Got mead?
I will, I hope, in about 3 months . . .
It's been a while, but I decided to celebrate my Northern European heritage by getting back into mead-making.
If all goes well (and I didn't accidentally introduce contamination, etc., etc.), you're looking at what may end up being a lovely lemon-ginger mead. Eventually. Fermentation should stop in about 3 months; based on past experience with this recipe, best results are obtained if it's allowed to age for at least another 9 months or so after that, and gets racked several times in the process.
But, oh, if it works and it ages properly . . . it's gooooooood. Pure, liquid gold; sweet and lemon-gingery without being cloying.
Of course, it looks like hell now, but all wine does when it's in the "churning microbial culture" stage. One learns to look ahead. ;) The lively bubbling going on (about one "bloop" through the water lock every 2 seconds or so) is hopeful.
The basic recipe, adapted from one in Dian Dincin Buchman's Herbal Medicine is:
1 gallon of honey
1 gallon of apple juice
2 gallons of (preferably distilled or purified) water
Juice and zest of 2 lemons (I like to pare off the zest in long strips; easier to strain out)
About 1 inch of fresh ginger root, sliced
1 packet of champagne yeast
My method of making this batch:
Bring the water and honey to a simmer (since I had unpasteurized honey, I decided to cross my fingers and try the "no boil" method of making mead, in which the wort is never cooked above 180F or so, to let the natural antimicrobial properties of the honey remain intact; I did "oops" and overheat slightly, according to my candy thermometer, but not for long). Add lemon juice, zest, and ginger root. Cover and allow to cool until manageable. Strain into a sterilized carboy (using a sterilized strainer and funnel), discarding lemon zest and ginger. Open a gallon of commercial apple juice and pour immediately into carboy (apple juice in the bottle is sterile, so I like to add it room temp at the end, when it will help cool the rest of the wort in preparation for adding the yeast).
Cover the neck of the carboy with several layers of clean paper towels (fresh from the roll) and secure with a rubber band, while the wort cools. When the wort is, ideally, still warm but no warmer than 100F or so (I generally figure if the outside of the container is at "hot, but not painful, bathwater" temp, it's good), uncover the carboy, pour in the yeast, and seal with a sterilized plug and water lock.
Wait. (The hard part.)
Notes: Some experts declare one can't make a good mead without the addition of some sort of acid, to keep the flavor from being too insipid. This is where the apple juice comes in, providing malic/fruit acid to the mix (plus a pleasant flavor).
I use champagne yeast in particular because it will yield a high alcohol content. Other types of brewing/vintning yeast will work, however. Don't use baking yeast unless desperate, though. :P
More updates if they're warranted. I was just so jazzed it seems to be going well, I had to post. :D If this works, I may be inspired to take a shot at the semi-legendary Chocolate Mead. Or maybe Dendarii Mountain Maple Mead, even!
It's been a while, but I decided to celebrate my Northern European heritage by getting back into mead-making.
If all goes well (and I didn't accidentally introduce contamination, etc., etc.), you're looking at what may end up being a lovely lemon-ginger mead. Eventually. Fermentation should stop in about 3 months; based on past experience with this recipe, best results are obtained if it's allowed to age for at least another 9 months or so after that, and gets racked several times in the process.
But, oh, if it works and it ages properly . . . it's gooooooood. Pure, liquid gold; sweet and lemon-gingery without being cloying.
Of course, it looks like hell now, but all wine does when it's in the "churning microbial culture" stage. One learns to look ahead. ;) The lively bubbling going on (about one "bloop" through the water lock every 2 seconds or so) is hopeful.
The basic recipe, adapted from one in Dian Dincin Buchman's Herbal Medicine is:
1 gallon of honey
1 gallon of apple juice
2 gallons of (preferably distilled or purified) water
Juice and zest of 2 lemons (I like to pare off the zest in long strips; easier to strain out)
About 1 inch of fresh ginger root, sliced
1 packet of champagne yeast
My method of making this batch:
Bring the water and honey to a simmer (since I had unpasteurized honey, I decided to cross my fingers and try the "no boil" method of making mead, in which the wort is never cooked above 180F or so, to let the natural antimicrobial properties of the honey remain intact; I did "oops" and overheat slightly, according to my candy thermometer, but not for long). Add lemon juice, zest, and ginger root. Cover and allow to cool until manageable. Strain into a sterilized carboy (using a sterilized strainer and funnel), discarding lemon zest and ginger. Open a gallon of commercial apple juice and pour immediately into carboy (apple juice in the bottle is sterile, so I like to add it room temp at the end, when it will help cool the rest of the wort in preparation for adding the yeast).
Cover the neck of the carboy with several layers of clean paper towels (fresh from the roll) and secure with a rubber band, while the wort cools. When the wort is, ideally, still warm but no warmer than 100F or so (I generally figure if the outside of the container is at "hot, but not painful, bathwater" temp, it's good), uncover the carboy, pour in the yeast, and seal with a sterilized plug and water lock.
Wait. (The hard part.)
Notes: Some experts declare one can't make a good mead without the addition of some sort of acid, to keep the flavor from being too insipid. This is where the apple juice comes in, providing malic/fruit acid to the mix (plus a pleasant flavor).
I use champagne yeast in particular because it will yield a high alcohol content. Other types of brewing/vintning yeast will work, however. Don't use baking yeast unless desperate, though. :P
More updates if they're warranted. I was just so jazzed it seems to be going well, I had to post. :D If this works, I may be inspired to take a shot at the semi-legendary Chocolate Mead. Or maybe Dendarii Mountain Maple Mead, even!