New Mead...I would like a recipe.

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MzAnnie

MzAnnie

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Honey Man is bringing 5 gallons of super dark, raw honey, over today. I have tried to make Mead three times...the first was so hot, it melted the balloon on top of the gallon carboy, and it was too late to save it. The second was OK and drinkable. The third, is still in the secondary, probably eating through the bucket as we speak. What I am looking for is the simplest, tried and true, mead recipe out there, to do a five gallon batch. I thought I saw one posted awhile back, but I can not find it. I do not want to use the one I used before, because it calls for boiling the honey. :( I would appreciate any tips, as I have too much jet fuel as it is!!! Thanks.
 
Well just asking for a recipe is a hard thing for one of us to just come up and say USE THIS! What are you looking for? What is your favorite commercial drinks or is there a favorite fruit of yours? Or would you like a traditional recipe with no other flavorings? Let us know what you like and I am sure someone has mead recipe to fit your needs.
 
1000's or recipes.. but as Arpolis said, depends on what you are looking for..

Sweet meads, dry, sparkling... fruty...a veriant of... ??

Im still newish to mead my self, but im going to try some different flavurs like maple, vanilla and peach, and ginger mead...

but i guess as a very basic mead would be:

make ya yeast starter (warm water, little honey and nutriant..)

boil up ya water and honey (i read its always wise to do this, but i see some who donts..?! pro's : advise?)
when cooled, add to carboy with oranges and 30-40 rasins (peel all the white pith off the oranges.. about 4-5)
and some form of yeast nutriant (i use malt extract, but some use STONG tea for tanin...)
add ya yeast starter
shake or airate.... airlock
done.... 25-40 days depending
rack after fermtation stops..

in the 2ndry...this is where you could add some additional flavurs (to make them stand out alittle more then if added to the primary)
eg, little more honey, oranges... a vanilla pod or 2.... some maple syrup...

VERY VERY ROUGH recipy, but looking all over my self, this seemed to be the most true and trusted way

keep in mind, mead being the oldest drink probly ever made, its hard to mess up....
i know some one who made it with just honey, water and bread..!!..(dont ask how it went, never tried it!)

google, and youtube.. there is soooo much free info and guides to help us noobies to brewing,

1 tip.... invest a whole £1-2 ($) in a airlock! :)
 
Ozinkent is describing a JOAM style recipe. JOAM in itself can be very good.

The whole artical around JOAM can be found here: http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1938&Itemid=14

The besic recipe is:

1 gallon batch

3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet)
1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller, rind and all)
1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)
1 stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)
optional - a pinch of nutmeg and allspice (very small )
1 teaspoon of Fleishmann’s bread yeast ( now don't get holy on me--- after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)
Balance water to one gallon

For a 5 gallon recipe just multiply everything by 5.

Ozinkent's recipe suggestions are a little more basic. Without a few concepts down this will turn out more like jet fuel and will take a long time to age out befor becoming real good.

First of all always add in your honey cold. Spoon it out if you have to. Then just take some warmed water "About as hot as hot tap water" and add that to the remaining honey stuck on the insides of the container to disolve and add to your fermenting bucket/carboy.

Water can be important. If not using good spring water at least make sure your tap water is ran through a good water filter. Hard water can make some off flavors that don't turn out well.

Here would be a break down of what I would think Ozinkent recipe instructions would look like in more detail. Ozinkent please correct anything if you think it looks wrong:

5 Gallon Batch

1 gallon (12lb) Honey
5 oranges peeled, Frozen, Thawed and added to carboy
100 Raisins or golden raisins torn in half
1lb of Briess Golden Light Dry Malt Extract

Yeast starter
2 cups water
2 tbs of honey
1tsp of DME
Spinkle yeast on top (I would suggest Lalvin K1v-1116 for a recipe like this)

Wait at least two hours befor pitching the yeast starter.

Once the fermentation is done and the yeast is settled mostly (About 3 weeks) Siphon off the clearer liquid into a new container leaving the fruit and most of the yeast behind.

once every 30 days siphon off any dropped lees (Yeast) into a new container.

Once no more yeast drops out add in the following to stabalize the mead so no further fermentation can happen.

