Closet of Sir Kenelme Digbie...

[BluegrassyBrewer]

So while perusing the library here at school I happened upon this book in the shelves. Very interesting to say the least, a must read for everyone who makes mead. One especially caught my eye, An Excellent White Meathe. In this recipe, he states that after a week to seven days he bottled this mead.

"After it hath remained in the vessel a week or ten days, draw into bottles. You may begin to drink it after two or three Months: But it will be better after a year. It will be very spritely and quick and pleasant and pure white."

Has anyone ever tried this conoction?? It seems to me that spritely here might mean carbonated, as it has only been fermenting a week or so before being bottled. Another interesting note is that he uses a "hot toft of White-bread spread over on both sides, pretty thick with fresh barm(??)"
If any of you have ever tried this or heard of someone who has, it would be interesting to see. I wish to find out if it works before I make 5 gallons and have all my bottles explode. But if Sir Digbie says it does, I see no reason why we should not trust it. Any ideas/suggestions/thoughts?

 

[Liquisky]

How about listing the recipe?

 

[juvinious]

Would it happen to be this one?

 

[Freezeblade]

I'm under the impression that Barm is the term for krausen that has been scraped off an active ferment.

 

[BluegrassyBrewer]

Yes, juvinious, that's the one. It just seems odd to me that bottling would take place after only 10 days in the fermenter. The bread part I get, we just use yeast for it now. But wouldn't bottling that early cause the yeast to still be very much active in the mead risking explosion of the bottles?

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Wow, a blast from the past.
I made this around two decades ago, it is a very basic quick mead, and I got it off of the mead mail-list back when most people did not even know what email was. I did not use an egg to test the SG though. And I'm sorry to say, I don't have my brewing notes for that batch any more. -You know the old saying, there are two types of computer users, those who have lost data, and those who will.
I'm pretty sure I let it ferment a little longer, now days quality is more standard, and at the time I believe they racked into large vessels that they gently poured out into serving pitchers, or they tapped it like a keg and did not disturb the settled yeast and bread crumbs.