How does one brew mead?

[Crazed Rabbit]

Illegal liquor? My good Ghost, surely you do not think me a criminal?

Seriously, I think it is legal to brew your own beverages for your own enjoyment.

I didn't know mead took 6 months - sheesh! Perhaps I'll look into beer, but I don't know what equipment that requires.

CR

[Sensei Warrior]

Beer doesn't take as long as mead. I personally suggest you do both. Start a batch of mead, then whip up some beer to occupy your time through the 6 month wait. Heck in the middle you could try making some poteen that Banquo's Ghost suggested.

[drone]

You probably don't need to wait 6 months, but it will make the drink smoother. Complete fermentation for mead does take a while though. A basic ale will need to ferment for 1 week, although I usually go an extra week with a secondary fermenter.

My advice to you would be to either buy or check out from the library the book mentioned in the other thread, The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, by Charlie Papazian. Read through it, and get a feel for how involved you want to get. Also, search around your area to find out who sells homebrew supplies. You can get everything online, but it's nice to see the stuff first and be able to ask questions.

[macsen rufus]

It all depends how authentic you want your heritage experience, really....

First catch your swarm of bees ...... etc etc etc

[King Henry V]

OK, so I've finally got round to making some mead, or metheglin to be more precise. I found a recipe in my old Dorset Cookbook. It looks as though it's easy to make, and the maturing period is a lot shorter.

Metheglin Or Spiced Mead:

Ingredients:

5 lbs (2.25 kg) honey
8 pints (4.5 litres) water
Juice and thinly peeled rind of 1 orange
Two Sticks of Cinnamon (or a sprig or rosemary if you prefer)
6 pieces of clove (or a sprig of marjoram)
A small piece of ginger root
1/2 oz (20g) fresh baker's yeast

Optional (to make your mead more succesful):

1 1/3 level teaspoon of yeast nutrient

1 1/3 campden tablets, crushed

Sterilise the containers with sterilising agent.

Put the water, orage rind, cinnamon, clove and ginger into a large saucepan.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mintues.

Stain the liquid.

Pour the strained liquid on to the honey.

Stir until the honey has dissolved.

Leave the liquid until it is hand-hot.

Add the orange juice, the yeast, the crushed campden tablets and the yeast nutrient.

Cover and leave to ferment for 24 hours.

Pour into a fermentation jar with an airlock.

Leave in a warm place to finish fermenting.

Leave in a cool place for at least three weeks.

Pour into bottles and store.