19th Century Mead Making

[NZ3127]

I have a very old mead making recipe ... what would be the specific purpose or function of adding unmalted grains such as unflaked wheat and maize (without the use of malted grains) to mead? I know, traditional mead was not made this way, nor is Braggot, but grandma's recipe was. She was a 19th century farmer, with her own bee hives, she used to boil up the ingredients in an old copper and skim off the residue that floated to the surface. The wheat and maize (whole, not flaked) was added during the boiling process.

I think maybe it had something to do with a process known as "bottom fermentation", but I can't be sure of this, it helps to stabilize the mead during the ageing process, it also has something to do with the type of yeast used and being fermented at a lower temperature.

 

[Ramitt]

Perhaps to add body and complexity? Not sure really, care to share the full recipie? I am interested.

 

[teucer]

Although what we now call "traditional mead" is flavored with only honey, mead was and is traditionally made with all kinds of ingredients. I'm gonna guess that this was a carbonated mead, in which case the grains will promote a better head retention; either way they'll contribute a somewhat fuller body ("traditional" meads can be a little thin sometimes).

"Bottom fermentation" refers to using lager yeast, which sinks to the bottom instead of floating like ale yeasts or the wine yeasts usually used to make meads nowadays. Lager yeasts don't want to be brewed as warm as the top-fermenting varieties, so do this only if you can keep your mead cool while it ferments, as it sounds like your grandmother did. It promotes a cleaner fermentation with much less of an ester character, which can be where some of the lovely flavors in a lot of meads arise, so the grains may also be contributing flavor as well.

And yes, please share the recipe; we'd love to see it!

 

[NZ3127]

Thanks Everyone, I now have the recipe in it's entirity, how it was made and why it came out the way it did (back in 1908 modern refrigeration equipment would not have been invented, let alone be available in this country). Grandma's recipe was for making "Short Mead", which without the use of modern refrigeration, would have been a highly volitile brew. Back in the old days they used to drive a nail through the bottle cap and quickly pour the mead into a jug, where it would effervess (with the high CO2 content) all the way up the jug. If the bottled brew had been chilled, to stop the fermentation process (instead of being stored in an old garden shed), then things would have been alot different. How anyone didn't seriously injure themselves with exploding bottles, is beyond me. There is a very good reason for adding the unmalted grains to the mix, when boiled they release starch.