5 camden tablets
2 1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate

after a couple hours add in 2lb of honey. This will make the mead murky again but should clear within a week or two. If you want a bolder flavor then you can add in fruits/spices or what ever you prefer from there. Let this sit until the mead is at least 6 months old and then feel free to bottle from there.It will be good at 6 months but much beter after a year.

That recipe will make for a semi sweet mead & is pretty basic for a "Melomel" type mead but should turn out well.
 
Arpolis said:
Ozinkent is describing a JOAM style recipe. JOAM in itself can be very good.

The whole artical around JOAM can be found here: http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1938&Itemid=14

The besic recipe is:

1 gallon batch

3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet)
1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller, rind and all)
1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)
1 stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)
optional - a pinch of nutmeg and allspice (very small )
1 teaspoon of Fleishmann’s bread yeast ( now don't get holy on me--- after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)
Balance water to one gallon

For a 5 gallon recipe just multiply everything by 5.

Ozinkent's recipe suggestions are a little more basic. Without a few concepts down this will turn out more like jet fuel and will take a long time to age out befor becoming real good.

First of all always add in your honey cold. Spoon it out if you have to. Then just take some warmed water "About as hot as hot tap water" and add that to the remaining honey stuck on the insides of the container to disolve and add to your fermenting bucket/carboy.

Water can be important. If not using good spring water at least make sure your tap water is ran through a good water filter. Hard water can make some off flavors that don't turn out well.

Here would be a break down of what I would think Ozinkent recipe instructions would look like in more detail. Ozinkent please correct anything if you think it looks wrong:

5 Gallon Batch

1 gallon (12lb) Honey
5 oranges peeled, Frozen, Thawed and added to carboy
100 Raisins or golden raisins torn in half
1lb of Briess Golden Light Dry Malt Extract

Yeast starter
2 cups water
2 tbs of honey
1tsp of DME
Spinkle yeast on top (I would suggest Lalvin K1v-1116 for a recipe like this)

Wait at least two hours befor pitching the yeast starter.

Once the fermentation is done and the yeast is settled mostly (About 3 weeks) Siphon off the clearer liquid into a new container leaving the fruit and most of the yeast behind.

once every 30 days siphon off any dropped lees (Yeast) into a new container.

Once no more yeast drops out add in the following to stabalize the mead so no further fermentation can happen.

5 camden tablets
2 1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate

after a couple hours add in 2lb of honey. This will make the mead murky again but should clear within a week or two. If you want a bolder flavor then you can add in fruits/spices or what ever you prefer from there. Let this sit until the mead is at least 6 months old and then feel free to bottle from there.It will be good at 6 months but much beter after a year.

That recipe will make for a semi sweet mead & is pretty basic for a "Melomel" type mead but should turn out well.[/quo
Thanks you two, this is exactly what I was looking for. You know how you have the perfect biscuit recipe, then you can go from there, that is what I wanted. I do not like mead (gasp), but the husband loves it, he is just not too fond of rocket fuel! :)
Click to expand...
 
Rocket fuel becomes nectar with age.

Lots of meads are hideous tasting when young. "Alcohol hot" is just one of the hideous tastes that isn't good in young meads.....
 
fatbloke said:
Rocket fuel becomes nectar with age.

Lots of meads are hideous tasting when young. "Alcohol hot" is just one of the hideous tastes that isn't good in young meads.....
Click to expand...

Before I found this site, I used the easiest mead recipe, online. It called for boiling the honey and only letting it sit in the secondary for 3 weeks. This is a direct quote from the recipe, "Mead should be drank young. It is not fine wine, and should not be aged as such." :p So imagine my surprise, when I stumbled upon this site, and lo and behold...a complete 360. That is why I wanted a really simple, basic starter, so I can screw up from there :). I almost pitched my last bucket of mead, if it were not for this site...so...I am hoping, all of you are right, and I will have nectar in the secondary that has been quarantined to the back of the bucket pile!!! Thanks so much!!!
 
All meads benefit from ageing. It's one of the bigger reasons that its not so easy to commercialise it.

Even the easiest of recipes i.e. JAO, benefits from at least 6 months ageing. Others can take a number of years.

Obviously the author of the quote didn't clarify the difference between "fine" wine ageing and normal wine ageing.....
 
