21 Year Mead (Metheglin)

My son was born in February and I did this for the occasion. Here's where it's at so far.

Marek Michael Mead

Ingredients
- 10 lbs Missouri Honey
- 1-1/4 lb Organic Barley Malt
- 2 tbs Dried Chamomile
- 1 tbs Ground Coriander Seed
- 1 tbs Ground Turmeric Root
- 1 tbs Ground Dandelion Root
- 1 g Saffron Threads
- 2 Packets Red Star Pasteur Champagne Yeast
- 1 Vile Yeast Nutrients

Instructions

Step 1 - The Boil - February 27, 2014

- Wash and sanitize everything
- Boil 2 gallons of water for 30 minutes then set aside
- Place all the herbs into a muslin bag and place in a pot with 1 gallon of water
- Boil for 30 minutes and remove from heat
- Warm honey and barley malt in sink of hot water
- Add honey and barley malt while stirring
- Let cool to 125*F and place in 5 gallon bucket
- Make yeast starter
- Add pre-boiled water until O.G. reads 1.118 (15.5%)
- Let cool to 90*F
- Pitch yeast, add nutrient, lid, & airlock

Step 2 - Primary Fermentation

- Add 1 tsp nutrient each day for first 4 days
- Keep in a cool dark place for 13 weeks
- Check weekly
- At 25 days Rack to clean bucket
- S.G. Is at 1.015 (2%)
- ABV is 13.5% so far

Step 3 - Long Term Secondary

- After 3 months rack to oak barrel
- Add 3 crushed campden tablets
- Check bi-weekly
- Let sit until Marek's birthday

Step 4 - Birthday Ritual

- Draw out a gravity reading and calculate & record alcohol content
- Pour 2 22 oz bottles
- Add 1 crushed campden tablet to one
- Cap both bottles
- Wax the cap of the one w/ the tablet and adhere label w/ date and ABV
- Set aside until the 21st birthday
- Put the other bottle in the refrigerator to enjoy later
- Add 2 lbs of honey, 1 packet of yeast, and 1 tsp nutrient to barrel
- Add 1 tsp nutrient each day for next 4 days
- Let sit until next birthday, check monthly, then repeat step 4




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If keep adding honey each year, your ABV is soon going to be beyond yeast tolerance. Then you will just be getting sweeter and sweeter mead. Or the honey will just sit on the bottom.

Overall it is a cool idea. (side note: my daughter was 7 when I bottled my first mead and she asked that I keep some bottles for her graduation) But I would not be adding more honey each year. Once you hit 15% or so alcohol do you really want any more?

I see your point. However my thought is that after removing 2 bottles worth and adding more honey and water, the alcohol content would lower from where it is at that time. It's at 13.5% now, so let's say it creeps up to 15% after sitting there all year. By replacing some fermented volume with some unfermented volume, it might bring the ABV down to 12%ish. (I don't know, this is just for sake of argument). I'm introducing new yeast essentially to ferment what I'm adding to it and get it back up to the 15% it was at before.

It is a work that will be in progress for a long time. My methods may change. I may change the formula. I could decide one year to add some fruit to it. Or I might get my hands on some new killer strain of yeast another year that takes it up a few notches. Every year's saved bottle will be different from the last, and that's sort of the point. As my son grows and matures, so shall this.


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Love this idea. I just might have to do this when I start a family.


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So there will be 21 bombers of ~15% ABV mead waiting for your son on his 21st? Are you sure he's gonna make it to his 22nd birthday, or even the day after his 21st?

When you add 2 lb. honey every year, you're adding it with enough water to top off the fermenter, I gather? You didn't say so in the original post; I think that's why rlmiller10 thought you were going to be sweetening the mead after a couple years rather than increasing its ABV. In effect, you're adding new must to replace the bottled mead, which drops the ABV below the yeast's tolerance level and subsequently encourages the new yeast to renew fermentation.

I think it's a really cool idea, my only suggestions are to push the birthday ritual to a couple days before his birthday and to up the annual bottling to three bombers - one for Marek's 21st, one for you on his 21st (these to be consumed over a reasonable period of time, of course ), and one for you to enjoy on each birthday (hence bottling a couple days early).

It is a cool idea but might the barrel start getting funky in time?