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Mead Stuff
More Mead Stuff
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Mead MakingWhat 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. " A most brave drink cooled in ice which did please me mightily." - Samuel Pepys And you can easily make some Mead yourself!
Absolutely new to Mead? I have a nice little 4 minute video that you can watch. It explains what mead is and how it is made: What is Mead and How is it made?
NEW Mead Stuff and Projects
How about some still sealed bottles of mead that are 64 years old? Yup, I have pictures right here. And.... this meadery is long defunct. If you know a little bit about mead you might want to take a look. Maybe you can offer some insight into it. I am looking for help with these beauties. Check out the Guval Mead
A web visitor read a wonderful quote about mead in a Patrick Rothfuss novel and decided to try making it!!!! Well, Check out Jordan's recipe here. The Name of the Wind Mead
You can Now Buy Mead online at Amazon.com YAY! I have a selection of meads from amazon right here.
NEW ARTICLE: Troubleshooting Your mead - Wondering if your mead is ok? Thinking that you might have to fix something? I have some guidelines for troubleshooting mead right here
New: Having some fun making mead - Thinking about giving mead a try? You might want to check out these pictures from a web visitor. Once his first batch was going he was moving on to his second batch. There you go! Get some inspiration from somebody who is giving it a try! Making Mead
Six - 42 year old bottles of mead found! Wow! A web visitor (Robert) found six very old bottles of mead while renovating his house. They seem to be in great condition and came with a sheet of information. See more pictures of this mead and read about it. Do you think these bottles are drinkable?
Using Tea leaves as a nutrient in your mead making. Tea leaves are a great nutrient for mead and a web visitor has sent us some great advice on how to make the most of your tea leaves. It's an old family secret :) Using Tea leaves in mead making Can You distill Mead? The short answer is no because it is illegal to distill spirits, and it can be dangerous. But you can buy some distilled mead: About Distilled Gwires Mead
How about a traditional Viking drinking horn for your mead? A year ago you couldn't get any drinking horns on amazon. Today they have a nice selection available including pewter and horn. I have a selection here: Mead Drinking Horns
Amazon.com now carries the swing top bottles. These are really neat bottles and people are always asking me about them. They just have that old fashioned feel which is very mead like. There is definitely something beautiful about this type of bottle.
Update on the hives: We opened the hives, took out the feeders and added medium supers. these medium supers (shown in pic) are blank honey combs that the bees can fill with honey. More pics
THE BEEHIVES - I have opened up the beehives to start out the new season. I have pictures and videos. If you want to check it out. Hopefully I will get lots of honey this season so I can make lots of mead! Opening up, inspecting, and feeding the beehives New: Amazon.com now offers 3 gallon carboys which are a great compromise between the 1 gallon and 5 gallon carboys. the 1 gallon is a small batch and the 5 gallon can be expensive. Read more of my thoughts here: Good Thoughts about making mead in a 3 gallon carboy
New: A web visitor has submitted a video on how to make an auto-siphon which is a really convenient way to siphon your mead from carboy to carboy. How to make an auto siphon A Few interesting mead names - some people who have submitted pictures of their mead have also given them terrific names. Here are a few of my favorite mead names. And if you have named your mead I would love to hear about it.
A Note from Will: Thinking about making some Mead but just not sure? I get so many emails from people that are so very glad they have tried it. It can be very rewarding. I say check out some of the pictures they have sent me and see what you think.
A web visitor (Patrick K.) has followed my Orange Mead Recipe and created himself some outstanding mead. He bottled it, created his own labels, and even waxed the corks. It came out fantastic. You can see more pictures here: Patricks Home bottled Mead
Looking to make some mead really fast? Mead takes upward of six months or more before it is ready to drink. If you want to cheat a little bit and get some mead in two weeks a web visitor has submitted an instant mead recipe. Check it out here: The Instant cheat mead recipe
New: Looking for something special to drink mead from? Amazon.com has a nice selection of Goblets, Chalices, Mugs, Tankards, and wine glasses. I have picked out some and have them right here. Make your mead drinking special. Mead Goblets and Glasses
Wine bottles for mead making. These 750 ml Claret bottles are exactly the ones I use. I have ordered two cases. Claret Bottles 750ml. Clear Glass, Case of 12
Bottling Mead: I answer some of the most common questions including "When do you know it's time to bottle your mead"? Bottling mead questions answered
New article from a new Mead Maker: It is a lesson in not bottling your mead too soon. Read his hilarious story here: The First Time was awkward, explosive, and messy! Some Tips and hints from Red Crow Meadery on what equipment you should have and on how to make an easy batch of mead. Red Crow Meadery Tips
Thinking about making your own Mead labels? Here are some beautiful bottles of mead made by a web visitor (Peter T.) He designed the labels himself with a simple and elegant Fleur de Lis emblem. See a bigger picture and read more about this mead and label here. Self Made Labels for Mead
A Call For Mead Making Recipes!!! - I am going to be beefing up my Mead Recipe section and I am looking for your participation. Do you have a great Mead Recipe? Send it to me in an email and I will add it to the Mead recipe section which I will be beefing up and upgrading!
