Do People Really Know Mead?
I've known about mead for quite some time, even before I discovered the wonderful world of fermenting. I've even tried it on various occasions, and found the taste always pleasant. But had I known how easy it is to make, I would have gotten into it much sooner.
Mead is honey fermented in water, simple as that. Unlike my other probiotic soft-drinks, it has a bit of alcohol in it, but the way I make it, it stays under 5%, comparable a light beer. The taste is delicious, combining the sour flavor of the ferment with some remaining sweetness of honey. At the same time, its bubbly consistency makes it a wonderfully refreshing summer drink, especially on a hot day straight from the fridge.
What's more, mead is exotic. Unlike beer or wine, you won't find it in every little store, and in many cases it will be home-made, by some friend, or a friend of a friend. This means, you might as well go ahead and make it yourself to surprise your friends with. It is almost certain to make you (and your drink) highly popular at any garden party. And the best part of all:
It's really easy to make!
Just as I said, mead is honey fermented in water, and there is not much else to it. Of course, there are many different recipes, using anything from fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices, to add extra flavors. Also the honey-to-water ratio can vary greatly, just like the fermentation time, and whether it is brewed with or without oxygen.
My way of making mead is mixing 3 liters (3 quarts) of honey with 12 liters (3 gallons) of water in a 20 liter (5 gallon) glass carboy. The recipe calls for a 1:4 ratio, and this way there is enough room left in the container to swirl it around easily. This is quite important, as my way of brewing requires oxygen to help with the fermentation. All it takes is giving the jug a bit of a shake every day, making the drink bubble up, or even foam heavily, depending on the stage of fermentation. This daily agitation also serves to discourage the growth of any fungus on the surface of the water.
Raw Honey is the Key Ingredient
The most important thing is to make sure the honey is raw, meaning it has not been treated with any chemicals, or any other anti-bacterial agents, such as heat. There are many different kinds of bacteria in the honey, whatever the bees have encountered all around them, which are not only useful for the fermentation, but also for us. So while the mead may not have been made with a culture, like kombucha or tibicos, it is still going to benefit our intestinal flora. Otherwise, if the honey lacks the necessary bacteria, brewers like to add yeast, which in turn needs to be fed with sugar... at which point I just wonder: WHY all that effort? Just get some good raw honey, and don't worry about the rest.
So you got the good honey, dilute it in water at the right ratio, and shake it up every day. Is that all?
That's pretty much it. After the first day or two you will see it bubble and foam increasingly each time you move it. After about 6-8 weeks this abundant foaming is going to diminish, this is when most of the glucose has fermented. At this point your mead is ready to be bottled, or you can let it ferment a bit longer. If you want, you can even continue for several months, letting the fructose ferment as well, though it takes a lot longer, something I never had the patience for.
One bottling tip: due to the gas increase from secondary fermentation, I recommend to use corks for closing the bottles. This way, if the pressure inside of the bottle builds up, the worst thing that may happen is that it opens itself, pushing out the cork and covering everything in the fridge in sticky juice. Lovely! Sure, such an unintended geyser can be a mess to clean up, but nothing in comparison to what an exploding glass bottle can do. So please, do not close the bottle hermetically!
Finally, there are many other steemians who are into mead brewing. Most of them follow a different procedure, but it's worth checking them out. @loganarchy combines his recipe with some interesting ideas on agorism, and @dailybitcoinnews points out some medicinal benefits of mead. Also, @nacktepoesie has a beautiful post on mead's role in Norse mythology.
Great post! I used to make mead all through the year. I liked to use my own homemade fermentation starter to get it going and always added some kind of fruit for flavor. Here is a photo of my raspberry mead from a few years ago:
That's a beautiful color. And it seems to be nice and bubbly too! I'm sure it tasted lovely.
It was pretty wonderful :D
@stortebeker no, I didn't know about mead - I will taste some as soon as I find a supply - thanks for sharing! 👍
Just got done judging about 30 entries in our Sunshine Challenge. We ahd one made with cantalope that was amazing!
Wow, nice! Okay, I no longer have to wonder whether people know about mead. Apparently they do... quite well.
I am so glad I saw this! You have no idea how excited I am about the fact, that I know how to make mead now and I will start tomorrow! If I want to make it more potent, what kind of alcohol do you recommend and do I add it right at the beginning of the process? Thank you so much.
You might try doing a google search for "Joe's Ancient Orange" it's a fantastic unorthodox orange cinnamon and clove sweet mead that ferments quickly and tastes great. It finishes quickly and is designed to be made in smaller batches. Good luck
Thanks for the tip!
