Hey does anyone have a recipe for meade ???
I had one in a book but somehow during a move from place to place I have lost it
Hawk
I had one in a book but somehow during a move from place to place I have lost it
Hawk
Meade ?
- Thread starter Hawk Hawkins
- Start date
Following any set of instructions should get you to making mead, but here's my two pence:
Sweet mead - 4lbs honey to 1 gallon
dry mead - 2.5 lbs honey to 1 gallon
You can always choose somewhere inbetween to get a sweetness that suits you.
Preferably use set honey instead of liquid honey, even better use honey straight from a farm or off the comb. And remember that different honeys do taste different - their flavours will affect your mead's flavour. For a good tip, take a tablespoon of honey, add it to a glass of warm water, add 2 tbsp of a medium white wine - then cool and drink. This will give you a very approximate idea of what the mead will taste like (or indeed is a quick substitute!) Some supermarket honeys taste fine when spread on a bit of bread, but can be overpowering or unusually flavoured when used in larger quantities.
Always boil the honey and then simmer for at least 20-30 minutes in the water, if you don't the sugars don't seem to mix properly, and the honey settles out when it cools.
It is well worth adding both yeast nutrients and tannin (or alternatively some orange peel and some raisins) - honey is lacking in some of the things that yeasts like, and thus will often ferment very slowly (6-8 weeks to ferment out is not unusual).
Wait before you drink it - young mead can be very rough, so don't be disheartened, wait a year and then try it!
Sweet mead - 4lbs honey to 1 gallon
dry mead - 2.5 lbs honey to 1 gallon
You can always choose somewhere inbetween to get a sweetness that suits you.
Preferably use set honey instead of liquid honey, even better use honey straight from a farm or off the comb. And remember that different honeys do taste different - their flavours will affect your mead's flavour. For a good tip, take a tablespoon of honey, add it to a glass of warm water, add 2 tbsp of a medium white wine - then cool and drink. This will give you a very approximate idea of what the mead will taste like (or indeed is a quick substitute!) Some supermarket honeys taste fine when spread on a bit of bread, but can be overpowering or unusually flavoured when used in larger quantities.
Always boil the honey and then simmer for at least 20-30 minutes in the water, if you don't the sugars don't seem to mix properly, and the honey settles out when it cools.
It is well worth adding both yeast nutrients and tannin (or alternatively some orange peel and some raisins) - honey is lacking in some of the things that yeasts like, and thus will often ferment very slowly (6-8 weeks to ferment out is not unusual).
Wait before you drink it - young mead can be very rough, so don't be disheartened, wait a year and then try it!
you may find something in this thread.. you have just renewed my wanting to try and make this stuff again!
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=3558
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=3558
match said:
Fantastic info.. how much/what sort of yeast do you use? do you put it in a demijon to do its business!?
match said:
i've been reading and thinking a bit into making mead myself too.
i'll have to dig out the recipe i'm gonna try but i'm sure it mentions using grape juice....i guess that this adds tannin to the mix??
i bought some lindisfarne mead at the weekend....its a bit syrupy for my liking tho (can't drink it all in one go
)scruff said:i've been reading and thinking a bit into making mead myself too.
i'll have to dig out the recipe i'm gonna try but i'm sure it mentions using grape juice....i guess that this adds tannin to the mix??
i bought some lindisfarne mead at the weekend....its a bit syrupy for my liking tho (can't drink it all in one go
Yep - grape juice gives the yeast the precious nutrients and tannns it can't get from the honey.
Oh, and lindisfarne mead isn't actually fermented honey - its a fermented product (maybe grape juice, I'm not sure) with added honey - at least it was last time I had any... Moniack mead however is something magical
tomtom said:
Personally, I use champagne or port yeast as they are both robust fermenters, but any quality wine yeast will do. Bread yeast would work in a push but is very hard to clear (wine yeast sinks, bread yeast floats).
Heres a simple recipe I have used successfully many times and a few step by step instructions.
First up, assemble your ingredients. I've listed the "pro" ingredients as well as acceptable substitutes. Pro ingredients are more consistent - not always better but they minimise spoilage risk.
2 1/2 pounds of honey
1 teaspoon of acid blend (or juice of a lemon)
1 teaspoon of pectic enzyme (gets rid of the cloudiness caused by pectin naturally present in fruit etc. Wine will taste fine without but may be cloudy)
1 campden tablet (kills wild yeasts - ignore if you haven't got it)
8g yeast
5g yeast nutrient (or apple pulp from two apples - hence the pectic enzyme - see how this hangs together now?)
