More Mead Info

This is the first write-up I found on Mead, I figured I would share it with you.

Types of Mead

Dry mead is made of honey and water only. Stronger than wine made from grapes and can reach 18% abv.

Sweet mead is slightly weaker that dry mead and has stronger honey flavor and character.

Cyser is a combination of honey and apple cider. This is the strong drink of Biblical times. Both the honey and the cider will ferment to a clean dry wine which makes a great sparkling wine when primed with corn sugar or honey when bottled.

Pyment blends honey, grape juice and water. It is a great light wine for summer. You will be amazed at how much grape character comes through and the honey flavored finish is
excellent. 

Melomel is made from honey, water and any fruit other than grapes or apples. We use seedless fruit puree in our Melomel which gives perfect results batch after batch. 


Metheglin starts with traditional mead but has herbs and spices added. A simple kitchen spice rack will provide what you need or for a more exotic wine check our herbs and spices for beer, wine and mead makers.

Hippocrass is a combination of Pyment and spices. You must choose your spice wisely so as not to impair the flavor of the honey and grape. 


Braggot marks the invention of Ale. Brewed from honey, malted barley and sometimes hops. A ratio of one part honey to one part dry malt extract is a good place to start. Choose a low alpha acid hop to avoid making a bitter ale. I prefer to use Fuggles or Saaz.



Special Equipment Needed
* Fermenter Pail with Lid
* 3 gallon gallon Glass Carboys
* Air Lock with Rubber Stopper
* Siphon Hose and Accessories
* Bottle Filling Wand
* Easy Clean Sanitizer
Kitchen Equipment Needed
* 12 quart Stock Pot
* Stainless or Plastic Mixing Spoon
* Pot Holders
* Thermometer
* Funnel


Brewing Instructions
* In a very clean Stock Pot combine 1 gallon of bottled spring water (do not use distilled water) with the honey. Rinse honey jar with water from the pot. Heat to 180 degrees F. Reduce the heat and hold the temperature between 175 and 180 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and skim any white film off of the surface. Do not allow to boil.
* Remove pot from the heat and place it in a sink of cold water to reduce its temperature. Stir every 10 minutes and then change the sink water. Do this 3 times.
* Add 1 gallon of bottled spring water and acid blend, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme, and grape tannin per recipe chart above. Stir well.
Preparing the Must (Traditional Mead Makers skip to Starting Fermentation)
* Open fruit puree or grape concentrate.
* Pour contents into the brew pot along with acid bland, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme, grape tannin and citric acid.  Stir well. Use mixture from the pot to rinse out the fruit can.
Starting Fermentation
* Clean and sanitize your fermenter pail, lid and airlock.
* Open the packet of wine yeast and pour it into the fermenter pail.
* Pour the Must onto the fermenter.  Add bottle spring water to make a full three gallons.
* Close the fermenter pail and attach the airlock.
* Allow to ferment at room temperature for 3 weeks.
1st Racking
* Racking mead should be done by gently siphoning. We do not recommend using wine pumps or filters. Mead is very susceptible to oxidation.
* Move the fermenter pail into racking position at least 2 days before actually transferring the mead. This will allow time for the sediment to settle back down.
* Clean and sanitize a 3 gallon glass carboy, stopper, air lock and siphon set up.
* Crush 3 Campden Tablets and place them into the carboy. Gently siphon the mead from the primary fermenter into the bottom of the carboy. Be careful not to disturb the sediment.
* Add distilled water to bring the level of the mead up to the bottom of the carboy neck.
* Close the carboy with an air lock and allow to ferment in a dark place for at least 30 days but not more than 45 days.
2nd Racking
* Clean and sanitize the fermenter pail then siphon the mead from the carboy to the pail. 
* Clean and sanitize the carboy and repeat the 1st Racking Step but this time use only 2 crushed Campden Tablets. Sweet mead makers must add 1-1/2 teaspoons of potassium sorbate at this time.
* Allow the mead to rest in a dark place at least 30 to 45 days or until it clears. To check clarity, hold a flash light on one side of the carboy and look at the light from the other. When you can clearly see the bulb of the light the mead is clear.
3rd Racking
* There is no substitute for time when making mead. The more mature the mead is prior to bottling the better it will be. A third racking will allow the mead to brighten and age. All recipes except Sweet Mead do not use any additives on this racking.
* Sweet mead makers must add wine conditioner at this time.
Bottling
* Mead can be bottled as you would wine or beer. I prefer to bottle in 375ml wine bottles or 7oz clear beer bottles. These smaller sizes reduce waste caused by leftovers. If the beer bottle method is used the caps must be the oxygen barrier type. Wine bottles should be closed with a 1-3/4 inch cork.
* You can make your mead still, sparkling or both. Sparkling mead can only be sweetened with a sugar substitute and must be bottled in beer bottles or champagne bottles with special corks and wires.
* Clean and sanitize your bottles, caps, siphon and bottle filling equipment. Gently fill each bottle but do not cap until all are filled.
* When filling is complete you have the option of making some of the mead sparkling. To do this, add 1/2 teaspoon of corn sugar to each sparkling bottle.
* Cap or cork the bottles. Store them upright in a dark cool place. Mead will take time to age and in my experience it will under go many changes. A batch which tastes great a bottling time may taste bad after 3 months in the bottle and then fabulous at 6 months.

Mooched from: http://www.leeners.com/meadrecipes.html