Post by: Ironhand on March 28, 2012, 10:50:47 AM
Anyone else ever try this?
Post by: sse on March 28, 2012, 11:02:49 AM
Post by: Ironhand on March 28, 2012, 12:27:49 PM
http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/index.htm (http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/index.htm)
Post by: Riley/MN on March 28, 2012, 12:28:27 PM
Post by: Loyalist Dave on March 28, 2012, 02:26:48 PM
I'd use a fermentation lock myself, instead of a balloon, as he does in his article. Actually, it is theorized that mead was one of the very first drinks fermented by humans, in that wild yeast is present in honey, and simply thinning out raw honey with water will cause it to begin fermentation. In modern times we resort to more control over the process. :toast With mead, if one does end with a "harsh" product..., it is often a good idea to let it age in the bottle after racking it, and allow this aging to progress for one to two years.
LD
Post by: sse on March 28, 2012, 04:04:54 PM
Quote from: "Ironhand"
Here is the web page for Mead makingWell, that should do it, pretty much all the information that is needed. I would think a local homebrew shop should be able to set you up with the basic items needed and a starter yeast. I would like to taste some, before going to the expense of time and money, but it sounds nice.
http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/index.htm (http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/index.htm)
Post by: Ironhand on March 28, 2012, 08:08:48 PM
Quote from: "sse"
I would think a local homebrew shop should be able to set you up with the basic items needed and a starter yeast. I would like to taste some, before going to the expense of time and money, but it sounds nice.
The magazine article shows how to do this with just the gallon jug the water comes in and a ballon to keep the costs down.
I have had 2 types of commercial mead. One was too strong and sweet but the other was very good. It seems there are many ways to brew this stuff.
Post by: SAWMA on March 29, 2012, 08:51:36 AM
Post by: BEAVERMAN on March 29, 2012, 12:52:43 PM
Post by: Loyalist Dave on March 30, 2012, 08:16:47 AM
Depending on what yeast is used will also effect the flavor and the harshness. Ale yeast will work, the most alcohol content you will get from a historic ale yeast is 8%, and it's a bit harsh. A wine yeast will give you about 12%. Using extra honey to go higher in alcohol will give you sweet mead, not more alcohol, as the yeast will stop at a certain point leaving sugar behind.
Had some "fresh" mead at a timeline event. Some viking living history folks shared. A bit of a burn on the back of the throat, but after a pint, you didn't really care. They made theirs with brewing yeast. Faster ferment.
LD
Post by: snake eyes on April 07, 2012, 07:08:17 AM
I can only speak for myself,but when I want a little(or LARGE) nip I do not wish to wait several months for it.I have tried my hand at wine making with some success,but
there is still that waiting period.Good thing for Everclear and about anything
to pour it over.It must be mixed with something.Berries,pepsi,water,something.One other thing be very careful with Everclear around flames & fire or
Post by: greggholmes on May 26, 2012, 05:43:51 AM
Readers digest Back to Basics
Post by: Riley/MN on May 26, 2012, 08:38:04 AM
Quote from: "greggholmes"
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jqHZWyWOLgY/T8B_aVXA-4I/AAAAAAAABRs/BHY3IAajNiI/s400/IMAG0570.jpg)
Readers digest Back to Basics
Can't read that on my screen, but I love that book! We just had it out the other day....
Post by: greggholmes on May 26, 2012, 05:21:55 PM
Quote from: "Riley/MN"
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jqHZWyWOLgY/T8B_aVXA-4I/AAAAAAAABR4/MWR47rOf3c8/s726/IMAG0570.jpgQuote from: "greggholmes"(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jqHZWyWOLgY/T8B_aVXA-4I/AAAAAAAABRs/BHY3IAajNiI/s400/IMAG0570.jpg)
Readers digest Back to Basics
Can't read that on my screen, but I love that book! We just had it out the other day....
I love it to. I found it around '90-'91
Post by: Rev on June 08, 2012, 04:12:12 PM
First, forget everything you ever learned about brewing or wine making. Seriously!
Second, get yourself some honey (very important!)
Third, go get a 1 gallon plastic jug of water, I use mountain spring water (also important, the water I mean)
Fourth, get some bread yeast, I use Flieshmans regular, not the quick rising. (Seriously, bread yeast. No need for fancy varieties, honest!)
That is all you really need, except for a piece of plastic & a rubber band to serve as an airlock. The rubber band will expand enough to let air out, but contract & not let it back in, if you follow me...
