bottles).

Ingredients:

•7 kgs wildflower honey
•4 teaspoons acid blend
•6 teaspoons yeast nutrient
•1 packet "Epernay 2" yeast
•1.5 teaspoons grape tannin
•good water to make 22 litres
If the thought of chemicals makes you cringe, feel free to boil the must, substitute bee pollen for nutrients (1 tablespoon/litre), strong brewed black tea for tannin (1/5 tablespoon/litre), citrus peels (from 2-3 lemons or other fruit) for the acid blend.

Fermentation

1. In a good food-grade plastic bucket, mix honey with spring water sufficient to make 22 litres of liquid.

2. Add 1/4 teaspoon of sodium metabisulphite and let stand for 24 hours (cover losely with cloth or plastic sheet).or heat to a simmer for 20mins but be careful as heat destroys delicate honey flavours

3. Stir in the acid blend, tannin, and nutrients.

4. Add the yeast and stir vigorously to aerate

5. Skim daily with a sterilised strainer. After a few days fermentation will slow.

6. Rack into a carboy (leave sediment behind) and fit airlock.

7. Allow secondary fermentation to finish and sediment to settle.can take 5-6 months

8. Rack into bottles and fit stoppers.prime with sugar or honey if you want sparkling mead :razz:

based on recipe from "Mad About Mead" by Pamela Stence


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[kiwikeg]

Mead Recipe part 3 Adjunt/Flavourings and yeasts

Now hopefully you have brewed a basic mead from the recipe above and relised why its not being sold on tap at the pub anymore. :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

its time for a second batch and now you can start playing with the adjunts this is where keeping good records becomes important

add adjunts at step 3 above

-Try a grain bed like for a UJSSM/bourbon knock off but dont reuse the grains try pilsner malt, pale wheat think light and semisweet
-try a little rosemary
-orange peel doesnt work for me :puke-huge:
-Hops are VERY good :music-deathmetal:
-vanilla beans so so
-cinnamon sticks so so
yeast is another thing to play with wyeast and white labs both offer dedicated mead yeasts, there is endless wine yeasts, or scottish ale gets good results too
i prefer a dryer carbonated meads i find most commercial meads sickly sweet the recipe above gives you a semi sweet mead thats a good start point

[crow]

Ok here's my question, does home made mead taste anything like bought mead. The reason I ask is every time I've tried it I thought it was god awful but it seems to be popular (cause so is sake) :laughing-rolling:

[invisigoth]

Ok here's my question, does home made mead taste anything like bought mead. The reason I ask is every time I've tried it I thought it was god awful but it seems to be popular (cause so is sake) :laughing-rolling:

depends on the bought mead. if the only mead you've had is maxwells, i'm not surprised at your response. the only other commercial maker i know of is mt vincent in mudgee. some of their stuff is pretty good. i think the impression that many have of mead is the sickly sweet variety, and i kinda got the impression that you don't have a sweet tooth croweater. you can make a dry mead. i don't know what types of honey kiwi has down his way, but here there is quite a variety of honeys and each will produce a uniquely different mead. if you want to try different meads, some of the show grounds have mead comps at their shows. the other place is fairs run by the sca (society of creative anachronisms) . :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[stilltryin]

I wonder if anyone has ever put some mead through a pot still as an experiment? :think:
If I had a still I`d make some up and try it just to see what it tasted like :O)

[invisigoth]

I wonder if anyone has ever put some mead through a pot still as an experiment? :think:
If I had a still I`d make some up and try it just to see what it tasted like :O)

http://www.aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1710 :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[stilltryin]

I wonder if anyone has ever put some mead through a pot still as an experiment? :think:
If I had a still I`d make some up and try it just to see what it tasted like :O)

http://www.aussiedistiller.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1710 :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Huh!...thanks for the link...an interesting read.
I`d like to try it one day.

[wedwards]

I've made mead (real good stuff too according to those who lie this nastiness), and tried bought mead. Probably preferred the stuff I made but fairly hated both. A taste is just not for me, but at least I gave it a go. Still got 5 litres of the stuff in a demijohn somewhere from 4 or 5 years ago - maybe aging helps it....but I'm too scared to try it hahaha