Making your first mead, or Who's afraid of the big bad yeast? One of the most respected vintages in the medieval world is mead, a wine made from honey. While many members of the Society would like to experiment making their own mead, the prospect of getting started can be a little daunting. If there is a wine or beer making store near you and you have never tried anything like this before, the rows of chemicals and devices can be a bit overwhelming. If you don't live in an area with easy access to such a store, the challenge becomes that much greater. This article is designed for the first timer, with the goal being to show that making mead is not as scary or as expensive as you might believe, and can even be fun.
Most of what you will need for making your first batch can be found easily around the house or at your local supermarket. The few specialty items you will need can be purchased at a wine or beer making supply store.
So what do you need to get started?
For your first batch of mead, I recommend you start with a one gallon recipe.
For this, you will need the following:
2 one gallon glass jugs (apple juice frequently comes in this size)
2lbs honey (pasteurized, not raw)
1 lemon
1/2 lb raisins
spices (detailed later)
and the following specialty items:
fermentation lock rubber stopper #8 with a hole to fit the lock
yeast nutrient champagne yeast or wine yeast, dry
The most important thing that must be stressed before you begin is that cleanliness, in vinting, is indeed next to godliness. Most of the disasters that can occur can be avoided if you plan carefully and maintain a scrupulously clean environment. Before you begin, clean your glass bottle and cork with a solution of bleach and anti-bacterial dish soap. Good hot water and this solution will give you a safe starting point.
After everything is clean, add your 2lbs of honey. Some vintners believe in boiling the honey and water together. Others like myself believe you can risk the delicate flavors in the honey by this process and cannot recommend it. Your honey doesn't have to be anything fancy, either. While orange blossom honey might give you a unique and wonderful mead, simple clover honey can do the same thing, and is much easier to come by. It should also be pasteurized honey, not the raw stuff. This will lessen the possibility of contaminants or bacteria in your honey. It was also pointed out by a friend that if you heat the containers of honey in boiling water for a few minutes, it will pour easier and eliminate a bit of messiness.
In most things in this recipe, I tend to be a stuffy purist. I don't believe in chemicals to do what mother nature can do as well, so if you are subject to certain allergies, most of the ingredients used here are all natural. An example of this would be the use of sulfur campden tablets, used to help keep down certain bacteria. However, we discovered that if you have a sulfite allergy, these tablets will set it off. Additionally, most of the nasty bugs that can attack a regular wine don't seem to like honey, so the risk of contamination is lessened, as long as you use maintain a clean environment.
One of the things that makes a good wine is a full bodied flavor. This is due to the presence of tannin. While some vintners use tea to provide the necessary tannin, I have found that either raisins or currants work just as well in this regard. So add your raisins now.
One must also balance the sweetness of the wine with the proper level of acidity. Again, you can get chemical additives at a wine making store for this, but for a higher price. Why pay more when one can get the same effect using the juice of lemon or lime? Squeeze the juice of one lemon into a measuring cup, remove any seeds, and add it to the jar.
So far so good, right? Now, if you want a pure simple mead, you can go ahead and forget adding the spices. You will get a simple but tasty beverage. However, the addition of just a couple of spices can give you a blend of subtle flavors and a better wine. For this recipe, I added three cinnamon sticks, a 1/4 teaspoon of whole cloves, and five allspice berries. You can put them in now.
Now for the yeast nutrient. Because honey is a little harder to ferment, I give the yeast a hand with a yeast nutrient. This is available through winemaking shops. Check the directions on the package for the amount. The type I generally use calls for 1 Tablespoon per gallon.
Once the yeast nutrient is in, fill the jar to the bottom of the neck with hot water. Wait until it cools to lukewarm (about 103 degrees) before adding your yeast. I use champagne yeast, because it processes faster than straight wine yeast. However it also will produce a drier wine. Some vintners prefer dry wine yeast, which will give a sweeter, less strong mead.
A good way of jump starting your yeast is to add a teaspoon of sugar to the water. If you wait a few minutes, your yeast will begin to become active. You will mix your yeast with 1/4 cup of warm water in a measuring cup and add it to the jar. Then put your fermentation lock in the rubberstopper and seal up the mixture. Be sure to fill the fermentation lock up half way with water. This will prevent contact with the air, and lessen the risk of contamination. That's it. You've just started your first batch of mead.
THE FERMENTATION PROCESS
For the next 1 to 3 weeks, you will be in the primary fermentation stage. During this time, your mixture will bubble and hiss. Note that this stage can be a bit smelly, so it is not recommended that you keep your mead in your closet. It should be stored in a cool environment with dim light, like a basement or garage. Keep an eye on the brew. The yeast will force up the raisins, and can possibly force up the cork. Shake down the raisins occasionally.
When the active bubbling stops and the raisins drop to the bottom of the bottle, the mixture is ready to be "racked" or siphoned into another container. Clean your second glass jar like you did the first, in bleach and anti-bacterial dish soap. You can use clear plastic aquarium tubing for your siphoning hose. Simply place the original jar above the height of the second jar and begin the siphoning process. Note that the occasional raisin may block your tube, and you may have to start the vacuum again. Be careful not to sink the end of the tube into the dross on the bottom of the bottle. When you have racked all of the good mixture out, leaving the remains in the other jar, fill the new jar to just below the neck again with water, clean off your rubber stopper and fermentation lock and put it in the new jar.
You are now to the secondary fermentation stage. Still no problems, right? No need to be afraid of this kind of thing at all, right? Store your newly siphoned wine again. This is the waiting stage, The second fermentation usually lasts 1-3 months. Approximately every three weeks or so, repeat the racking process. This will leave many of the dead yeast cells in the bottom and clear your wine faster.
Some vintners like to speed this process up, but this is not recommended for the first timer(and is disapproved of by the author in the bargain--good things come to those who wait). Your wine should clear during this time. If, at the end of three months your wine is still cloudy, you can add what is called a fining agent to clear the brew. Once your wine is clear, it's time to rack it again, this time into wine bottles. Corks can be purchased from a winemaking store for a very cheap price. You will need to soak them overnight in water before beginning your third and final rack. Clean your wine bottles as you did your jug and begin siphoning your wine into them. Fill the bottles to about three inches from the top, cork the bottle by either using a cork setter or rubber mallet, and store the bottle on the side in a cool place for about four to six months. Keep an eye on your corks during this time. The wine should fill them and cause them to expand, but occasionally a cork gets forced out during the aging process. At the end of the four to six months, you will have your first batch of mead to drink. You see? It's not too tough or too expensive. How advanced you wish your vinting to become is up to you.
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