That being said, being a brewer, I use an airlock (just because I have a number of them...)
I also add a little to the recipe that turns it into Orange Spiced Mead.
As follows-
1 orange cut up small enough to fit thru the neck of the plastic bottle (leave the skins on. Trust me, have I ever lied to you?)
a small handful of raisins, maybe 40 or so...
1 clove
1 cinnamon stick
Remove about half of the water from the jug, saving it for later. Put 3lbs of honey in a pot & enough water to dissolve the honey once you heat it up (slowly, burnt honey is a pain in the butt to get off a pot!) pour the honey water mix into the jug & fill to about four inches or so from the top with the water you held back (you did remember to save some, didn't you? Don't ask me why I stressed that point... :toast )
When it has cooled, add the orange slices, raisins, clove & cinnamon stick, (or not if you are going the honey only route) & the yeast. Put the lid back on & slosh everything around, while holding the lid on with one hand (again, don't ask... :Doh!)
Wait until you are sure the fermenting has stopped, then wait a few days more (you sensing a theme here?) before you bottle it. Just use a CLEAN rubber hose to syphon it into the bottles, holding the end up off the nasty looking goop on the bottom (unless you like chewy mead!
) leaving an inch or so of air space in the bottle, just like the beer you buy in the store has.Cap the bottles (I use old moosehead bottles) & store them in a cool dark place for a month or so. It is actually drinkable as soon as you bottle it, but waiting improves it, just like with wine.
Throw the jug away, (now wasn't that clean up easy?) & have another adult beverage to congratulate yourself on a job well done...
Post by: Ironhand on June 12, 2012, 11:13:09 PM
Taste test on the final product was not bad but I think it will benefit from a couple months aging.
Time will tell.
Ironhand
Post by: SAWMA on June 13, 2012, 09:51:37 AM
It was the accepted
practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply
his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink.
Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month,
which we know today as the honeymoon.
Post by: sse on June 13, 2012, 09:54:22 AM
Quote from: "SAWMA"
All the mead he could drink!I never knew that...
It was the accepted
practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply
his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink.
Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month,
which we know today as the honeymoon.
Post by: Roaddog on June 14, 2012, 06:41:05 AM
Post by: Stormrider51 on July 15, 2012, 08:18:12 PM
The second thing I'd like to offer is to use some form of brewers sanitizer on everything used to make your mead. This includes the fermenting containers, spoons, bottles, etc. If it comes in contact with the must (mead-to-be) it should be sanitized. That way you won't get any surprises such as having bacteria spoil your mead. Also, bring your honey and water mixture to a gentle boil and hold it there for ten minutes or so. This will kill any yeast or bacteria present in the must. By doing the sanitizing and then the boil you are sure that the only thing fermenting your honey is the yeast you put there.
Happiness is made by yeast.
Storm
Post by: rickevans on July 16, 2012, 08:39:27 AM
Post by: Loyalist Dave on September 11, 2012, 10:19:49 AM
Another observation..., your procedure ads yeast when the new mead is at room temp, but bread yeast calls for higher than room temps..., like 100º temps. You also add uncooked raisins. You do know that uncooked raisins carry wine yeast buds with them? That grayish, sorta frosty stuff you see on red or Concord grapes in the market, and you see the same on raisins in the box, a dull grayish layer..., that is from the formation of yeast buds. That type of yeast likes room temperatures, generally at the 70º - 80º range, if the yeast is a "wine" yeast. This is why one can crush grapes with the skin on, place the juice in barrel, and have wine several weeks later. True there is wild yeast in the air as well, but the dominant strain in the wine is normally the same as found growing on the grapes at the time of crushing and pressing.
So what you are probably doing is a double yeast fermentation.
The question then is ..., is the bread yeast out competing the raisin yeast, or does the bread yeast halt, and there are leftover sugars, and the raisin yeast finishes. I noted you mentioned putting the container in a cool dark place, so you in fact may be fermenting with the raisin yeast alone, because low enough temps will put bread yeast to sleep. If the temperatures are under 60º, then the yeast may in fact be an ale yeast on the raisins or from the air, as temps that low put wine and many bread yeast strains to "sleep".