Cool Blog, thank you!!! And thank you all for the recipe, thoughts, and tips. I'll be making a bucket this weekend, and I WILL use bread yeast!!! :p My husband really thanks you, because I would never even try to make any more mead, if it were not for him, because I really can not stand the taste of honey and the thought of drinking mead makes my face crinkle up!!! Thanks again!!!
 
If you have to use bread yeast here is a little advice. Patience!!!!!! Bread yeast does not "flocculate" well. Basically the yeast floats around and is hard to settle to the bottom. When I did my JOAM with bread yeast 3 months had past and my bottles still had some yeast in them. You may need to siphon off what collects at the bottom a couple times and the whole process to get it brainily clear with little to no yeast settling in bottles may take more than 3 months.
 
ozinkent said:
1000's or recipes.. but as Arpolis said, depends on what you are looking for..

Sweet meads, dry, sparkling... fruty...a veriant of... ??

Im still newish to mead my self, but im going to try some different flavurs like maple, vanilla and peach, and ginger mead...

but i guess as a very basic mead would be:

make ya yeast starter (warm water, little honey and nutriant..)

boil up ya water and honey (i read its always wise to do this, but i see some who donts..?! pro's : advise?)
when cooled, add to carboy with oranges and 30-40 rasins (peel all the white pith off the oranges.. about 4-5)
and some form of yeast nutriant (i use malt extract, but some use STONG tea for tanin...)
add ya yeast starter
shake or airate.... airlock
done.... 25-40 days depending
rack after fermtation stops..

in the 2ndry...this is where you could add some additional flavurs (to make them stand out alittle more then if added to the primary)
eg, little more honey, oranges... a vanilla pod or 2.... some maple syrup...

VERY VERY ROUGH recipy, but looking all over my self, this seemed to be the most true and trusted way

keep in mind, mead being the oldest drink probly ever made, its hard to mess up....
i know some one who made it with just honey, water and bread..!!..(dont ask how it went, never tried it!)

google, and youtube.. there is soooo much free info and guides to help us noobies to brewing,

1 tip.... invest a whole £1-2 ($) in a airlock! :)
Click to expand...

I highly recommend not boiling your honey. Mainly because you risk losing many of your delicate aromatics. At the most try gentle heating (120 ish F) to warm it up so it is easier to work with.
 
I don't like JAOM.
But a mead recipe doesn't need to be complicated!!!

Somewhere around 3lbs honey/gallon. A little acid. Some kind of nutrient to keep the yeast happy. Yeast and water.

Here's a super easy recipe for a 5 gallon batch:
15 lbs of honey
juice of 5 lemons
1 lb of raisins (chopped)
water to 5 gallons
yeast (anything from wine to champaigne to ale) - I took first place using a saison yeast, and think a hefe strain would be nice.

Remember that it's hard to make bad mead. I've seen mead that tasted like vomit mixed with gasoline turn into golden nectar after two years in the bottle.
 
Halbrust said:
I don't like JAOM.
...
Remember that it's hard to make bad mead. I've seen mead that tasted like vomit mixed with gasoline turn into golden nectar after two years in the bottle.
Click to expand...

This needs to be a banner at the top of the mead forum :rockin:
 
Halbrust said:
I don't like JAOM.
But a mead recipe doesn't need to be complicated!!!

Somewhere around 3lbs honey/gallon. A little acid. Some kind of nutrient to keep the yeast happy. Yeast and water.

Here's a super easy recipe for a 5 gallon batch:
15 lbs of honey
juice of 5 lemons
1 lb of raisins (chopped)
water to 5 gallons
yeast (anything from wine to champaigne to ale) - I took first place using a saison yeast, and think a hefe strain would be nice.

Remember that it's hard to make bad mead. I've seen mead that tasted like vomit mixed with gasoline turn into golden nectar after two years in the bottle.
Click to expand...

