Transcript Making Mead - Northeast New Jersey Beekeepers Association

Making Mead
By Robert & Gloria Leustek
Now that you have honey,
what do you do with it?
You make MEAD!
The History of Mead
The History of Mead
Mead is thought to be the oldest alcoholic
beverages know to man.
The history of mead may go back more than
8,000 years.
The oldest known meads were created on
the Island of Crete. Wine had not yet been
created. Mead was the drink of the Age of
Gold, and the word for drunk in classical
Greek is methismenos or honey-intoxicated.
The History of Mead
The earliest archaeological evidence for the
production of mead dates to around 7000 BC.
Pottery vessels containing a mixture of mead,
rice and other fruits along with organic
compounds of fermentation were found in
Northern China
The English word mead derives from the Old
English meodu, meaning fermented honey
drink
The History of Mead
Legend has it that the word honeymoon is
derived from an ancient tradition of sending a
newly married couple off to seclusion for a
month with much mead, to ensure their best
chance to start a family quickly. Mead has
been, and still is, considered the drink of love.
Legal
New Jersey Statute §33:1-75 allows
for the production of wine or malt
alcoholic beverages in the home by
persons over the age of 21, not to
exceed 200 gallons per year, free
from state excise tax. A requirement
for New Jersey home beer and wine
makers to obtain a state permit
to practice their hobby was
eliminated in January 2012.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/govern
ment-affairs/statutes/new-jersey
What is Mead?
A fermented drink made with
honey, water and yeast also
known as MUST
What is Mead?
There are 4 main types of ingredients
that are most commonly used:
Fruit
Vegetables
Spices, Herbs and Plants
Other Foods such as molasses,
maple syrup or chocolate
Mead Styles:
Sack Mead - a sweeter Mead,
with more honey
Melomel - with fruit or fruit
juice
Metheglin - with spices
and extracts
Mead Styles
Acerglyn - with maple syrup
Morat - with mulberries
Pyment - with both
honey and grapes
Hippocras – with
honey, grapes, and spices
Mead Styles
Cyser - honey and apples or
apple cider (apple juice in
Europe) Can also be made
with peach, cherry or pear
cider
Braggot - honey and malt,
sort of a Mead-beer
Oxymel - Mead mixed with
wine vinegar
Mead Styles
Rhodomel - honey with Attar,
a rose petal distillate, or rose
petals
Capsicumel - honey with chile
peppers
Mead Styles
T'ej –with honey, water and
hops. It is the national drink
of Ethiopia, and has a unique
taste
Supplies you will need….
Starter Winemaking Equipment: $74.99
(8200 pg. 68)
Winemaking Equipment Kit Instructional
DVD
7.9 gallon plastic fermenter with lid
6 gallon glass carboy, Stopper, Airlock
Bottle brush, Hydrometer
8 ounces of Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser
Plastic plunger corker
30- #8 X 1 3/4" straight corks
Racking cane,
5 feet of siphon tubing
Bottle filler
Shut-off clamp
Supplies you will also need….
Brew Pot – 3 gallon
Long Handled Spoon
Thermometer
Mix-Stir Agitator Rod
Yeast Nutrient
Yeast Energizer
Acid Blend
Bentonite
Flocculent
Bottles (ask your friends)
Most importantly… Recipes!
Resources
Supplies you will also need….
Corrado’s in Patterson
Corrado's Home Beer and Winemaking Center offers
everything you need to become a skilled wine or
beer maker! Come see our state-of-the art
equipment, supplies, and wine & beer
paraphernalia! Talk with one of our knowledgeable
staff-members about making beer or wine in your
very own home!
Terminology and Calculations
Specific Gravity (S.G.) –This is used to
determine how much sugar is present in
the Must/Mead. The higher the SG, the
more sugar is present.
Final Gravity (F.G.) – The measurement
of the specific gravity when all
fermentation has ceased. The lowest that
can be reached is 0.990.
Terminology and Calculations
Alcohol by Volume (ABV) – The
amount of alcohol in your Mead, given as
a percentage of the total volume. Most
wines are around the 11% to 12% ABV,
but it is possible to ferment up to 20% to
22%.
pH or Acidity – The amount of acid in
your Must will determine the health of the
yeast. A solution of honey in water will
usually have a natural pH of around 3.7 to
4.6. The optimal pH for yeast is around
3.7 for best results.
