Mead

. . . and alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages other than beer and spirits. Post discussion on recipes, methods, equipment and the like about these drinks here.

Mead

Postby Terry » Friday Feb 10, 2006 10:19 am

Hi all,

Going to give this mead thing a go this weekend for something different.

1.5kg of honey (good stuff from the fruit and veg shop)
5L of water
Cinamon stick
Cloves (on the Mrs insistance)
Some juice from an orange
Chanpagne yeast


Never done this before so it wil be interesting. I got the water from the supermarket so I have a supply of quality water and use the container as the fermenter. A bit of glad wrap for an air lock and Robert's your mothers brother, its done.

Have a good weekend.
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Postby NTRabbit » Friday Feb 10, 2006 8:20 pm

Expect it to take a good 6 months minimum of aging before being ready to drink though, my Mead is only 4 months old as of tomorrow.
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Postby bobbioli » Saturday Feb 11, 2006 8:13 am

mine as well(4 mos) tried a few, pretty good but not yet :(
I like beer oh yes I do. doo daa doo daa. I like beer oh yes I do. oh daa doo daa day
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Postby Rubber.Piggy » Saturday Feb 11, 2006 7:59 pm

is that aging in the bottle?? How long does it spend in the fermenter??
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Postby NTRabbit » Sunday Feb 12, 2006 3:16 am

Rubber.Piggy wrote:is that aging in the bottle?? How long does it spend in the fermenter??


Yes thats in the bottle. Mine only took 2 weeks in the fermenter, and I was expecting longer.

Some people recommend brewing it in glass carboys, and let it age in those for 12 months before bottling.
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Postby Rubber.Piggy » Sunday Feb 12, 2006 2:42 pm

thanks rabbit. what fermentation temp is recommended??
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Postby NTRabbit » Sunday Feb 12, 2006 8:25 pm

Rubber.Piggy wrote:thanks rabbit. what fermentation temp is recommended??


Whatever temperature is good for the particular yeast you use. I'm guessing you have EC1118 Champagne yeast - treat it like an Ale yeast and it will be fine, I did it at about 18-20*C if I recall correctly.
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Postby Terry » Monday Feb 13, 2006 8:05 am

The fermenter sits under the house as thats the most temperature stable part of the house. I am expecting this to be a nice accompanyment to my coffee after Christmas lunch, assuming I don't forget them.
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Postby Rubber.Piggy » Monday Feb 13, 2006 8:31 am

thanks guys, that's a great help. terry i was think something similar, start it now drink it at christmas time.
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Postby Dogger Dan » Monday Feb 13, 2006 10:30 am

The fermentation temp for mead wont matter as it apparently doesn't produce the same bad esters as it does in beer (certain ingredients are lacking in mead that are found in beer).

If using bottled water you may want to add a yeast neutrient that is rich in Manganese, Zinc and Copper, all necessary for yeast to hav e a healthy fermentation.

I have a mead I put down in October, it is still fermenting

Dogger
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Postby zook37 » Monday Feb 13, 2006 3:13 pm

I am about to have a go at my very first mead. I belong to a medievil recreation group and we have been looking for sometime at making an authentic mead from the middle ages. not a lot of info available on exactly what went into them though. So I reckon I'll give this one a shot. :)
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Postby Boozer » Monday Feb 13, 2006 5:50 pm

I belong to a medievil recreation group

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Don't you mean Mediaeval Zook??? Classic Freudian slip :D :D :D :D
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Postby zook37 » Tuesday Feb 14, 2006 2:29 pm

:lol:



Bugger eh........ :wink:
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Postby NTRabbit » Tuesday Feb 14, 2006 5:40 pm

I have a somewhat attractive female friend who was (graduated now) in the uni's Creative Anachronism Society and a fan of mead, which may or may not be why I made some of my own :wink:
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Postby zook37 » Wednesday Feb 15, 2006 2:19 pm

NTRabbit wrote:Creative Anachronism Society




That's the organisation I am involved with, only it is "The Society of Creative Anachronism" But same difference really, we just call ourselves SCA members. :)
Politicians and Diapers need to be changed regularly for the very same reason!!!
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Postby Tipsy » Thursday Feb 16, 2006 9:10 pm

zook37 wrote:
NTRabbit wrote:Creative Anachronism Society




That's the organisation I am involved with, only it is "The Society of Creative Anachronism" But same difference really, we just call ourselves SCA members. :)


My mates in the SCA. He lives for it.
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Postby Rubber.Piggy » Friday Feb 17, 2006 7:48 am

Anyone know a good strain of dry chamagne yeast, or will I need to go liquid on this one??
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Postby undercover1 » Friday Feb 17, 2006 2:26 pm

Lalvin seems to be the standard, it's a dry yeast that brews up to around 15-16% alc. if I remember correctly- I don't have the pack in front of me.
You just have to leave the beer section of your HBS & go into the wine aisle to find it.
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Postby NTRabbit » Saturday Feb 18, 2006 4:06 am

EC1118 Champagne Yeast was recommended to me, and indeed was the only Champagne yeast my local HBS stocked. Came in a little 5g scahet I think. I decided it was too expensive sending away for a White Labs Champagne or Sweet Mead liquid yeast.
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