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/4 teaspoon of grape tannin (or 4 oak leaves or 1/2 cup strong tea)
This is for 1 gallon. For 5 gallons, just multiply everything by 5 except the yeast and orange juice.
You will also need a large pan, sieve, coffee filters, food grade plastic bucket, demi-jon, big stirring stick, funnel, measuring spoons etc.
Right thats what you need.........
Oh btw, acid blend is: one part citric: two parts malic : 3 parts tartaric
You might also want to use wine finings and or a wine filter in the later stages or the recipe. A hydrometer, measuring jar, wine thief etc. are also nice to have but not really necessary to make drinkable mead
The one must have...is patience!
Step 1
Sterilise all your equipment using either a proper vinters sterliser (such as Ritchies etc.) or by putting a cup of unscented household bleach in a gallon of water. Submerge all your utensils etc. in the solution (fill brewing buckets and demijohns to the brim) and leave for half an hour. Rinse well TWICE.
Step 2
Right, get a large stainless steel or enamel pan. Put in the honey and double the volume of water. Boil the two together until the honey dissolves and then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Skim off any scum that forms with your seive (the scum conatins beeswax, impurities etc). Allow to cool.
Step 3
Put the cooled honey water in a 2 gal brewing bucket made of food grade palstic. Add your acid, pectic enzyme, Campden tablet and enough water to make a gallon. Cover and leave for a good 24 hours.
Step 4
In a mug or jam jar put a cup and a half of orange juice and let it come to room temp. Add your yeast. Cover and leave for at least 3 hours until a thick bubbly head has formed on the OJ. Add this to your honey & water. Cover well. Add your tannin and leave to ferment (bubble) for two weeks.
Step 5
Siphon off into demijon (leaving sludge behind). Stopper tightly and fit an airlock. Leave for 3 months and siphon off into another demijon leaving sludge behind. After another six months siphon off again. After three months more (1 year total) prepare for bottling.
Step 6
If you want to use commercial wine finings (a liquid added to precipitate out and haze caught in the mead) do so now
Step 7
Siphon mead off the sludge taking care not to bring up any sediment. Pass through a wine filter if available or coffee filter in a funnel if not.
Step 8
Pour into dark wine bottles and cork firmly. Age for six months before drinking
Thats the simplest one I know. There are many variations and flavourings around - ask if you want some. Don't be tempted to bottle too soon - it ferments very slowly and the corks will blow out
If you want piccs, advice or ingredients, just shout
Red
I did not know this post would get so many replies...
Thanks for all the information.
I have a friend here local that does wild honey... I may check into buying some for a small batch here soon. Sounds like a spring time project for a winter time treat.
Hawk
Thanks for all the information.
I have a friend here local that does wild honey... I may check into buying some for a small batch here soon. Sounds like a spring time project for a winter time treat.
Hawk
Not true mead, I know, but i use a lager homebrew kit, and substitute honey for the sugar content. It's very, VERY palatable
match said:Oh, and lindisfarne mead isn't actually fermented honey - its a fermented product (maybe grape juice, I'm not sure) with added honey - at least it was last time I had any... Moniack mead however is something magical
Yeah I noticed that last night....outrageous!!
Its some wierd honey flavoured fortified spirit.
It was the only one I could find....whenever I go to York I get some of the Lyme Bay stuff but my girlf always swipes it!
Great 'tutorial' British Red.
I gotta give this a bash soon!
I think you'll find proper Lindisfane Mead is indeed a true Mead.match said:Yep - grape juice gives the yeast the precious nutrients and tannns it can't get from the honey.
Oh, and lindisfarne mead isn't actually fermented honey - its a fermented product (maybe grape juice, I'm not sure) with added honey - at least it was last time I had any... Moniack mead however is something magical
Motorbike Man said:
Nope I'm afradi Match is right there MM. This is the brand I picked up the other day and it ain't the real deal.
Pyment - Mead made with honey and grapes Mead can be an awfull lot more than honey, water and yeastscruff said:
Great advice match, just what I was searching for today.match said:
I guess if you get some on the go every three of four months, you'll them have a constant supply, But a whole years wait the first time....
I better go buy some to keep me going or try adding honey to some white wine as you suggest, in the mean time
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