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Hey all, As a member of the beekeeping fraternity here in Auckland NZ, I'd like to introduce some of my fellow beekeeping members to another one of my absorbing hobbies: making mead! I think as far as recipes go, it looks like a BOMM would be the best for the total nu-bees of brewing that most...

Like they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!". Look on the bright side, a 23L glass carboy didn't blow up in your face, and you still have 4 gallons left. That's a cheaper lesson learned than some of those I have learned in the past :p

For many big pollination beekeepers, honey production is an annoying inconvenience, true. Your smaller hobbyists will generally be trying to squeeze enough honey out to make it worthwhile. You're spot on with the feeding of invert syrup, and this can be a problem because it is turned into...

Yea, sorry I'm not able to help with your original question. But for your next batch why not try cocoa nibs? I have not done it myself, but there are others who have.

I am a beekeeper in New Zealand. ***Generally*** the honey here is of very high quality (yes, dodgy imports from China and Iran have made it even to here, and local "pirates" being unscrupulous). A lot of negative propaganda is portrayed of American honey (I'm talking Walmart etc.). For one...

What if you brew the chocolate like you would in a cup? Boiling water would allow the cocoa powder to go into suspension much faster and easier. Let it cool, then give it a good stir, add to honey solution, mix, take sg, pitch yeast etc.

Yeah, good luck with "enhancing your mind" with booze. As for a smoothie...! Ginger, OJ, Wheatgrass etc. etc.

Become a beekeeper! You'll be helping the plight of bees, plus at around $300 (New Zealand Dollars, and trust me, we get ripped off compared to all you punters in the USA) for a hive, which might yield 50-100KG (100-200lbs PER YEAR). The first year will probably not pay off, especially when you...

I have only done a couple of batches, but I have put tea (I prefer Dilmah) in all of them. My justification is that the tea contains tannins which improve the complexity of the taste. I don't have too much knowledge of wine science, but after doing a very brief read up on tannins, I think I have...

I didn't have any vanilla extract on hand, plus only 1 pod (for a 1 gallon batch). I used Lalvin 1118 or 1119 - can't remember, I think 1119. I used Dilmah single origin Ceylon black tea. Racked after 2 weeks, bottled 2 weeks after that. Plus no fireweed honey (I spent time in AK in 2010, would...

Nice! looks similar to my setup. Just watch the orange peel. I did a spiced mead with similar spices (secondary now), but the orange peel is rather overpowering.

I'm not so sure of others on this site, but being a beginner myself, with only 1 batch completed (i.e. skulled), and 2 more in the spout, I would like to offer the advice of brewing a tea (regular black, or Earl Grey, I used Dilmah) and using this instead of plain water. I followed according to...

Thank you for posting this. I modded the recipe a little, but the results were simply impressive.

1 gal of my own vanilla-hinted OMM (turned out GREAT, clear and very smooth, no vanilla flavour though), 1 gal of spiced, and 5 gal of plain ol' my-own-bees'-bush honey, so total 753.5 gal

Check this out: http://www.instructables.com/id/Viking-beer-mug-no-power-tools-no-tools-at-all/ I know it's a bit of an old post, but some ideas, like mead, get better with age! I made one of these out of oak and it is a pure laugh to drink out of. Makes for a real talking point at...

All ways or always :P

I am brand new to this forum, but my first successful batch was derived from a vanilla mead (minus the vanilla!) on this site. The base had black tea (for tannin I suppose), and the result is very smooth and drinkable after only a couple of months. The next batch is the same, but with spiced...

I made a large reply, but being my first time, something went wrong and it's not showing up. In short, the bits may be beeswax bits (if you used raw unfiltered honey). If you used refined honey, you are on your own there, sorry.