:) I have some of that....Thanks for the encouragement!!!
 
all looks good, and Gd luk with it! :)

MzAnnie : evething looks fine..... :) although im no pro.. i cant see anything wrong....
But i have resently read that you shouldnt add nutrient to the yeast starter... just clean warm water...personly never done that as i have always wanted to get the yeast alive and kick b4hand... but as suggested (forgive me, i have forgotten where i found that) just 20 min warm water.. and add the nutrient to the must.
dont know wot this does, but iether way i guess ya cant go wrong! :)
 
I was going to start this, but I was reading another post and was very intrigued by the dried elderberries. I did not know that they could be bought like that, and I wasted mine on some crap watermelon wine. So I think I am going to purchase the elderberries and see what is what. Like I said before, I find honey absolutley disgusting, I keep trying it, and I keep hating it, so I am NOT looking forward to making this mead, AT ALL. But the husband is grateful for your replies. He keeps bugging me, and I keep telling him I need more info! :D
 
MzAnnie said:
Like I said before, I find honey absolutley disgusting, I keep trying it, and I keep hating it, so I am NOT looking forward to making this mead, AT ALL.
Click to expand...

them's fightin' words!
 
Mead tasted like honey the same way wine tastes like grapes.

It can, and sometimes does, but most the time does not.
 
Halbrust said:
Mead tasted like honey the same way wine tastes like grapes.

It can, and sometimes does, but most the time does not.
Click to expand...

Take that MzAnnie!
 
MzAnnie said:
Like I said before, I find honey absolutley disgusting, I keep trying it, and I keep hating it, so I am NOT looking forward to making this mead, AT ALL. But the husband is grateful for your replies. He keeps bugging me, and I keep telling him I need more info! :D
Click to expand...

I have a mead going right now that does not taste like honey at all but more like a full bodied red wine plus a little something. It is just a dry mead that I added cherries to and a touch of cinnamon. Still too young to really drink but tasting good and and improving.
 
Great Morning, All...you have been so very helpful with all your mead insights and encouragements. I do mean "ALL" of you ;) The husband has decided he wants the Carmel Apple Mead. I have purchased the ingredients, and he is so excited. When it turns out, I am hoping to score some more honey from the 'HoneyMan' using the mead as an effective bargaining tool. Thank you so much... Annie the "Honey Hater"!!!
:D
 
MzAnnie said:
Great Morning, All...you have been so very helpful with all your mead insights and encouragements. I do mean "ALL" of you ;) The husband has decided he wants the Carmel Apple Mead. I have purchased the ingredients, and he is so excited. When it turns out, I am hoping to score some more honey from the 'HoneyMan' using the mead as an effective bargaining tool. Thank you so much... Annie the "Honey Hater"!!!
:D
Click to expand...

Annie,

You really should find out if you have a meadery in your area. Most have tasting rooms and bottles can be purchased to take home. I suspect you would be very surprised at the different flavors you may end up loving. I would not encourage you to try the commercial Chaurcer mead. It has not received good reviews by mead makers/lovers.

But, keep visting HBT to ask questions and share your Mead experience.
 
opus345 said:
Annie,

You really should find out if you have a meadery in your area. Most have tasting rooms and bottles can be purchased to take home. I suspect you would be very surprised at the different flavors you may end up loving. I would not encourage you to try the commercial Chaurcer mead. It has not received good reviews by mead makers/lovers.

But, keep visting HBT to ask questions and share your Mead experience.
Click to expand...

:D I live in Columbia, MS...the closest brewing store is in Hattiesburg, so I end up ordering online and getting most of my information here too. I have tried all three meads that I have made, including the one that is currently rocket fuel. Even though I have an adversity to honey, the mead was tolerable. I will try the Carmel Apple one, also, when it is done, but I much prefer my 'young Swamp Swill' wine, to mead. Husband prefers the later, as he has 'honey' in his veins. We probably go through, just household use, 20 gallons a year, that is cooking, coffee, and herbal remedies. I will keep trying mead, but I don't know how long it will take to get the crinkle off my face, when the word honey is mentioned!
 
seth8530 said:
I highly recommend not boiling your honey. Mainly because you risk losing many of your delicate aromatics. At the most try gentle heating (120 ish F) to warm it up so it is easier to work with.
Click to expand...

IME/IMO, keeping it under 100-110F is far better. It's perfectly fine to have chunks in your must. Especially if the honey you're using has gone to crystal. You can use a warm water bath to get the honey more fluid, while in bucket. I actually have a bucket of honey that I need to do that with, before mixing up another batch.