Terminology and Calculations
Acid blend is a blend of the three
most common acids found in fruit:
citric, malic and tartaric. It’s
typically used in wines that are
naturally lacking in acid, which
typically results in a flat tasting
wine. Acid Blend adds liveliness to
the wine and helps to bring out its
fruity flavors. Having a proper level
of acidity will help establish a
vigorous fermentation.
Sweet VS. Dry
Types of Yeast
(pg. 32-33)
Keep good records
Recipe Name
Brew Date – __/__/__
Batch Size – ___ gal.
Honey Varietal – ______
S.G. goal – 1.___
%ABV goal – __%
Ingredients:
__Lbs. Honey
__gal. Liquid (water/apple
cider etc.)
__Lbs. Other ingredients
__oz. DAP/Energizer
__oz. Yeast etc.
Process:
Prep method (including times,
amounts, temperatures, acid
level, processes and
observations)
Continued notes and
comments (additions,
aerations, rackings etc.) up to
bottling and tasting notes.
Using a standard brewlog will
help tremendously with
keeping things organized.
The Process
Determine the recipe
Gather the ingredients, supplies &
additives
Prepare & sanitize, sanitize, sanitize!
All measurements are by
weight, not volume
The Process
Some of our favorite recipes:

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Natural Sack Mead
Clove Metheglin
Fall Spice Metheglin
Mulberry Morat
Rocky Mountain Red Metheglin
Royal Metheglin
The Process
Did we mention………SANITIZE?
The Process
Weigh the honey into your brew pot
using equal amounts of honey to
water ratio.
Heat to 145 degrees for
8 minutes.
The Process
The Process
The Process
Taking a taste!
The Process
Add 1 tsp Bentonite to 2 quarts of very hot
water, mix. This is an early Flocculent.
The Process
Mix in the Bentonite
The Process
Pour the heated honey into the
bucket. Fill to the 6 gallon mark.
The Process
Remember honey is a natural antibiotic so
we add yeast energizer, yeast nutrient and
acid blend.
The Process
After the mixture has cooled to about
68º, take your initial Specific Gravity
reading with your Hydrometer.
The Process
Stir in any additives such as flowers
or oak chips.
The Process
Pitch the yeast.
We use a yeast starter made from orange
juice.
The Process
Firmly cover the primary fermenter, secure
air lock and wait for the fermentation.
The Process
In 1-2 days fermentation should begin and
after about a week, the initial fermentation
should appear stop.
Then rack off into a carboy,
recap, put in a cool dark
Location. In about 1 week
Take a S.G. reading. If 1.000
Or less we go onto the next
Step. If not, wait a few
more days and take another
reading.
The Process
Once the S.G. reading is 1.000 or less then with your
drill and your Mix-Stir Agitator Rod and whip the
mead vigorously. Do not over-whip.
The Process
You can also add preservatives such as Sorbate and
a chemical like Metabisulfite to insure that the
fermentation process will not continue in your
bottles.
The Process
Then add your flocculent.
Popular flocculents are:
Isinglass
Sparkolloid
Mix well, add water to within 1 inch of the airlock
Reinsert Airlock, put in cool dark
place. Wait 2 weeks.
Bottling
Bottling
When you are ready to bottle:
Take a final Hydrometer
reading, compare the values
to determine alcohol
content.
Clean & sanitize your bottles:
One 6 gallon carboy will yield
about 3 cases of standard
750 ml wine bottles.
Bottling
When you are ready to bottle:
Using a racking cane, fill & cork
each bottle.
Finally, Label & apply shrink caps.
The Wait
The Wait
Always store your bottles on their sides in a cool
location 54º is ideal but never more than 75º
The Wait
“Reds” age about 1 year
“Whites” age sooner.
Credits & Sources
Websites
http://www.midwestsupplies.com
http://www.wyeastlab.com
http://www.lalvinyeast.com
http://www.gotmead.com
http://www.whitelabs.com
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org
http://www.corradosmarket.com
Credits & Sources
Websites
http://www.medovina.com/history.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead
http://www.beer100.com/history/meadhistory.
htm
http://www.skyriverbrewing.com/Mead/meadhistory.html
http://redstonemeadery.com/store/catalog/His
tory-of-Mead-sp-17.html
http://hoeggerfarmyard.com/
http://www.ldcarlson.com/
Credits & Sources
Books
Making Wild Wines & Meads: 125 Unusual
Recipes Using Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More by
Vargas & Gulling
Brewing Mead, Wassail! In Mazers of Mead by
Brewers Publications – Boulder Colorado
Other Considerations
Large or Small batch
What will your next recipe bee?
Questions???
The Finished Product
Enjoy!