LD
Post by: greggholmes on September 12, 2012, 12:14:28 AM
http://www.greydragon.org/library/13thCenturyMead.html
Post by: Stormrider51 on September 12, 2012, 10:16:06 AM
I seriously question the idea of mead being ready in one day. The bubbling that indicates fermentation normally won't start for several hours. I've never had anything cease fermenting in fewer than 5 days. If the fermentation is taking place in an open container without an air lock to bubble and show CO2 escaping, I can understand how it might appear that fermentation is finished sooner. Without trying to teach Brewing 101 just let me say that after all the simple sugars have been eaten by the yeast they will turn their attention to other things present and eat them. They clean up after themselves, so to speak. Those "other things", if not removed, can leave some really off tastes in your product. Be patient and let your mead ferment for at least a week. Then carefully siphon it off into another sanitized container and let it set for at least another week. You will be glad you did.
Storm
Post by: Gambia on September 16, 2012, 11:07:31 PM
Post by: Loyalist Dave on October 23, 2012, 09:35:57 AM
Quote
Ale yeasts are top fermenting and work best at room temperatures where lager yeasts need cooler temps of circa 50 - 60 F.
Actually, Lager yeast naturally need temps from 40º-50º, while ale yeast works best from 50º-60º such as in a cellar that does not fluctuate in temperature much. Too much fluctuation on temps with ale yeast gives you "fruity esters" or in other words "banana odor".
One can use lager yeast at higher temps and a quick fermentation if one does a controlled innoculation, and one gets "steam beer" as the famous brand from California speaks about. When you get below 50º and approach 40º the faster growing ale yeast goes to sleep, and the lager yeast has no competition, but it's slow..., hence the long (lager) time for storage of a true lagered beer.
LD
Post by: Stormrider51 on October 23, 2012, 11:59:20 AM
I have no doubt that you have the temp numbers right for most lagers and ales but I do a lot of Belgian style ales and if I set the temp to 60 degrees fermentation nearly stops. My apologies for my incorrect numbers.
Storm
Post by: Rev on October 23, 2012, 08:54:32 PM
Quote from: "Loyalist Dave"
I don't know why you say "forget" all that you know about home brewing and use bread yeast. Yeast is yeast, and all of them produce alcohol and carbon dioxide..., it's just a question of how much alcohol you want to produce before the yeast stops, and if you want any other flavors. (I have baked with the trub from the bottom of the beer fermenter - trub is the crud at the bottom.) :shock:
Another observation..., your procedure ads yeast when the new mead is at room temp, but bread yeast calls for higher than room temps..., like 100º temps. You also add uncooked raisins. You do know that uncooked raisins carry wine yeast buds with them? That grayish, sorta frosty stuff you see on red or Concord grapes in the market, and you see the same on raisins in the box, a dull grayish layer..., that is from the formation of yeast buds. That type of yeast likes room temperatures, generally at the 70º - 80º range, if the yeast is a "wine" yeast. This is why one can crush grapes with the skin on, place the juice in barrel, and have wine several weeks later. True there is wild yeast in the air as well, but the dominant strain in the wine is normally the same as found growing on the grapes at the time of crushing and pressing.
So what you are probably doing is a double yeast fermentation.
I noted you mentioned putting the container in a cool dark place, so you in fact may be fermenting with the raisin yeast alone, because low enough temps will put bread yeast to sleep. If the temperatures are under 60º, then the yeast may in fact be an ale yeast on the raisins or from the air, as temps that low put wine and many bread yeast strains to "sleep".
LD
Most, if not all, of the above is true, to the best of my knowledge. That is not the point. The point is this simple recipe makes a real nice mead, without jumping thru the usual hoops. When I say cool dark place, here in AZ that means a closet in the house as opposed to the 135 degree garage. You are over thinking this recipe & you should not. I offer it only as an easy way to get started, that's all. Not everyone wants to turn their kitchen into a chem lab...
I don't know about the raisins, I was told they were for flavor. I do know that I get considerable fermentation in a couple hours, hard to see the raisins being responsible for that...
Post by: snake eyes on October 25, 2012, 11:28:02 AM
Quote from: "Ironhand"
Well I just bottled off 8 bottles of my Mead.
Taste test on the final product was not bad but I think it will benefit from a couple months aging.
Time will tell.
Ironhand
Thanks for state stores.....Don't have to wait,make or wonder. Just step up and pay
for my bourbon
John
Post by: Kermit on October 25, 2012, 02:04:51 PM
I'm betting wine--the grape stuff--is about the earliest of tipples. Imagine trying to preserve grape juice around the Mediterranean. Smoosh grapes, drain off the juice, wait. The one I've always wondered about is the making of ales and beers. There are a lot more steps to making them. And then there's distillation. Bless the Irish, they figured that out centuries ago. And shared it with the world.
A bottling hint: Check with caterers who do weddings, and ask them to save champagne bottles. They will take a standard "crown" cap like fits beer bottles. I used to use them for beer. I once made some dandelion wine that wouldn't stop working. I went to the brew shop, bought some champagne wires, corked with sterilized plastic champagne corks (ask the caterer to save them for you), and wired them down. Result: sparkling dandelion wine. Would have loved to share some with Ray Bradbury.
Post by: Loyalist Dave on November 02, 2012, 11:19:18 AM
Quote
I'm betting wine--the grape stuff--is about the earliest of tipples. Imagine trying to preserve grape juice around the Mediterranean. Smoosh grapes, drain off the juice, wait. The one I've always wondered about is the making of ales and beers. There are a lot more steps to making them. And then there's distillation. Bless the Irish, they figured that out centuries ago. And shared it with the world.
Actually, mead is either simultaneous to wine, or the first alcoholic beverage. It is also the first that we can find records for, as it is simply made by adding water to honey to thin it until the natural yeast contained in the raw honey ferments. It is probable that "ale" is the son of mead, for two reasons..., it first appears in mead areas, and the ancient word "alü" meant"ale" in some parts of Europe, and meant "mead" in other parts. Making ale is not nearly as complicated as folks think, and if you have baked bread and water, you can have ale.
Now sorry to burst your bubble, but the people of the Emerald Isle did not invent distillation. It was imported to British Isles by Roman Catholic Monks returning from pilgrimage to Rome, or from holy crusades. (Folks in Italy were getting smashed on grappa long before the Irish had pot-cheen) Distillation was first used by the monks to make medicines, as much of early herbal medicine was made with tinctures, and to produce that you need to start with something alcoholic, such as barley ale..., then distil it to higher alcohol content, and Irish pot-cheen was born. They then found that aging it in barrels turned it into uisge beatha..., water-of-life, and the word "uisge" became "whisky". Distillation in Scotland is even younger than in Ireland.
Modern "pot-cheen" is normally not made with a grain today, as when the Irish switched from grain as the main staple to potatoes, so did the pot-cheen.
LD
Post by: vermontfreedom on May 04, 2013, 09:33:56 AM
I use only local honey - my supplier sells me unfiltered dregs super cheap. He gets I think $4/lb for table honey, but he'll sell me 20 pounds for $20-40.
I have made good, not-so-good, and fairly poor mead. The worst ones are too sweet - when fermentation is incomplete. Strangely this has happened most often when using liquid yeast starters.
Because the flavor of mead usually is very light, even the slightest off flavor is noticeable, which is why I believe mead is the hardest of beer, wine, and mead to make.
A batch or two ago, I made 4 gallons and decided to flavor 3 out of the 4 gallons with different herbs and spices - also called metheglin. (One correction to an above statement that mead is also called melomel: melomels are meads with a fruit in the recipe - they are not one and the same.) My intent was to use the flavored ones as marinades for game meat. I ended up drinking them
The unflavored gallon was good - a little dry, but dry mead can be good, too.
One was ginger-clove-orange (I used powdered ginger - first mistake) and dried orange peels. It was on the sweet side, but good.
The second was rosemary-lavender. You couldn't detect the rosemary because I used 4 times as much (dried) lavender as I should have. If you have ever heard an alcoholic beverage described as "medicinal," this was it. The lavender was overpowering. However, I like strong flavors and I liked it quite a bit.
The last, I dry-hopped with hops I grow myself. You might think this a strange combination, but it was fantastic. I grow 4 varieties, but at the time only my Cascade were doing well so this is probably what I used. The bitterness of the hops cut the sweetness of the mead very well.
If you're wanting to try making mead, my recommendations are to make two or three batches simultaneously, maybe stick with just 1 gallon each. Make one with 1-2 pounds of honey to the gallon and one with 2 or 3 and one with 4 or 5 pounds. This will give you results at the extreme ends of light and very sweet mead.
Use wild honey - don't use store bought. Wild honey actually has flavor.
Use good water - not hard or too soft.
Use wine or mead yeast. Champagne yeast is probably best because it will impart no flavors of its own and tolerates high alcohol content, which your mead will be especially if you use a lot of sugar and it ferments to completion.
A packet of good yeast will run you $1 or $2. Don't bother with liquid yeasts ($4-$10) unless you're really serious. SPend the extra $0.50 or $1 over bread yeast.
That said, I have made good wine with bread yeast. In fact, the best apple wine I ever made I used bread yeast. I can be done, but your results will be more consistent with wine or mead yeast.
You can make a "small" mead with only 1-1.5 pounds of honey per gallon and ferment it with an ale, wine, or mead yeast, this will be the quickest of fermentations. The others should be fermented for 4-18 months. Make sure you kill the must with campden before bottling or similar else it could referment you can have popped corks and a very sticky mess or at worst burst bottles. I speak from experience!
It's also a good idea to let the mead condition in the bottle for 6-18 months. Mead really does improve with age up to about 6 years.
Good luck.
Post by: Stormrider51 on May 04, 2013, 01:26:46 PM
Storm
Post by: Woodrock on June 03, 2013, 02:30:07 AM
Woody
Post by: Ironhand on June 03, 2013, 08:56:31 PM
I have also been making Ciser. That is Mead made with apple juice or cider instead of water. First batch has aged about 10 months. It was good when fresh, it is great now. Very mellow.
Post by: Loyalist Dave on June 04, 2013, 02:56:52 PM
Quote
and he said it usually ran about 18%
Um..., uh..., probably more like 14% or lower. You have a really tough time getting anything to ferment close to 14% regardless of how much the hydrometer says it may reach, because natural yeast does have fermentation limits, and wine and champagne yeast will go higher than ale, but they don't tolerate higher alcohol levels than about 14%. He could have bought a custom, laboratory prepped yeast like Turbo Pure http://www.brewhaus.com/Turbo-Pure-48-P842C103.aspx or Distiller's Yeast http://www.brewhaus.com/Distillers-Turbo-Yeast-P837C103.aspx , but a regular champagne yeast, doubtful.
The process to make barely wine or imperial stout kicks those beverages up to around 12% - 14%, by fermenting with ale yeast and finishing with champagne yeast. Some companies are selling 15%, 18%, 22%, 26%, and a whopping 39% alcohol by volume Imperial Stout..., but they age the stout in hard liquor casks to get a some extra alcohol, and 18-39 percent is obtained by the Eisbock process, where they apply freezing temps to the beverage, and then remove the ice to further concentrate the alcohol. This is the same process used to make true Applejack.
LD
Post by: Woodrock on June 05, 2013, 01:52:27 AM
Now, what is the difference between Applejack, and Hard Cider? My maternal grandfather made what he called Hard Cider by freezing cider, and throwing out everything that stayed in a sieve. This was a common practice on Nantucket whilst growing up, unfortunately I never got old enough to sample any before my grandfather passed.
Woody
Post by: Loyalist Dave on June 05, 2013, 09:35:52 AM
On the other hand, yeast is odd stuff, and in New Zealand maybe there is a local strain of champagne yeast that was available to the home vintner, that would go that high?? You never know.
Your grandfather was making classic Applejack, which is sometimes called cider Oil. Hard cider is simply fermented cider. You can boost it by taking a gallon, and boiling it down to a quart, and adding that to another gallon to jump up the sugar, or you can simply add more sugar. If you use a wine yeast, you will get maximum alcohol that the yeast will allow, about 8% - 10%, but you may not use up all the sugar.
Now when you freeze it and remove the water, you are freeze distilling. This is legal in many places where traditional boil distilling is not. However, you will concentrate trace chemicals by doing so, and thus the condition known as cider palsy sometimes happens (on a temporary basis). When these commercial brewing companies do the Eisbock method for their Imperial Stout, they are doing the same thing, but when they start pushing beyond 15% alcohol-by-volume..., the Eisbock process is supposed to filter out some of the nasty chemicals like the methenol. I mean one version is 26% and one is 39%, which are 52 proof and 78 proof..., which would really screw up the drinker if one didn't extract the non-potable chemicals.
Now if the FIL was a chemist, he might very well have been doing some freeze distilling, and perhaps never mentioned it as he may not have known if it was legal or not? All you need is a freezer set at 0° F and give it 24 hours, then scoop out the ice crystals, and then bottle. The trace impurities will add to the "knock you on your butt" effect.
LD
Post by: Geezer in NH on August 03, 2014, 07:25:29 PM