Keep an eye on the temperature your mead is fermenting at too. You want to keep it within the range of the yeast. IME, try to keep it in the lower end of the range. It will take longer to ferment, but I like what goes to glass better that way. Depending on where you are that could mean either a swamp cooler, fermentation chamber, or fitting the fermenter with a heat source. With cooler weather coming along, I have a heating pad on the side of my mead fermenting keg. I'm looking to keep it in the mid 70's since the yeast has a fermentation temperature range of 68-86F. It gets real sluggish below about 65F.

I would also advise looking at the forums on the Got Mead? site for information/advice on making mead.
 
Golddiggie said:
IME/IMO, keeping it under 100-110F is far better. It's perfectly fine to have chunks in your must. Especially if the honey you're using has gone to crystal. You can use a warm water bath to get the honey more fluid, while in bucket. I actually have a bucket of honey that I need to do that with, before mixing up another batch.

Keep an eye on the temperature your mead is fermenting at too. You want to keep it within the range of the yeast. IME, try to keep it in the lower end of the range. It will take longer to ferment, but I like what goes to glass better that way. Depending on where you are that could mean either a swamp cooler, fermentation chamber, or fitting the fermenter with a heat source. With cooler weather coming along, I have a heating pad on the side of my mead fermenting keg. I'm looking to keep it in the mid 70's since the yeast has a fermentation temperature range of 68-86F. It gets real sluggish below about 65F.



I would also advise looking at the forums on the Got Mead? site for information/advice on making mead.
Click to expand...


Thank you...it is starting to cool down here in South Mississippi, and soon we will be building a wine room, on the North side of the house. I am hoping I can finagle a way to keep it at a constant 70-75 degrees, by insulating the crap out of it. I was really dreading making the Carmel Apple Mead for the husband, but I am kind of looking forward to it now! ;)
 
MzAnnie said:
Thank you...it is starting to cool down here in South Mississippi, and soon we will be building a wine room, on the North side of the house. I am hoping I can finagle a way to keep it at a constant 70-75 degrees, by insulating the crap out of it. I was really dreading making the Carmel Apple Mead for the husband, but I am kind of looking forward to it now! ;)
Click to expand...

Depending on the room size, you might want to get a small AC unit for that room. A window unit, or build a wall box to hold it, would probably be best. Get one with an actual thermostat in it (very common these days) and remote control. :D I would also get one of the weather stations that has at least one (or two) remote probes with it (Oregon Scientific makes a few models to pick from) and keep the receiver where you can see it. I have a couple of those in my setup right now. One sensor is outside, the other two are in different parts of the basement. Lets me see what the unfinished, and finished, room temperatures are without leaving the office/den. :D
 
golddiggie said:
ime/imo, keeping it under 100-110f is far better. It's perfectly fine to have chunks in your must. Especially if the honey you're using has gone to crystal. You can use a warm water bath to get the honey more fluid, while in bucket. I actually have a bucket of honey that i need to do that with, before mixing up another batch.

Keep an eye on the temperature your mead is fermenting at too. You want to keep it within the range of the yeast. Ime, try to keep it in the lower end of the range. It will take longer to ferment, but i like what goes to glass better that way. Depending on where you are that could mean either a swamp cooler, fermentation chamber, or fitting the fermenter with a heat source. With cooler weather coming along, i have a heating pad on the side of my mead fermenting keg. I'm looking to keep it in the mid 70's since the yeast has a fermentation temperature range of 68-86f. It gets real sluggish below about 65f.

I would also advise looking at the forums on the got mead? Site for information/advice on making mead.
Click to expand...

+1
 
To EVERYONE who gave me the great advice in my mead search, thank you so much. I have started 5 gallons of the Carmel Apple Mead, posted in this forum. Now, being known as the "Honey Hater", I would just like to let you all know, I actually DID taste the starter, when it was put together in the primary. I have to say, much to my chagrin, it tasted quite nice. I REALLY LOVE the Crystal 60L grains. I ate quite a few of those and put them in the freezer to use in bread. WHAT are those things anyway, barley and wheat? AnyWho, after much thought, and swallowing my pride, I would like to tell you that I was Wa-Rong, and I might like 'honey' in it's alcohol state, after all. Thanks again for all your help!
 
