| The Joy of Mead - Everything about the ancient drink and how to make it | |||||
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What is Mead?There are a lot of misconceptions about Mead. The first thing that comes to mind, if you even heard of it, is a bunch of vikings drinking down lots of large mugs full of a macho drink. And well, nothing could be further from the truth. I don't mean that viking warriors didn't drink their own version of mead. What I mean is that Mead is not some kind of a drink that is rough and tumble. Mead is an astonishingly delicious and delicate drink that will absolutely take you by surprise. So, what exactly is Mead? It is a wine made from honey. Simple as that. Instead of using grapes the mead maker uses Honey! Can you see how this would be something special? It is a wine and it is made from one of the tastiest creations in nature. (This concept of making wine from honey isn't unusual). Wine doesn't have to be made from grapes. It can be made from any number of sweet fruits. And you can easily make some Mead yourself!
NEW Mead Stuff and ProjectsNew Article: April 26: Time in a bottle and the best advice I can give any new Meadmaker AHA Mead Day 2008: Auguest 2nd this year is the Official Mead Day and if you are a mead maker you may want to consider throwing an event to help raise awareness and appreciation of honey wine. You can get ideas on how to do it, get the official recipe and register your meadmaking event with the AHA. I have more about it here Do you have a successful template for making mead? Something where you just plug in any kind of fruit or spice and it comes out well? I would love to hear about it New: Springfest at Long Island Meadery: - If you live in the northeast and have always wanted to visit a Meadery you might want to try Long Island Meadery - The event is on April 25. Five tips for Beginning Mead Makers - I answer some of the common questions. New Article (Apr 13)Really serious about your Mead Making? How about taking a mead making vacation to a European Country that has the experts that have been making it for a very long time. The mead Making vacation New Article (Apr 7): Rules of thumb and calculating Alcohol Content in your Mead New Article (Mar 23): Using Bentonite to Clarify your Mead. Bentonite works wonders on Mead and I have a couple of pictures that will show you just how well Bentonite works
New video on some flavored Meads (Feb 17, 08) It shows 6 batches of mead that I have made and also gives some valuable tips on making flavored meads. Flavored Mead video
New Tutorial: How to wax seal the tops of your mead bottles. This makes them look quite spectacular and professional. It's easy to do and cost about 20 cents per bottle How to wax seal your mead bottles
Some basic information about Mead yeast, the types of yeast, dry and wet yeast and some yeast that has been specifically designed for meadmaking.
Valentine's Day is almost here and Mead makes a perfect gift to share. Read more about the tradition of Mead between couples
With the holidays upon us you have got to try a really special holiday drink. It is the art of mulling spices into heated mead. It is the grown-up version of Hot apple cider and phenomenally delicious Read more about it here New: Here are two pictures side-by-side of the Mead in its fermenation carboy. You can see how over the course of a couple of weeks it is starting to clarify and turn into Mead! Pictures of the Mead in fermenation
MAKING FLAVORED MEAD (Often Called Metheglin)One of the Best things about making your own mead is the potential to try some exotic and delicious flavors. I have brewed up four interesting batches of flavored mead Read about them here: Flavored Mead
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Articles New: 5 Tips for the beginner mead maker It's all about the Honey - A dramatic look at how important honey is in mead making For Beginners: How to make your first and easy 1 gallon batch of Mead honey wine How to make a sparkling champagne style mead How much does it cost to make a batch of mead? I have the cost breakdown here How to make a batch of mead today! The fast, easy, and cheap way to your first batch of honey wine The difference is the honey! A stop motion animation showing two different honeys side by side and how the fermented brew looks Thinking about designing or buying your wine and mead bottle labels? Here is some information about labels and bottles that will help you The Magical Transformation of water into wine with pics How and why to use a hydrometer How to use a wine thief to test your wine or mead Dispelling the Myths about Mead Thoughts about Mead and Wine Making Important note about Sanitizing your Mead making and wine making equipment Learning the art of Patience when making wine or mead How do you know the ferment is working? Checking the PH of your Mead to insure good fermentation (video) |
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Mead making is something that has been going on for over a thousand years and it is quite easy to make. There is very little to do and there is a lot of leeway in the process. For the most part you just have to add yeast to a mix of honey and water and let it ferment. The yeast does all the work for you by transforming the honey into wine. I am making a batch of mead and I have taken extensive notes and photographs so you can follow my tutorial. 
I have been having a blast with my mead and it has taken over my spare room. 
New Recipe: I have dug up a 17th century Mead recipe and translated it so you can make yourself some real mead the way it was made hundreds of years ago - 
Don't want to be so aggressive with your mead making? How about making a 1 gallon batch? It's less expensive, less hassle, and will produce about 4 wine bottles of the magical brew. I have put together a tutorial here for you. The picture of the mead you see here is of three 1-gallon batches I have made. From left to right they are a dry mead, medium mead and a sweet mead. This is obvious by the darkness each. The darker the mixture the more honey and the sweeter the mead. 
New Article: