1st time mead maker. Where do I start?

[ToddPacker69]

I hear that mead is pretty simple. Anyone have a good, simple recipe that I can start out with, then maybe a little fermentation direction. I would prefer not to buy a kit, but I will buy ingredients.

 

[zeg]

Mead is simple, but is considered to be rather subtle due to its simplicity. Particularly if you aim for a traditional mead, there's nothing to hide any off flavors, so you need to be sure you can control your temperatures, sanitize properly, etc. Many people choose to start with more heavily flavored meads (see threads about JAOM for one approach). Personally, I took a different approach because I'm not interested in flavored meads. I brewed a batch of beer first, just to get a handle on the basic fermentation process, and then dove in with a traditional mead.

If you go this route, you need to keep in mind that there are quite a few differences between beer and mead production. For the most part, beer brewing is more complicated---there is no "brewing" involved with mead. However, mead does require (or, at least, benefit from) a few steps that beer does not need. The main process suggested for mead but not beer is the addition of yeast nutrients, which current best practices prescribe as a staggered addition during the first few days of fermentation.

Everything you need to know is covered here, including a basic recipe: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/sticky-mead-making-faqs-83030/

Also, you really can't find "kits" for mead, as traditional meads are so simple there'd be nothing to "kit," and flavored varieties are so varied there'd be nothing to agree on. (Really, there may be kits out there, but I don't think there's as much demand for them as there is for wine/beer kits.)

 

[Stout-n-Braggot]

take 4 gallons of water, boil it, let it cool, add 1 gallon of raw honey, let sit 4 years with airlock, voila, tasty , naturally fermented mead

 

[fatbloke]

Best place to start, will be the NewBee guide at gotmead forums (linked in the yellow dialogue box top left of main page).

The guide takes a bit of reading, but the original JAO recipe is in chapter 6. The ingredients come from the local grocery store, the only other thing you'll need is a 1 gallon jug/carboy/demi-john and a ballon for an air lock.....

Just follow the instructions for a bench mark batch !

 

[mikebux]

Ordered a kit from northern brewer website. Standard med sweet mead kit. Instructions w kit tells ya what equip ya need, which you can get at your local brew supply. Follow the instructions completely. Read read read read.... Can't express that enuf.... Buy the book..... Complete meadmaker, wich was suggested to me from this site... Quite insightful. Patience is king with mead, it's all about the waiting, which is worth it if ya followed the instructions.... Enjoy...good luck

 

[ToddPacker69]

4 years? HOw long does mead take? I thought it could be less.

 

[Insomniac]

He's talking about using natural yeast in raw honey, I can imagine that taking a fair bit longer than normal. If you use a commercial yeast and some nutrients and keep it somewhere cool it will be good somewhere between 6 months and a year.

 

[fatbloke]

You can take a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.......

The easiest recipe as follows :-

Joe’s Ancient Orange and Spice Mead

A little caveat before we continue. This recipe flies in the face of just about all standard brewing methods used to make consistent and good Meads. It was created by Joe Mattioli to make a fast and tasty drink out of ingredients found in most kitchens. It is therefore perfect for the beginner, which has resulted in it being perhaps the most popular Mead recipe available on the internet. As Joe himself says “It is so simple to make and you can make it without much equipment and with a multitude of variations. This could be a first Mead for the novice as it is almost foolproof. It is a bit unorthodox but it has never failed me or the friends I have shared it with. (snip)...it will be sweet, complex and tasty.” Follow the instructions exactly as provided and you cannot go wrong. If you want to make larger batches, just scale up the recipe keeping all ingredients in the same proportion.

1 gallon batch

3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet)
1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller, rind and all)
1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)
1 stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)
optional - a pinch of nutmeg and allspice (very small )
1 teaspoon of Fleishmann’s bread yeast ( now don't get holy on me--- after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)
Balance water to one gallon

Process:

Use a clean 1 gallon carboy

Dissolve honey in some warm water and put in carboy

Wash orange well to remove any pesticides and slice in eights --add orange (you can push em through opening big boy -- rinds included -- its ok for this mead -- take my word for it -- ignore the experts)

Put in raisins, clove, cinnamon stick, any optional ingredients and fill to 3 inches from the top with cold water. ( need room for some foam -- you can top off with more water after the first few days frenzy)

Shake the heck out of the jug with top on, of course. This is your sophisticated aeration process.

When at room temperature in your kitchen, put in 1 teaspoon of bread yeast. ( No you don't have to rehydrate it first-- the ancients didn't even have that word in their vocabulary-- just put it in and give it a gentle swirl or not)(The yeast can fight for their own territory)

Install water airlock. Put in dark place. It will start working immediately or in an hour. (Don't use grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away in the 90's - wait 3 hours before you panic or call me) After major foaming stops in a few days add some water and then keep your hands off of it. (Don't shake it! Don't mess with them yeastees! Let them alone except its okay to open your cabinet to smell every once in a while.

Racking --- Don't you dare
additional feeding --- NO NO
More stirring or shaking -- Your not listening, don't touch

After 2 months and maybe a few days it will slow down to a stop and clear all by itself. (How about that, you are not so important after all) Then you can put a hose in with a small cloth filter on the end into the clear part and siphon off the golden nectar. If you wait long enough even the oranges will sink to the bottom but I never waited that long. If it is clear it is ready. You don't need a cold basement. It does better in a kitchen in the dark. (Like in a cabinet), likes a little heat (70-80). If it didn't work out... you screwed up and didn't read my instructions (or used grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away) . If it didn't work out then take up another hobby. Mead is not for you. It is too complicated.
If you were successful, which I am 99% certain you will be, then enjoy your mead. When you get ready to make different mead you will probably have to unlearn some of these practices I have taught you, but hey--- This recipe and procedure works with these ingredients so don't knock it. It was your first mead. It was my tenth. Sometimes, even the experts can forget all they know and make good ancient mead.

And there you have it. You have made your first Mead.

I've made many batches and never found it ready to drink in 2 or 3 months, but if you make it then age it for 6 months, damn it's good !