Oh yes, please do! I'm happy to help out with any questions you may have. But please notice how this drink (following MY brewing method) makes a rather light, spritzy, bubbly, summer-drink. One to enjoy on a hot day, but not really strong. If you want more alcohol, check out the other methods. For those you'll need more infrastructure, but time is an important factor in any case. If you start today, your mead will be ready by mid-to-late August. Still in time for grill-party season, though maybe not for the hot days any more.
As for adding alcohol.... sure you could do that. Why not? As in a mixed drink. I've never done that, but the world is your oyster: tequila could work, or vodka, maybe Strohrum(!) Just kidding! Beer, however, is something I've tried and liked. My intention was to mix a Radler (I don't know what they call it in your region. Alsterwasser?) a beer-lemonade quite popular in Germany, and my mead was a tasty option, just like ginger tibicos.
Ok, I will just experiement a little then. Time is no problem, I made apple vinegar once, took three months. We call it both, Radler or Alsterwasser. One is with lemon soda and the other with orange soda. We also have a special Berliner way with Fassbrause. Very tasty on a hot summer day. Cheers!
Oh yeah, I remember Fassbrause! Mit Brombeer oder Waldmeister Geschmack, wa? You know, I was actually gonna recommend it to a friend who was in Berlin just last week. (She spoke at the Brandenburg Gate about migrant and refugee issues.) I explained the drink to her, but couldn't remember its name! We agreed on the challenge that she should try to find it nevertheless.
You are talking about Berliner Weiße! A real specialty and very popular in summer.
O my goodness! I just saw on the second read that you mentioned me at the end of the post! I was so excited, I didn't even read the last sentence. What a coincidence and I don't believe in coincidences. This is crazy ;-D Thank you again!
Sorry, I tend to do this here: contacting people, linking their articles into mine, and then fail to notice when they comment on mine. I agree about the coincidence though. I like the German word Fügung. I know it's historically affected, but I still think it expresses very well how things seem to come together without our doing.
I totally agree!
I also love the name of your mead. My Runic name is Yradur, same ending :-D only with the beginning of Mjöllnir, the hammer of Thor! And here comes the crazy part: I just had a significant encounter with Thor. Sounds crazy but it's true ;)
You can tell the level of my excitement by the repetition of the same word.
I think I need a drink now.
Wow, there must be more to it then. You know how I found the name? Looked up 'mead' in the dictionary, and that's what it gave me in Icelandic. In Swedish and Norwegian it's both Mjöld, only with their own spelling of the ö. So what about you? How did you get your runic name? I've been meaning to ask, and now might be the right time. And what about that significant encounter with Thor? Would be interested to hear.
There is really not much to tell, I communicate with the Runes when I need to. I use the 18 symbol Futhork and made cards, I ask the question and then see what card answers me. Well, there is a little more to the whole thing of course...I do have a deep connection to the Runes and certain Gods. The third Rune is thorn, a Rune closely connected to Thor. And he talked to me the other day through this Rune when I was in a troubling situation. he protected me and let me know everything will be fine and it was ;) I understand if you think I am a total nut now ;) but that's how it is :-D I will be posting more about it in the future...stay tuned.
A nut? Of course! So glad to hear, by the way. I'm not too much into divination, but I remember way back in the day, I once had a certain affinity for the rune called raido, which kinda looks like an R. Don't ask me why, or how it came about, but I just felt attracted to it in a weird way. I read it symbolizes travel, which I do like, but the raido followed me... in dreams, pictures I noticed around me, all sorts of weird occurrences I could not explain. Still can't. In fact, I can't even think of a point why I'm telling you this, other than that it's about a rune.
Very interesting indeed. It must mean something ;)
And about the Runic name..the Runes gave it to me ;)
Nice article. Have been meaning to make mead for some time now, but not having access to an affordable honey supply (here in Japan a kilo - if you could find such a large volume - would cost around 75 euros, and most likely be pasteurised) has been holding me back. Guess I'll just have to set up my own hives!
Oh, I'm sorry about hearing that. Yes, under those conditions I couldn't imagine making it. Here I got a friend who gives me honey for free, and I give her half my mead in return. But even if I bought it, 75 euros are outrageous. But don't give up, there may be some surprising exceptions in Japan as well. Some of Fukuoka's adherents maybe...? Good luck in any case.
"Most of them follow a different procedure"
It's all good though. As long as, like you said, you're using raw/pure honey, purified water, and decent yeast, you'll come out with a good product.
Of note, your lower ABV mead is usually referred to as small mead or session mead, and is great in the summer when you tend to drink more in the heat.