The online world is changing everything when it comes to mead. It used to be difficult to find mead at a local wine shop but now you don't have to worry about it. You can order your mead online (depending on your state) and I have six bottles of Mead from Hidden Legend Winery including their gold medal winning Wild Chokecherry mead. I have more information about the mead and the winery here: Hidden Legend Meads Want to make up a batch of alcohol free mead and drink it today? I have a great little recipe you could try. This is a great way to get a sense of what Mead tastes like. It's at the bottom of the page here. You may have heard of Ken Schramm. He is the guy who wrote the book on Modern day Mead Making. He is working with B.Nektar Meadery to create a signature series of Meads. You can read about the first mead they have produced here. It is limited to 110 bottles You might know that I have been unsuccessful in making a good Vanilla Mead. Well, I got an email from Kevin of Red Crow Meadery and he suggests I make my own Vanilla Extract. Here are his thoughts and his recipe for making a Vanilla Bean Mead from home made extract. Is Mead hard to make? And does my fast, cheap easy mead recipe really work? Can you really make mead in a plastic jug with a balloon on top? Read what a web visitor sent me in an email about his experience with the recipe: " Will, Looking for an easy mead recipe that is delicious and slightly exotic? Are you a beginner mead maker that wants to make something other than plain mead? Yet don't want to get too fancy or worry about it? I have the perfect recipe for you. It is easy to make, care free and tastes fantastic. It is an orange clove mead and I have made this mead so many times in so many ways. It just comes out great and you can mix it and forget about it until its time to drink! Check it out here New: How to keep it real cheap and figure out how your ferment is going. Here is a creative "MacGyver Style" way to check on the vigorosity of your mead as it ferments. This idea was submitted to me by a fellow mead maker The Fermentation Vigorosity Indicator Product Review: Three Bottles of Mead from Redstone Meadery They come in a beautiful bottle with a convenient cap. This is one of the more popular meads and is widely available. Read my review of three of their products. Redstone Mead
UPDATE on the 38 year bottle of Mead. The company is still in existence and still making and selling mead. And they have a United States distributor which ships to most states. So if you want to give this famous mead a try you can. Links and more here How about this 38 year old bottle of signed and numbered mead? Interested in learning more about this spectacular bottle of mead? I have more pics and information about it here. And if you can offer insight into the bottle or the meadery it would be appreciated! One spectacular bottle of mead
How to make your mead even more spectacular without changing the recipe! Read about it here
Spotlight on a Winery with some wonderful, award winning Mead!Here is a great winery that makes some amazing mead. They also ship online to many states! Learn more about the company and their products here Meads from Hidden Legend Winery How to add labels to your mead bottles in a nice and uniform way so they all look the same. It is quite a simple process to insure you get the labels straight and uniform. This way all the mead bottles look the same. Here is a video tutorial.
Two New Mead Making Videos that cover these points:
Articles about Mead and Mead Making
Mead Recipe Stuff
Mead Reference Pages
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.
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 New Article: Thinking about designing or buying your wine and mead bottle labels? Here is some information about labels and bottles that will help you |
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Bee Stuff 
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. 
Want to try some mead recipes from the 1600's? Yes, you do! This the famous Sir Kenelm Digby! I have more information and insight into one of his recipes made! 
The Raspberry mead is so good....that you should start your own Raspberry Garden! This is exactly what one web visitor did. See the pic, hear the story and get the raspberry mead recipe here: 
Well, Went on a trip to Ireland and wanted to get to Bunratty Castle. That's where they make Bunratty mead! Didn't get to make it but did drive by and take a pic of the castle. And did buy a tiny bottle of mead. 
Greg has been making mead for a while and he has sent us some pictures of his mead including this amazing 54 Liter Italian Carboy. Check it all out here: 
Your honey and water separated into layers? This is called stratification and it is easy to fix.
A look at and review of an award winning polish mead. They know how to make mead in Poland and this is an award winning, and expensive, bottle of Raspberry mead. 
New a series of pictures on mead making - this is a nice way to see how it is done. These pics were submitted by a web visitor (Sar-el) and he has some gorgeous glass bottles that he makes his mead in. 
New, I and a friend made two wonderful meads today (melomels) a pear and a pomegranate. Just a few pictures and notes on what we did. Simply a lot of fun! 
I got an email from a Danish Mead maker - He gives us some wonderful information about Danish mead making, viking mead and the use of Mead Wort. Check out the pictures and information here. 
New: 
New article: Want to make some mead but not ready to take the plunge? Read about a web visitor who, after visiting this site decided to just do it! He has made several batches now and has found a lot of reward in his new hobby. 
If you are interested in Mead chances are good that you are also interested in Bees and Honey! You might not know it but I have hives and a section of my site devoted to hives, bees and honey! You can see videos of the queen bee, learn about caring for a hive and see all kinds of stuff like how to use a honey extractor. 
New Video and tutorial: How to add heat shrink caps to your mead bottles to make them look great. Perfect for Thanksgivining or Holiday Gifts. 
I have been having a blast with my mead and it has taken over my spare room. 
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. 