Mebbid
June 12th, 2009, 06:24 PM
Here is a recipe for a basic 1 gallon batch of mead.
Honey - 2.5, 3, or 3.5 lbs honey for Dry, Medium, or Sweet mead respectively.
Spring Water - 1 Gallon
Yeast Nutrient - 1 tsp
Yeast - 1 package
This is as simple as a recipe for mead gets.
1. Sanitize everything. If wild yeast or bacteria manages to get into the must it can ruin an entire batch of mead; maybe even turn it into vinegar.
2. Heat 1/2 cup of water to 105-110°f
3. Add yeast and nutrient to the heated water and allow to sit for about 15 minutes.
4. Heat honey in sink with warm running water to make it easier to handle.
5. Add honey to primary fermentor.
6. Add room temperature water to honey.
7. Pitch the yeast into the center of the must.
8. Stir vigorously for about 5 minutes to aerate the must.
9. Seal with lid and airlock.
At this point almost all you have to do is wait. In less than a day you should notice the airlock bubbling from the CO2 the yeast is producing while making alcohol. If you don't notice any bubbling after a couple days you might have to add some yeast energizer to the must to get it going.
After a few weeks you will need to rack the mead to a different carboy to get the lees (sediment) out of it or else the dead yeast will throw off the taste of the mead.
Once the Mead has stopped throwing off any more sediment and all fermentation has stopped it is now time to either rack it into a clean carboy or into bottles to allow it to age. Its suggested that you allow at least 4 months for mead to age although it's okay to drink it when its still young.
This is far from a comprehensive walk through for mead making but I am going to be making a website to post some of my different experiments on.
Honey - 2.5, 3, or 3.5 lbs honey for Dry, Medium, or Sweet mead respectively.
Spring Water - 1 Gallon
Yeast Nutrient - 1 tsp
Yeast - 1 package
This is as simple as a recipe for mead gets.
1. Sanitize everything. If wild yeast or bacteria manages to get into the must it can ruin an entire batch of mead; maybe even turn it into vinegar.
2. Heat 1/2 cup of water to 105-110°f
3. Add yeast and nutrient to the heated water and allow to sit for about 15 minutes.
4. Heat honey in sink with warm running water to make it easier to handle.
5. Add honey to primary fermentor.
6. Add room temperature water to honey.
7. Pitch the yeast into the center of the must.
8. Stir vigorously for about 5 minutes to aerate the must.
9. Seal with lid and airlock.
At this point almost all you have to do is wait. In less than a day you should notice the airlock bubbling from the CO2 the yeast is producing while making alcohol. If you don't notice any bubbling after a couple days you might have to add some yeast energizer to the must to get it going.
After a few weeks you will need to rack the mead to a different carboy to get the lees (sediment) out of it or else the dead yeast will throw off the taste of the mead.
Once the Mead has stopped throwing off any more sediment and all fermentation has stopped it is now time to either rack it into a clean carboy or into bottles to allow it to age. Its suggested that you allow at least 4 months for mead to age although it's okay to drink it when its still young.
This is far from a comprehensive walk through for mead making but I am going to be making a website to post some of my different experiments on.