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Author Topic: Honey Mead  (Read 18404 times)

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Offline M-P

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #15 on: October 21, 2007, 01:00:23 am »
Hi Folks,  I 'm not much of a drinker, but I did brew mead a few times, ( years ago!) I'm betting that googling "mead recipe" will get you a ton of recipes.   Honey has enough yeast in it to start fermenting as soon as you lower the sugar levels by diluting ~ 1/2 and 1/2 with water.  Any steps past that are mainly just gilding the lily. Of course relying on wild yeast risks fermantation with a yeast that may produce off flavors, so you may want to use a commercial wine yeast.   Mix honey ~ 50/50 with fresh apple juice and the finished product is merowin. 
Boil the water and add to the honey.  Be sure to ferment in a very clean (ie. boiled), nonreactive, covered container.  Once the bubbling has totally stopped and the yeast have settled, you should gently decant the mead into boiled bottles and seal.  The initial yeasty taste will resolve with a little aging.  Or drink it fresh, that's probably what the vikings did.
Ron
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Beleg813

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #16 on: October 21, 2007, 10:00:38 am »
That sounds awesome M-P--thanks for the tip(s). That sounds right down my alley :)
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Offline Knocker

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Honey Mead & Vikings
« Reply #17 on: October 21, 2007, 02:41:02 pm »
Hey D.Tiller (Dave)
My Dad is Nordic decent (You know about Ballard, Seattle) and my Mother was a VanDeventer.  I went to the Clan gathering at the King County fairgrounds a few years ago and knew I had the right clan tent by all the war-making hardware scattered around in racks and piles...  My heritage probably fuels my need to make arrow throwers.

Yes, honey varies greatly and it's taste is dependant on what the bees are feeding on.  My honey is typically very light colored and mild flavored.  Mostly maple and other things from the Black Lake swamp behind my place.  Other things affect what the honey looks and tastes like too.  Most beekeepers give extracted honey comb back to the bees to refill as it takes a lot of energy for the bees to make the wax.  The re-used honeycomb turns dark colored, and so does the honey.  Clover honey in stores is a generic mix of all the different cheap honey that the suppliers can buy.  Some honeys - such as that made from almond orchards - is not even edible and used for hog feed.  Commercial bee keeping is becoming more about fees for pollination for large crop yields than it is about the honey sales.  Humm... all this talk of Mead, guess I'll have to do some sipping this rainy Western Washington Sunday.

Keith
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Offline D. Tiller

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #18 on: October 21, 2007, 05:46:49 pm »
Yep! I know Ballard very well.  Its only arround 1/2 an hour from the home and 1 1/2 hours durring rush hour. My mothers side of the family are all Hagstroms and Van Ripers.  My Dads side are all Scotts and English so it makes a great mixing of the warrior clans there.

We should have a mini bow gathering here in the Northwest! Bring bows and lots of mead!!!  ;D  Though that will mean it will need to be arround a year away if we want to start brewing today. Anyone have some favorite recipies???

David T
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Offline DanaM

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #19 on: October 21, 2007, 08:00:42 pm »
Ok so I want some, ya going to ToeJam if so please bring an ample supply ;D
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Beleg813

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #20 on: October 22, 2007, 05:45:09 pm »
Once I start making Mead...I'd gladly trade it in large quantities for one of your nice bows DanaM :P
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Offline D. Tiller

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #21 on: October 22, 2007, 09:32:39 pm »
Where is ToeJam?
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Metalking00

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #22 on: October 24, 2007, 01:22:24 am »
     I make mead pretty often (more often than most people :D). I'd be glad to share some recipes if anyones interested.
Right now, Ive got half a gallon aged about 8 months, waiting for the next feast. :)
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Offline Pat B

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #23 on: October 24, 2007, 02:49:51 pm »
TOJam(not toejam) is Pappy's bow building gathering and archery shoot in the spring at Twin Oaks(the T and O in TOJam) Bow Hunting Club near Clarksville Tenn. It is a "MUST GO" to anyone that can make it. We even had folks from Utah(Justin) and Germany(Marius) last year. ;D
Toejam is what you find when you remove your socks! :o      Pat
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Offline DanaM

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #24 on: October 24, 2007, 02:57:12 pm »
This years TOJam will hopefully include some Yoopers  ;D One visit and we will probably be banned for life >:D

Yea its about time to change into my winter socks and long handles getting cold brrrrrrrrrrrr
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"Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things."

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Offline D. Tiller

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #25 on: October 24, 2007, 03:35:44 pm »
Yep! I will try to be at "ToeJam" (I Like this spelling better!)  ;D  Cant wait to go this year, if I can make it!

Nice and rainy here in the Northwest. Temps arround 50 so not too bad. Just broke out my waders and wet suit!

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Beleg813

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #26 on: October 24, 2007, 06:36:08 pm »
Metalking00, I don't know if you seen the forums or not, but Gotmead.com has great advice, great suggestions for starting out, and a whole truckload of recipes.

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Offline mullet

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #27 on: October 24, 2007, 08:59:09 pm »
  I bet it would be good with some of this orange blossom honey around here. :)
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Metalking00

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #28 on: October 25, 2007, 12:40:12 am »
Quote from: Beleg813 on October 24, 2007, 06:36:08 pm
Metalking00, I don't know if you seen the forums or not, but Gotmead.com has great advice, great suggestions for starting out, and a whole truckload of recipes.

Yeah, thats where I got my first recipes from when I started out. Its a great site if you want to learn to make mead.
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Offline GregB

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Re: Honey Mead
« Reply #29 on: October 25, 2007, 08:46:31 am »

I've never made mead, but I've made a lot of different types of wine from Elderberry sweet to Merlot dry. I always used wine yeast of different types depending on the type wine, and used a hydrometer that tells you the sugar content so that you can add more or dilute in order to have the final alcohol content you're after. I didn't use grandpa's old recipe, pretty much used the same techniques and chemicals as a winery would...higher chance for a good result that way. :)
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