mead by Christmas

What's a good quality Mead that could be bottled and ready to drink by Thanksgiving or Christmas?

Jaom

It's not even the end of February yet, so most things if made now would be drinkable by Christmas. Most meads are good after 6 months, but better by a year. Just stay away from things like chocolate and banana and make sure you keep your temps in check and it should be fine.

Insomniac said:

It's not even the end of February yet, so most things if made now would be drinkable by Christmas. Most meads are good after 6 months, but better by a year. Just stay away from things like chocolate and banana and make sure you keep your temps in check and it should be fine.

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Thanks that's what i was thinking. Guess im going to make a 5 gallon batch. I have a feeling a lot of taste testing will go on

Do something fairly low OG...I wouldn't go much over 1.110. Consider a melomel, adding fruit (or even a can of fruit puree) to the brew after fermentation starts to cool down the first time. Use a yeast like Lalvin 71B that ferments and ages out quickly. Consider being prepared to stabilize and backsweeten...even a little residual sweetness can promote a much quicker drinkability. Definitely manage your fermentation well...pitch proper amounts of yeast (rehydrate if using dry, starter if using liquid yeast), do proper staggered nutrient additions, and keep your temps under control.