I'm working on getting the honey that's in the 5 gallon bucket (about 46# in there still) more fluid so that I can make more mead. I have two more 1/6 bbl sanke kegs that I'll be converting into fermenters soon (waiting for fittings to arrive). I also need to at least pull a sample of my maple mead to see how it is. Been almost a full year since it was made. If the flavor is where I want it, it goes to bottles. If not, I'll add some more maple syrup and give it a week (or so) and sample again. Should be at 14%, and not dry. :rockin:
 
Golddiggie said:
I'm working on getting the honey that's in the 5 gallon bucket (about 46# in there still) more fluid so that I can make more mead. I have two more 1/6 bbl sanke kegs that I'll be converting into fermenters soon (waiting for fittings to arrive). I also need to at least pull a sample of my maple mead to see how it is. Been almost a full year since it was made. If the flavor is where I want it, it goes to bottles. If not, I'll add some more maple syrup and give it a week (or so) and sample again. Should be at 14%, and not dry. :rockin:
Click to expand...

The only thing I did different in this recipe, is not use the same types of honey. The Honey Man brought over the dark stuff that no one will buy, so I used that exclusively. The type of honey we get is a crap shoot, what ever the bees are eatin & spittin, is what goes in the 5 gallon bucket, we purchase 4 times a year. I doubt if husband will let this age out once it is done. I have never tried making anything with maple syrup before. We moved to the south (from Michigan) before I became interested in wine and mead making. The only maple syrup down here, is the sugar water with chemically added maple flavoring:confused:. However, I just learned about cane syrup and might be able to do some bartering to see how that works out.
 
You can get it from Amazon... That's the stuff I ordered, and have some left over of (used enough to make the maple mead, and have 10 containers left, I think)... It's the only maple syrup I'll use now.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
MzAnnie said:
The Honey Man brought over the dark stuff that no one will buy, so I used that exclusively. The type of honey we get is a crap shoot, what ever the bees are eatin & spittin, is what goes in the 5 gallon bucket, we purchase 4 times a year.
Click to expand...

Dark honey is a "boom or bust" case in my opinion. Good tasting dark honey is the warmest, richest, comforting flavor imaginable. Bad tasting dark honey tastes like poop. That's poop as in feces, not slang for bad. I sure hope you got the good stuff!
 
Halbrust said:
Dark honey is a "boom or bust" case in my opinion. Good tasting dark honey is the warmest, richest, comforting flavor imaginable. Bad tasting dark honey tastes like poop. That's poop as in feces, not slang for bad. I sure hope you got the good stuff!
Click to expand...

I typically go for late harvest wildflower honey. GREAT stuff there. :D I also only get local/regional honey. No shipping costs really helps. Plus, I'm doing my part to support a local/regional apiary. :D
 
MzAnnie said:
AnyWho, after much thought, and swallowing my pride, I would like to tell you that I was Wa-Rong.....
Click to expand...

Fonzie.png

Wa Wa Wa Wa.................. Not exactly correct!

Lol MzAnnie, stick around the guys and gals on this site long enough and anyone can be converted.
 
Halbrust said:
Dark honey is a "boom or bust" case in my opinion. Good tasting dark honey is the warmest, richest, comforting flavor imaginable. Bad tasting dark honey tastes like poop. That's poop as in feces, not slang for bad. I sure hope you got the good stuff!
Click to expand...

I can not tell you the difference between any honey. It all smells like wet dog to me. The husband grabbed a big ole spoonful as soon as it was delivered, and gave me the thumbs up. The Honey Man just can't sell much of it because of people's preconcieved notion of what honey should look like. He, too, likes mead, so between the two of them, they make sure I get premium quality!!! I was wondering, however, being the second cheapest woman on the planet, if I could substitute pure mexican vanilla, for the vanilla beans in the recipe? Thanks again, even though I am set in my old timey ways, I always find new and interesting threads in this forum.:D I actually bought an auto siphon, and almost bought airlocks, but then remembered I still have half a bag of balloons, so maybe, just maybe when they are gone, I might rethink using airlocks!
 
I only use premium Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans. Completely different than the cheap Mexican beans. Look at Amazon for really great prices on the vanilla beans. You can usually get about a quarter pound of great beans for what you pay for one at the grocery store.
 
I use the big bottle of Mexican vanilla whenever I need vanilla.

2 things to remember:
It may be hard to get the quantity correct if the recipe is calling for actual pods.
The "pure vanilla" is usually 80 - 100 proof
 

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