Ahhh honey wine. Or fermented bee spit if you like. I hesitate to call it mead as I've yet to create a drink that fits that word. I've had a taste of very dry mead that I didn't like much and I've had a commercial mead that was sweet like sugar water. It was best described as "insipid" by everyone who sampled it. At $15 a 5th I KNEW I could do better! Another commercial mead I tried was "Irish herb mead". Now that was good! I'm hoping to recreate that myself. It had the kick of my honey wine, but the flavor of honey! My"wines" are slightly sweet, (I use too much honey in the primary ferment) but have lost the honey flavor. I think I'm supposed to ferment the honey/water for a year before adding a bit of honey when I bottle? So much to learn, so long the wait to taste the results!
One thing I seem to have down pat is getting the mead to clear. This pic was taken through one of the gallon jugs. Poured into a clear glass I can read a book through the liquid!Ah well, baby steps I guess. Eventually I want to sell mead kits with recipes for varieties I like. So far even my less than perfect attempts have proven economical. $15 worth of honey, $2 worth of yeast, a $2 airlock and a recycled gallon wine jug have produced as potent a drink as anything I've bought and made it by the gallon, not the fifth!
Well, it doesn't look like you mess with this blog any longer. Bloggin's a lot of work, IMO.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, after your mead is made, sweeten it (and flavor it) by adding about a pound of honey to a 5 gal carboy.
And after it sets around for awhile, mull it.
I don't go for all those cloth bags and stuff, and I sure as hell don't heat it!
I just add the ground spices to my 2 liter glass bottles (that I break the 5 gal's down into) and let it set, shake once and a while, then after a period of time, filter it out using a Buchner funnel and flask.
You'll proudly call it mead.
I don't get back here much. Facebook seems to occupy too much of my time.
ReplyDeleteSince posting this I've taken to making 2 liter batches in lab flasks. So far I'm pleased with the results. Especially one batch made with dried elderberries!