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Mead (Read 696 times)
perpetualstudent
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Mead
Jun 7th, 2021 at 8:07am
 
ANOTHER (https://youtu.be/FLQnrOZmZoc)

Seriously though, I've been looking at perhaps brewing some mead. I like the idea of a darker tasting mead. I've been looking at the youtube "city steading" channel and I read through one book on mead from the local library. I know some of you guys have been experimenting, any advice for a first timer?


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"Facts stand wholly outside our gates; they are what they are, and no more;they know nothing about themselves and they pass no judgement upon themselves. What is it, then, that pronounces the judgement? Our own guide and ruler, Reason."
 
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Kick
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Re: Mead
Reply #1 - Jun 7th, 2021 at 8:18am
 
Joe_meadmaker is your man. It's in his name and everything Cheesy
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You are a great guy Kick but also slightly scary at times. - Morphy
"Nothing matters, but it’s perhaps more comfortable to keep calm and not interfere with other people." - H.P. Lovecraft, in a letter to Frank Belknap Long, 7 October, 1923
 
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vetryan15
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Re: Mead
Reply #2 - Jun 7th, 2021 at 1:46pm
 
I have a book called 'making mead like a viking'has a ton of information,  history, comedy and recipes. I have only made  about 4 gallons so i am still new to the subject,  but its fun and rewarding.  I just got 2 bee hives and have started beekeeping to start more into mead making.
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Morphy
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Re: Mead
Reply #3 - Jun 7th, 2021 at 1:52pm
 
I was looking into getting a stove top still right before I gave up drinking. Turns out drinking, while fun, makes me fat and depressed. Making your own alcohol sounds awesome as does making your own beer/wine.
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joe_meadmaker
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Re: Mead
Reply #4 - Jun 7th, 2021 at 2:05pm
 
Start with a wildflower honey.  If you want something that has a bolder flavor, I would recommend using a honey that is darker in color.  Darker honeys tend to ferment better in my experience too.  If you really want to bring out the "dark" flavor notes, you can do a bochet.  This is a burnt mead.  Basically you just need put your honey (or part of it) in a pot and bring it to a boil.  Let it go until it's as dark as you want it to be.  If you do this, use a very large pot.  The honey will can expand a lot when it boils and it's easy to get an overflow (which is horrible to clean up).

The next things will be a little dependent on what you want.  Do you know how much mead you want to make, and if you prefer it to be dry or sweet?

@Kick - I checked on that bottle I sent to you.  Still says it's on its way.  The package was sent a while back though, so maybe we'll give it to the end of the week and if it's still not there I can open a case with the postal service.  Even if it's not lost, that can get them to check on things.
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perpetualstudent
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Re: Mead
Reply #5 - Jun 7th, 2021 at 2:54pm
 
That Bochet sounds like a fantastic idea and my wife thanks you for the big pot warning Grin.  I generally prefer dark and complex to sweet and simple in my booze. So probably more dry than sweet.

I have inherited a little bit of alcohol making stuff and I have a food grade plastic gallon container and a glass 2 liter growler. Most beginner recipes I've glanced at seem to be aimed at about a gallon. Which is probably a little more than I want for a first go but sure, why not?
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"Facts stand wholly outside our gates; they are what they are, and no more;they know nothing about themselves and they pass no judgement upon themselves. What is it, then, that pronounces the judgement? Our own guide and ruler, Reason."
 
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joe_meadmaker
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Re: Mead
Reply #6 - Jun 7th, 2021 at 3:46pm
 
The gallon is a great starting size.  With that you'll get at least several bottles (depending on what bottles you use) so you can taste it at different amounts of aging time.  There are many in the brewing world that don't like the slogan 'mead gets better as it gets older', but I've always preferred aged mead to young mead.

For a 1 gallon batch, I would go with around 3 pound of honey.  You can add a few more ounces if you want to start breaking into the semisweet range (this will also depend on the alcohol tolerance of the yeast you use).  On the subject of yeast, you can use something as simple as bread yeast.  But I would recommend this: https://www.morebeer.com/products/icvd47-dry-wine-yeast-5.html.  It works well for mead and is one that I use pretty regularly.

You'll also want to get something to act as a nutrient.  You can use any nutrient that would be used for wine.  This is the one I normally use: https://www.morebeer.com/products/fermaid-yeast-nutrient.html.  A 1 gallon batch should only need around 4g of nutrient.

Your basic rundown will be something like:
  1. Boil your honey.
  2. Stir in water to dissolve it.  Nutrient can also be stirred in at this time.
  3. Let it cool down to about 70° F.
  4. Move it to the fermenter and pitch the yeast.

While fermenting, CO2 will escape.  If you don't have an airlock and stopper with the equipment you got, you can use a balloon over the fermenter.  You'll just need to let the gas out periodically.  And last but not least, keep everything as clean as you can to prevent infections.  If you think you might make more than one batch, it will be worth picking up some sanitizer.

Good luck!  And I'm happy to provide any more input if you need.
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perpetualstudent
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Re: Mead
Reply #7 - Jun 7th, 2021 at 5:55pm
 
Much appreciated Joe  Grin I will report back as it goes.

It was that song that got me seriously interested. Or rather the comment on the song:
Quote:
Mead or in Icelandic; Mjöður, is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the beverage's fermentable sugar is derived from honey. It may be still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling; dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.

Hail from Iceland!


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"Facts stand wholly outside our gates; they are what they are, and no more;they know nothing about themselves and they pass no judgement upon themselves. What is it, then, that pronounces the judgement? Our own guide and ruler, Reason."
 
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Kick
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Re: Mead
Reply #8 - Jun 8th, 2021 at 12:53am
 
joe_meadmaker wrote on Jun 7th, 2021 at 2:05pm:
@Kick - I checked on that bottle I sent to you.  Still says it's on its way.  The package was sent a while back though, so maybe we'll give it to the end of the week and if it's still not there I can open a case with the postal service.  Even if it's not lost, that can get them to check on things.

I checked the Finnish customs page (because sometimes you'll get a package that they then won't tell you about...) but there's nothing there yet so I guess it hasn't made it to Finland. I'm happy to wait a bit. I'm sure it's going to be worth it Cheesy
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You are a great guy Kick but also slightly scary at times. - Morphy
"Nothing matters, but it’s perhaps more comfortable to keep calm and not interfere with other people." - H.P. Lovecraft, in a letter to Frank Belknap Long, 7 October, 1923
 
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