Simple Honey Mead Recipes

HOW TO MAKE MEAD: A HOMEMADE HONEY MEAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Simmer ½ gallon of water until warm.
• Add honey: 2 pounds for a dry mead or 3 pounds for a sweet mead. Stir until dissolved.
• Simmer (don't boil) for about 30 minutes, skimming off any scum that forms. Remove from heat and let cool to about 100°F and pour into 1 gallon carboy.
• Add any extra ingredients you may want. See below for ideas.
• When the temperature is below 90°F, add the yeast. One package will make 5 gallons of mead, so use between ⅕ of a package and ½ a package. I typically make two gallons at a time and divide the package between the two.
• Cap the bottle and shake well. Add more water to fill the bottle, making sure to leave 3-4 inches of headroom at the top. Take the top off and add an airlock. These are available at your local homebrew store or online here.
• Once the airlock is in place, set the bottle in a cool spot for about 6 weeks.

HONEY MEAD

Steps:

• Sanitize all the equipment you will use: pot, jug, funnel, airlocks, spoon, etc. Follow the directions on the sanitizer package.
• Heat 1/2 gallon of non-chlorinated water in the large pot on medium heat, do not boil. Add the honey and stir until it fully dissolves. Remove from heat.
• Add the optional berries, fruit, raisins, and herbs to the one-gallon jug.
• Using a funnel, pour the honey-water mixture into the jug.
• Leave at least 2 inches of headspace at the top. Add additional cold water if needed.
• Secure the lid and shake well.
• When the temperature drops below 90°F, add 1/2 package of the yeast.
• Again, cap the bottle and shake well.
• You should see bubbles within the first 48 hours.
• Store the jug in a dark and cool place, or cover it with a towel. It will take about 4-6 weeks to ferment.
• It is ready when the bubbling has stopped or slowed to once every minute instead of every few seconds as it did initially.
• The liquid will be clear, and the yeast will settle to the jug's bottom.
• Do a taste test. Use a clean straw for tasting but be careful not to backwash into the mead.
• If you like the flavor, it is ready to bottle the mead.
• If it is too dry and you prefer a little sweeter, you can back sweeten the mead.

BASIC MEAD

Steps:

• Note on equipment:
• Making mead requires essentially the same basic kit necessary to brew beer at home: primary and secondary plastic-bucket fermenters with air locks and spigots, transfer hosing, a bottle-filler tube, heavy bottles, bottle caps, bottle capper, and a bottle brush and washer. You should be able to find these items for approximately $70 total (excluding the bottles) through a home-brewing supplier, such as The Home Brewery. Bottles cost from $6 to $20 per dozen, depending on style. You might instead buy a couple of cases of beer in returnable bottles, drink the beer, and - after sanitizing them! - reuse those bottles, for the cost of the deposit.
• All your equipment must be sanitized or sterilized before use. Ordinary unscented household bleach does the job fine. Put all the equipment (including the lid and stirring spoons) into the fermentation bucket, fill with water, and add 2 teaspoons of unscented bleach. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Drain the water through the spigot, rinse everything in hot water, and allow to air-dry.
• Bring the 4 1/2 gallons of water to a boil. Well water, by the way, should be avoided because of potentially high levels of strong tasting minerals like iron. Boiling should remove harsh chlorine from municipal tap water. If you don't own a pot large enough to hold five gallons of water, boil as much as possible. You will add the remaining water to the fermenter later.
• Once the water reaches a boil, remove it from the heat and stir in all of the honey. Do not boil the honey, as it reduces the aromatic quality of the finished mead.
• While the honey dissolves in the water, put a cup of lukewarm (90 to 100°F) water into a clean bowl. Sprinkle in the yeast and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. When the honey has been fully dissolved in the water and the pot is cool to the touch (not over 80°F), pour the honey-water into the fermentation bucket and stir in the yeast mixture. Note: Cooling the honey-water should take about half an hour. This process can be accelerated with a so-called sink bath, that is, repeatedly immersing the pot in cold water in a sink or basin.
• If you have not already added the full 4 1/2 gallons of water, top it off with the balance in bottled water (or tap water if you're confident of its quality).
• Seal the bucket and allow the mixture to ferment for two weeks to one month. The progress of fermentation can judged by monitoring the carbon-dioxide bubbles escaping from the air lock: When they drop to one bubble every sixty seconds, fermentation has nearly concluded. Note that is only an issue during this primary fermentation; secondary fermentation has more to do with aging and mellowing and hence is more flexible. When primary fermentation has subsided, siphon the mead over to your secondary fermentation bucket and seal it. Allow one to four months aging time. Do not open the fermenter, as this risks contaminating the mead.
• When you decide it has matured enough (and the mead has cleared), you will want to siphon it into sterilized bottles and cap them. Follow the same procedure as you would for home-brewed beer. My book Beer for Dummies has a detailed guide in its Chapter Ten, or consult the web site of the American Homebrewers Association.
• Keep in mind that this is a recipe for still (i.e., non-carbonated) mead.
• Mead typically improves with age, so the longer you can wait to open the bottles, the better.

HONEY MEAD

Steps:

• Add honey to water and boil 45 minutes.
• Add hops and boil 30 additional minutes (or if using yeast, cool to lukewarn and crumble yeast into it).
• Let stand overnight.
• Add brandy or sack and pour into a large crock or cask.
• Cover with an oversized lid and let stand until fermentation is complete.
• Cover tightly and seal.
• Let stand a year; bottle.