Basic Mead

Source: Scott James (scojam@scojam.Auto-trol.COM)
Mead Lover's Digest #18, 16 October 1992

Ingredients:

Procedure:

I let it ferment for 3 months in primary (70F), then bottled; 
priming with 1 lb honey disolved in 4 cups boiling water.

Comments:

After six months we (college roomies) couldn't stand the wait and broke into
the stuff.  Due to a bitter taste, we mixed most of it into a wine 
cooler at a party (no flames, please).  Just recently I tried one of the two
remaining 1 year old bottles.  It was fantastic!  Smooth and 
sparkley!  I have one bottle left, I'm saving it to share with that
special some one...

postscript: I tried the last 2 1/2 year old bottle -- Absolutely 
pristine and crisp.  Lots of bubbles like champagne (less priming honey 
next time) and left a very subtle sweet taste on the lips. (She loved it 
too :).


Chapter 1: Basic Mead

Traditional Mead and Maple Wine

Source: John Gorman (john@rsi.com)
Mead Lover's Digest #19, 17 October 1993

Ingredients:

Procedure:

Relax, don't worry, have some mead.

Hydrate the yeast and dissolve the yeast nutrient _separately_ in warm 
water for 30 minutes.  Mix the honey, maple syrup, or both with first 
hot and then cold tap water in a large open container to almost 5 
gallons at your target specific gravity.  Splash or spray the water to 
oxygenate the must so that the yeast will multiply.  Pour the must into 
a glass carboy, then pitch in the hydrated yeast and dissolved yeast 
nutrient, dregs included.

Use a blow off tube for the first few days and then switch to a water 
trap.  In a month or so, the alcohol will kill the yeast before it runs 
out of sugar.  If not, and the mead turns out too dry, add some more 
honey.  It is ready to drink as soon as fermentation stops.

Maple wine becomes crystal clear with a beautiful sherry color within 60 
days.  Mead will sometimes clarify in 90 days.  If you choose to bottle 
the mead before it is clear, it will clarify in the bottles, leaving an 
unsightly but delicious sediment.

Use Bentonite (clay) to quickly clarify a mead anytime after 
fermentation stops.  Boil 12 ounces of water in a saucepan.  While 
simmering, slowly sprinkle and stir in 5 tsp of bentonite.  Cover and 
let stand for 24 hours.  Add during racking.  It may be necessary to 
rack and bentonite twice.  The result is crystal clear.

Comments:

Traditional Meads and Maple Wines have an alcohol content of 12-15%.  
Always use yeast nutrient and plenty of yeast for a strong start.  The 
fermentation will take off with a bang and the rapidly rising alcohol 
content will quickly kill off any wild yeast.  There is no need to 
sulphite, heat, or boil the must.  Why ruin good honey?  I have never 
had a bad batch of mead, except when I added acid.