What are your mead plans for 2013?

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Bluespark

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I'm new at brewing and pretty enthusiastic :) I have several projects going and have been planning more. I get very busy around April-November, so I have to keep my project amounts reasonable. So far I have :

-Wild mint methaglyn(picked down by the river)
-Strawberry rhubarb melomel( from my own organic garden)
-okanagan peach and or apricot melomel(farmers market)
- traditional, with local fireweed honey.
-pumpkin pie( with my own heirloom pumpkin)

Also maybe a Saskatoon melomel, depending on this years crop.

So, what are you planning?
 
I started my partial Bochet braggot already the first of this year. I have a couple of rice wines I want to try. And when I sample some of my projects from last year I will either duplicate or improve upon them.
 
Same as before...........make it up as I go along.

I don't really plan anything like that, I'm an opportunist when it comes to ingredients.

If I see something that catches my eye, then I'll have a think........
 
Starting my first batch of the year this weekend. A traditional with orange blossom honey. After that, whatever ends up sounding good.
 
Concord Pyment--started
Caramel Apple Mead--starting 1/12
Spiced Cuties Mead
Annual Raspberry Melomel
Annual JMAO--starting 1/12
Strawberry Melomel
Staghorn Sumac Mead
Pawpaw Mead
Mango Peach Mead
Lychee Mead
Lingonberry Mead

...who knows what else.
 
I have traditional going now with a little lemon in it, plan on trying to get my buddies in a big batch like 20 gallons or so, but don't know what kind yet. Definitely more cysers, and I have to do an experiment 1 gal with something wierd, or maybe just hops
 
I have two gallons of JAOM that I started on new years day, they are my first meads, so I went with something simple. I'm hoping to find something within my skill level that uses peaches, and another that uses cranberries. Aside from that, I hoping to get a batch of cider going soon.
 
I am starting a ginger mead tonight, and I'd like to get another cider going. Other then that, I'll do as fatbloke does and figure it out as I go along. It is more fun this way!

I'm hoping to find something within my skill level that uses peaches, and another that uses cranberries. Aside from that, I hoping to get a batch of cider going soon.

littletommy,

Forget skill level, just find a recipe and go for it! There is no skill levels you should worry about. Have confidence and learn as you go. You'll be brewing up a storm before you know it!
 
- Capsicumel of some sort
- cherry cinnamon melomel
- lots of traditional
- spiced cyser
- chai spiced mead
- Blueberry melomel
- perhaps a couple of traditionals with really distinct honey varieties
- trying to work out a ginger-sweet potato recipe as well.

So much to try, never enough honey...
 
Never brewed anything but after reading these boards I wanted to try it out. Wanted to start Jan 1st but we are moving to Portland in March and the wife asked me to hold off till we get there. So, I'll start in march and hopefully have JOAM and cider to serve up for Labor Day.
 
I started a Blueberry Melomel on the 2nd. I've promised a friend that I'd make a Metheglin so I'll probably use the 3 gallons of traditional I started several months ago and split it into two test gallons and a top off gallon. I'm going to try another Bochet, I think I burned the honey too much on my first batch so I'll try a lighter toasting in a few months.

Other than that I think I'll just wing it. I've got a lot of fruit bearing plants and trees which I've been tending so my options are only limited by the growing season. I pray we don't have another false spring like last year.
 
Birch Mead
Apple Blossom Mead (Floremel?)
Hazelnut Mead
Banana Wine/Melomel (if I can, indeed, get a 40lb crate of bananas for cheap)
Cider and/or low ABV Cysers

Probably others as well, but those are the ones at the head of my list...

Slainte! :mug:
 
I think I'll just make a traditional sweet or semi-sweet, and if I end up with a place to put all THAT mead instead of letting it sit in the carboy for a year, I'll make something else later on around summertime. I actually have an 18-month old metheglin already occupying the carboy that I intend to use, so you can see I'm really prompt about these things.
 
I started a cranberry mead a week ago for Christmas which is coming along nicely, trying out this stepped nutrition out on it and its fermenting fast.
Next i'm going to do a whiskey inspired peat bog mead. From doing allot of hill walking in the Scottish highlands I know how tasty burn water can be running threw peat so next time i'm out i'm taking a big water container and looking for a nice peaty burn.
Whether or not I can afford more heather honey our I can be bothered with heather honey with it I'll see.
 
Drink all the mead I made in 2012 that has come of age, then lament the fact I won't have mead again until around 2015.
 
Start meading! Since the new year I've got four gallon test batches going to find what I like and one full barkshack batch already in secondary.
 
I forgot to add what I've started already this year! Started a Concord Pyment(one gallon test) and 5 gallons of raspberry melomel.
 
Last year I got into making mead late. I made 7 different 3 or
5 gal batches. This year I am planing to make quite a few different meads this year although most will be only one gallon experimental meads.
The experimentals:
Pistachio
Creme Burlee
Coffee/vanilla
Macadamia nut
mint/lime
"red hots" candy flavored
chai hard cider
should any of the above work out well in the next couple of years I'll move up to 5 gal.
5 gal. batches of melomel will be based on whatever fruit I can pick up in season for a good price/or find in the wild.(mostly based on berries because I like them so much)
and of course a few batches of dry and semi-sweet mead.
I have got to make friends with a bee keeper!
 
