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Extra mead of course! That’s why the batch is bigger than I need.

I connect the spigot to a tube and run the tube into the new vessel. Turn it on a come back later!

1. It sits without agitation. 2. Serving from the barrel only works for a crowd. Airspace is bad for barrels. I typically rack to a carboy for clearing, then bottle. 3. My barrels are in a garage so the temperatures range from 30-98 F. I follow the same idea as whiskey aging. Low temps pull...

It affects the speed of which the flavor is drawn out, but you can get equal flavor with more time.

I age it until it’s done! It really depends on the mead. It can range from 1 month to 6 months. Barrel can be used for up to 75 years providing they do not sour. Over time, they become more neutral and impart less flavor.

Barrel.

It has begun. Everything went as I described it. Now we wait for the 2 week time point.

In the process of isolating yeast from honey, I’ve learned there are very few wild microbes in honey unless it was harvested too early. I seriously doubt that is the problem. It is far more likely that a major supplier has a diluted honey. Next time, try here...

My first meadowfoam wasn’t that good. Process was fine but it just didn’t have the flavor everyone raves about. So I switched suppliers. Round 2 from an Oregon supplier (where meadowfoam is grown) was a whole different thing. The quality of honey was so much better. I imagine you got a batch...

My experience with oak spirals is that they are much like chips. Not quite as bad, but still too fast and too thin to provide adequate depth of flavor. I really wish I could send you all some Barrel aged mead so that you could appreciate how different the profile is. Indescribably better.

I’ve used chips enough to know this from experience. I’m not alone in this either. Most of the mead judges agree as well. I’ve done the experiment. Try it for yourself and see. Personally, I’ve used acacia and cherry wood. They both impart very different flavors. They can both be very good in...

Nothing has touched oak yet. Fermentation is finished and I am cold crashing most of the yeast. Once enough clarity is achieved, I’ll rack to oak.

This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to this mead. This recipe is not quite as sweet as the original, but is plenty sweet. You could add more honey at the end. Vikings Blod Clone BOMM - 1 gallon 1. Make a concentrated tea by adding 1 liter of off boil water to 4.5 ounces of dried Jamaican...

What would really make this awesome is if you can harvest the CO2 to use for carbonation later. It would also make you a “green” Brewery because you don’t release CO2 into the environment. (Your consumer does. Thoughtless bastards.)

Results are in. King Tut’s mead is really tasty. Aroma: Sage and flowers (from the mandrake root and dates) Taste: Flowery upfront with a smooth finish. Despite being dry, there is a bit of sweetness balanced by the mandrake bitterness. Overall: I would use 2 oz of Barley for a more red...

I would love to do a triangle test, perhaps I’ll enlist my Homebrew club.

I wonder how much variation there is from one piece of wood to the next, regardless of what form or shape it takes. One would hope that the cube/stave/whatever manufacturers have somehow standardized it so that you get the same results each time. Out of curiosity: you mentioned on a different...

Since you are doing an experiment, I would leave the Hydrometer in the mead.

I love the flavors a barrel imparts on mead. If I could, almost every mead I make would be put in a barrel. Sadly, this is not possible due to cost (I would make space). As usual, I’ve decided to use science to find the closest mimic through side by side testing. Searching for viable...

In my experience, there are 2 things that “lose” the honey flavors. 1. High ester yeast: I always love when folks use KIV and say they can’t get the honey. That yeast throws crazy esters. If you like the esters, you will be happy. If not, you won’t be happy they covered up your honey flavor...