Honey
The main ingredient of any mead is honey. Imagine what it takes to make a single pound of honey. Thousands of bees must visit 2 million or more flowers. Both the flavor and the color of the honey depend on the kind and variety of the flower that the nectar comes from. Clover honey for example is light in color and mild, while honey from buckwheat is much darker and stronger too. Honey is rich in simple sugars; dextrose and levulose and contains more calories than ordinary sugar as well as sodium, iron and potassium.
It is probably mans oldest sweet food. In many early civilizations it was extolled as food for the gods, as a gift from the gods or as a giver of immortality. The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and other ancient peoples used honey in making cakes and candies as well as beverages. It was also used to make salted meat more palatable, hence honey hams. Wherever there was a large orchard there was sure to be an apiary. It was very common for households to have a small orchard as well as a small apiary, or for locals to get together and contribute the honey that had been gathered over the summer to a brewer who would make mead for them.There are several different types of honey that can be used for mead but the most common is a good clover honey. Clover honey gets its name from what the bee's make it out of. You can also acquire an raspberry, apple, orange, peach or other fruit honey. You can use almost any honey in the making of mead. Strongly flavored honeys (orange blossom, buckwheat, wild flower) generally work best for Metheglin while clover honey works well for fruit meads and will result in a very delicately flavored and light gold color, but very light honeys (like alfalfa) are not very suitable as they give poor flavor and almost no color. I do use raspberry or other fruit honey when making mead with that particular flavor. If you plan to make a traditional mead (honey and water) then you should use a stronger flavored honey as this will be the single thing that will give your mead its character.
Water
You can use tap water for brewing, but if your tap water tastes bad, is too hard or soft then you should use either filtered tap water or bottled water.
Yeast
Yeast selection is probably one of the most important decisions you will make. There are several factors you should consider when selecting the yeast you will use.
Considerations include: potential alcohol and sulpher dioxide production. The yeast you choose will play an important factor in the strength, flavor and type of mead that is produced. Select a yeast that has a higher tolerance to alcohol. Any other wine yeast may be used if you are unable to find a yeast that is specifically for mead.
Considerations include: potential alcohol and sulpher dioxide production. The yeast you choose will play an important factor in the strength, flavor and type of mead that is produced. Select a yeast that has a higher tolerance to alcohol. Any other wine yeast may be used if you are unable to find a yeast that is specifically for mead.
main tape of mead////u
- Cyser: Mead with apples juice added
- Hippocras: Mead with grape juice and spices
- Metheglin: Mead with cloves, cinnamon, or other spices
- Melomel: Mead with fruit juices and perhaps spices
- Pyment: Mead with grape juice added
- Sack: Extra-honey meads
- Traditional: simply honey, water, and yeast
Nutrient
Two of the most common mistakes made by newcomers to making mead are not providing enough nutrients in the must for the yeast to start reproducing quickly and insipidness which is a lack of bite or any astringent quality (dryness).
Yeast Starter
You can make your yeast starter either the day before or the same day as the must by using the following ingredients and method.
1 cups Water
2 Tablespoons honey or suger
1g of Yeast per 1 liter
Mix all ingredients including yeast in a glass jar, shake, then cover the bottle loosely with a cloth and let it sit for at least 30 minutes but preferably for several hours until it is fermenting well and can then be added to the must.
ph control
Meads ph should be 4.6-3 that is perfect for yeast.
You can put up ph by adding citric acid or any different fruit acid.
You can pu down ph by adding calcium carbonate.
Racking
The longer the agings process the better. Mead needs to be aged for a period of 6 months to a number of years though you can certainly drink yours when you think it is ready. Store all of your meads in a cool dry place 15-28C.
