Mead. Wonderfully delicious mead. It is often said that some of the best things in life are the simplest. This is especially true when it comes to this fermented delicacy. For those of you who may live a sheltered life, mead is an alcoholic drink made from water and honey. It is perhaps the oldest fermented beverage utilized by humans for both health and enjoyment. Bier, wine, and spirits may be alright for the average person, but mead is for those who truly wish to experience only the best things in life.
There are two options for obtaining mead. One is to simply go to a store and purchase it, and the other is to make it yourself. Obviously the latter method is preferred because it helps you appreciate it all the more. It also has the added benefit of letting you know exactly what is in it because you’re the one choosing the ingredients.
I’ve crafted five batches so far and each has turned out perfectly. The alcohol content varied between them, but that was to be expected because the ingredients varied. Only one of the batches was a straight mead. The others were melomels (mead with added fruit). The lowest ABV (alcohol by volume) was around 8%, while the highest was over 12% and was made with a fair bit of raspberry juice, so the additional sugar obviously helped.
Other than the addition of extra yeast and an airlock on the fermentation vessel, the method I use to create mead is no doubt similar to that which has been used for thousands of years. Equipment preparation consists of simply washing with hot soapy water. No sterilization involved. This is something that is frowned upon by the majority of winemakers, but I like to keep things as natural as possible.
Here is the list of ingredients I use to make a plain mead:
1. Raw honey (meaning it has never been heated after extraction)
2.Water (spring/artesian water is best)
3. Bee pollen
4. Yeast (I use plain bread yeast)
That’s all that is needed to create an excellent product. The honey and bee pollen I use is locally produced by Marquette Honey Farms in Little Falls, MN. I use only completely raw honey. This is honey that is bottled right after it is extracted from the comb. It’s the honey that is thick and cream coloured. When purchasing, be careful of producers who state that they only heat theirs a little in order to keep it fluid, so it is still more or less raw. Common sense tells you that honey that does not crystallize after several months is not really raw anymore. Obviously there has been some change that has taken place, which makes this type of honey unfit for decent mead. In other words, raw rules.
Once the ingredients are gathered, mixing up a batch is extremely simple. In a large stainless stock pot add 66 ounces of raw honey to 1 gallon of water. This will make a sweet mead, which is my favorite. Less honey will give you a drier product. Mix well using a wire whisk. This helps to aerate the must (the honey and water mixture), which will help the yeast get going. Put a small amount of the must into a bowl and add 1 tsp. of yeast and 1 Tbsp. of bee pollen. Stir until the yeast and bee pollen are dissolved and then let it sit until it starts to froth. Once the yeast is activated, pour it into a glass gallon jug. Next, fill the jug with must until it is about an inch and a half or so from the top. Place an airlock on the jug and that’s it. Place it in a dark place that has a rather constant temperature of around seventy degrees or so and let it ferment away. It may take a month or two before the yeast has finished doing its job, so be patient.
Now, many people will say that you have to wait until the bottle has cleared up before it is fit to drink. Hogwash. Once the yeast has more or less fizzled out, it’s ready to go. I mean, we’re not making award winning wine here. This is a health drink as much as it is an alcoholic drink. Hence the reason for using raw honey complete with its share of wild pollen, dead bee parts, beeswax, etc. Sounds appetizing right?
The above recipe only makes a gallon of happiness. Unfortunately, the rate at which a gallon of mead can disappear is astonishing. This is why you should always have a batch going at any given time. A big batch. Money spent on a couple of five gallon glass carboys is an investment well worth making. Use the gallon jugs to experiment with. Adding various fruits and/or spices can be quite rewarding. There, that’s all there is to it.
Great. Now I’m thirsty…