Mead

[Erichalfbee]

Lay off. People want serious sensible answers.

Post 6

 

[pargyle]

Lay off. People want serious sensible answers.

You have clearly never made mead !

 

[Curly green finger's]

I've tasted some lovely mead, clear bright and good flavour, like most things it takes practice.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My neighbour makes mead that is “like nectar” She raves on and on about it. It’s awful!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My neighbour makes mead that is “like nectar” She raves on and on about it. It’s awful!

But having said that I did once try raspberry melomel which on tasting a year later tasted horrid so I threw the lot away. I missed a bottle which I found five years later and it was actually not bad.
I’ve been told that if you want to make good mead you need to use your best honey not cappings washings.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My neighbour makes mead that is “like nectar” She raves on and on about it. It’s awful!

I beg to Differ @mbc gave me some lovely mead in the spring.
I have an Irish friend she makes delicious spiced mead.
As I said it's all about practice

 

[Curly green finger's]

But having said that I did once try raspberry melomel which on tasting a year later tasted horrid so I threw the lot away. I missed a bottle which I found five years later and it was actually not bad.
I’ve been told that if you want to make good mead you need to use your best honey not cappings washings.

.......

 

[Erichalfbee]

I beg to Differ

You can’t. It’s my opinion on my neighbours mead

 

[Erichalfbee]

I beg to Differ @mbc gave me some lovely mead in the spring.
I have an Irish friend she makes delicious spiced mead.
As I said it's all about practice

Like I said. You need good ingredients and time. A good wine needs to mature. I don’t think you can treat mead like Nouveau. It needs time.

 

[Fritillary]

Admittedly my best results so far have been melomel, particularly elderberry. That gives plenty of flavour and edge. - Basically elderberry wine made with honey instead of sugar, and with a few blackberries thrown in. None of that's been wasted!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But having said that I did once try raspberry melomel which on tasting a year later tasted horrid so I threw the lot away. I missed a bottle which I found five years later and it was actually not bad.
I’ve been told that if you want to make good mead you need to use your best honey not cappings washings.

I remember as a lad in primary school being told by an old farmer, that to make good mead you need to leave it for at least ten years.

 

[Wilco]

Yep ... Honey, water, yeast and hope for the best .... oh ... and wait a year to find out that it's totally undrinkable. Sell the honey and buy a decent bottle of Scotch ....

Or freeze the mead, remove the ice and have an improvised honey spirit...

 

[Swn58]

There is no easy method! Both my two attempts went into the local sewer!

I find that it will make itself! A while ago I forgot a bucket that I had left some honey in and then put some water in to wash it out. I was going to use it for cake or bread making. A week later I kept hearing a hissing noise and tracked it down to the bucket that was merrily bubbling away!
For the last two years I have made more controlled mead. I add water to the honey until I get an ABV of around 16/18 %. I think it's about a 5/1 mix. I then add wine yeast with yeast compound and off it goes! It takes about three weeks to even start slowing its fermentation down. It then gets decanted to another container with an airlock. for another few weeks. I'm afraid to say that my mead never gets much of a chance to age This year I added sloes to the mix. Adding fruit enriches the flavour and colour.
I use honey in beer kits as well. I have learned that it is so efficient, as a sugar substitute, that one has to watch not to add too much of it!
I am actually thinking that I may divert more of my honey into mead production in the future. I have been looking into licencing, that seems to revolve mainly around tax, needless to say.

 

[Fritillary]

I didn't remember that either; was daft enough to look. Liver (anybody's!) with beans? yeucchhh

 

[Curly green finger's]

Admittedly my best results so far have been melomel, particularly elderberry. That gives plenty of flavour and edge. - Basically elderberry wine made with honey instead of sugar, and with a few blackberries thrown in. None of that's been wasted!

I have a few recipes for melomel

Or freeze the mead, remove the ice and have an improvised honey spirit...

What spirit could I use the shops still open?

 

[Wilco]

I find that it will make itself! A while ago I forgot a bucket that I had left some honey in and then put some water in to wash it out. I was going to use it for cake or bread making. A week later I kept hearing a hissing noise and tracked it down to the bucket that was merrily bubbling away!
For the last two years I have made more controlled mead. I add water to the honey until I get an ABV of around 16/18 %. I think it's about a 5/1 mix. I then add wine yeast with yeast compound and off it goes! It takes about three weeks to even start slowing its fermentation down. It then gets decanted to another container with an airlock. for another few weeks. I'm afraid to say that my mead never gets much of a chance to age This year I added sloes to the mix. Adding fruit enriches the flavour and colour.
I use honey in beer kits as well. I have learned that it is so efficient, as a sugar substitute, that one has to watch not to add too much of it!
I am actually thinking that I may divert more of my honey into mead production in the future. I have been looking into licencing, that seems to revolve mainly around tax, needless to say.

I

I have a few recipes for melomel

What spirit could I use the shops still open?

Don't need a spirit... Alcohol freezing point is below that of most freezers. Freezing will mean you get a lump of water ice in cold alcohol. Not a true distilled spirit but makes it stronger than wine.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Don't need a spirit... Alcohol freezing point is below that of most freezers. Freezing will mean you get a lump of water ice in cold alcohol. Not a true distilled spirit but makes it stronger than wine.
[/QUOTE]
On this occasion we can blame it on the vol%

 

[Swn58]

By putting Sloes in my mead, have I in fact made Melomel? The berries were frozen in a freezer and then defrosted, before being added to the mix at the very beginning. I also added a handful of sultanas.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

By putting Sloes in my mead, have I in fact made Melomel? The berries were frozen in a freezer and then defrosted, before being added to the mix at the very beginning. I also added a handful of sultanas.

well that's two of your five a day - does that qualify as a health drink?

 

[Swn58]

does that qualify as a health drink?

I'm sure it does!