I don't really have anything planed per say. Depends on if the bee's decide to make honey or not, or if I feel like paying money for honey.

But I've been considering:

-Blackberry Melomel
-Lemonade Mead


And I still have two going right now. One a traditional, that has been going for 3 months (not so much going anymore just not going to bottle it for a while). And a peach mead that just got racked the other day. Might be nice to do some 5 gallon batches, maybe try a beer, and cider or cyser. We shall see.
 
I'm thinking to try a pyment. I also have some cherrywood smoked grain leftover from a beer experiment. I might try to use that in a braggot. Beyond that, maybe some traditionals with different honeys. So many available on the internets...

Gonna be a rough year for my liver!
 
Acerglyn- smoked bacon
Melomel- smoked cherry
And I wanted to start experimenting with a ginger tea mead.
 
ocaiwa said:
Acerglyn- smoked bacon.

Please tell me how you are going to make a bacon flavored mead. This I gotta see.

Bacon :drool
 
nitack said:
Please tell me how you are going to make a bacon flavored mead. This I gotta see.

Bacon :drool

Well. I was at my friends taco party and he had bacon flavored caramel for churros. And it got my brain to chugging along the prospects of bacon mead or bacon acerglyn. So after 30s of finding out how he made his caramel taste so bacony. I was already making plans.
Since I'm not making caramel I cant just use the drippings. So what I'm planning,

boil water with bacon in it. (I'm not sure of ratios yet. This was going to be part of the experiments) it could be as simple as 1Lb-1gallon. But to concentrate the bacon flavor the water will need to be reduced. I'm thinking by about 1/2 so ill end up needing to make enough bacon to water to allow the 1/2 reduction to be plenty of water for the batch I'm making.
I'm not sure if this helped. It's all still in the experimental stage. And at the end it might just stay mental... But I'm going to try any way. :)
 
Right now, I'm in the process of making:

Spiced Orange Mead
Lemonade Mead

I figure I'll start the year off simple, then get the ball rolling! :D
 
-5 gallons of Caramel Apple Cyser, which I started two days ago. :D Hoping it'll be ready for Christmas

-5 gallons Multi-berry melomel made from home grown Black Raspberries, Raspberries, and whatever else comes in this year. I also have a barrel I used to age a batch of rum, which I might use to age this stuff for a year or so.

Perhaps some sort of green or white tea, tupelo honey, mint combination. Depends on if my tea plant is ready or not.
 
ocaiwa said:
Well. I was at my friends taco party and he had bacon flavored caramel for churros. And it got my brain to chugging along the prospects of bacon mead or bacon acerglyn. So after 30s of finding out how he made his caramel taste so bacony. I was already making plans.
Since I'm not making caramel I cant just use the drippings. So what I'm planning,

boil water with bacon in it. (I'm not sure of ratios yet. This was going to be part of the experiments) it could be as simple as 1Lb-1gallon. But to concentrate the bacon flavor the water will need to be reduced. I'm thinking by about 1/2 so ill end up needing to make enough bacon to water to allow the 1/2 reduction to be plenty of water for the batch I'm making.
I'm not sure if this helped. It's all still in the experimental stage. And at the end it might just stay mental... But I'm going to try any way. :)

Sounds like it might work. You'll need a way to skim the fat and out off the liquid though. That will not be good in the mead, and I've no idea how the alcohol and oil will interact. Just some thoughts... Now I'm going to do research on how to make a bacon essence/extract.
 
I bet if you browned some high quality bacon, then boiled in water for a few minutes, then transfer to the fridge for 24 hours you could then skim all the fat off the top and just use the flavourful liquid.

I don't even see the need to reduce, as water is needed in your mead anyways
 
graff, strawberry graff, cyser, cherry cyser, traditional mead, oaked traditional, hopped traditional, traditional with rose hips, blueberry mead, concord pyment...all going right now....my goal this year is not to have any empty glassware.
 
My mead plan this year, brew more of it. I made two batches a couple of years back, but recently picked up a couple of small kegs I'm going to dedicate to meads, which the wife prefers over beer. With those batches I did one straight dry and one semi-sweet and split each batch and made a couple of metheglins. I picked up some raspberries last weekend and my first melomel is into it's fourth day of fermentation.
 
I don't need to reduce. But if I do I would only reduce to the amount of water I would need for the batch. So if I make a 1 gallon batch start off with 2 gallons of water. The reduction is to concentrate the flavors. So I don't need to but if I want it to be bacony and it to be strong then I feel the reduction is necessary. Again, not needed. But in the end I think it would give a better end result. But that's also why I'm testing it. To find what does work.

Also the cooling and skimming the fat is a good idea. I was already thinking of that. But it's nice that others had the same idea I did. :)
 
I have been wanting to do a Traditional Mead with Cotton Blossom honey from the local apple orchard. I might get around to it this year.
 
Orange Blossom honey traditional is started.

Soon to start my yeast variety test.

After that don't know, but may try another chocolate port mead. Last one was too heavy on the chocolate.
 
Got 5 gallons of good ol' honey, water, nutrient and yeast fermenting away as of yesterday. The only thing special about this batch is the Weihenstephan Weizen yeast. No krausen yet, but the brew is young...

Also: first post. Hello.
 
I'm pretty sre I'm going to do a persimmon melomel with local honey from the farmers market and perhaps a traditional or maybe some Vikings Blod.
 
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