During the beekeeping "offseason," one of the things I like to do is make a few small batches of mead. Mead, for those who don't know, is basically a wine made from honey, water, and yeast. I thought I'd post my favorite mead recipe, called "Christmastime Mead." It's flavored with a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, which together make up the pumpkin spice taste that's so popular between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Ingredients for 0.8 gallons of wine:
- Spring water (non-chlorinated), 1 gallon
- Honey, 4 lbs
- Cinnamon sticks, 1 oz (coarsely crushed)
- Whole nutmeg, 4 pieces (coarsely crushed)
- Whole allspice, .75 oz (coarsely crushed)
- Lemon, 1 small sliced
- Yeast nutrient, 1/4 teaspoon
- D47 wine yeast, one 5-g packet
- Earl Grey tea, 1 mug steeped in spring water and cooled to room temp (adds flavor depth and helps keep the wine from being too sweet by adding tannins for astringency.
Steps:
- Microwave 2 oz of spring water for 15 seconds to make it slightly warm.
- Pour yeast packet into warmed spring water, stir, and set aside while you assemble the other ingredients.
- Prepare the tea.
- Warm the honey container(s) in a water-filled pan to help it pour more easily.
- Use the cleaner and sanitizer to prepare any equipment that will come into contact with the mead.
- Add the ingredients into a 2-gallon primary fermenter.
- Mix well. This mixture is called the “must.”
- Test the specific gravity (SG) using a hydrometer. It should indicate about 14% alcohol potential. If not, add honey.
- Seal the primary fermenter and install the airlock.
- Use vodka to fill the airlock. This provides an added defense against germs entering the mead.
- Primary Fermentation: Allow the must to sit for 2 weeks in a dark, cool location while it ferments. During the first week, gently swirl the vessel every couple days to keep ingredients in contact with each other. Proceed to first racking after 2 weeks.
1st RACKING:
- Clean and sanitize your racking siphon and tubing.
- Microwave 2oz of water for 1 minute. Add 1/2 teaspoon of bentonite to the hot water and stir until dissolved. Let the bentonite mixture cool to room temperature, and then pour it into the empty carboy you’re about to use.
- Rack the liquid into the cleaned and sanitized 1-gallon carboy with the bentonite slurry already poured in.
- Test the specific gravity in a hydrometer. A 1.0 reading indicates most of the sugars have been converted.
- Install the airlock.
- Secondary Fermentation: Allow the mead to sit for 3 weeks in a dark, cool location while it ferments some more.
CLARIFYING RACK:
- Clean and sanitize your racking siphon and tubing.
- Microwave 2oz of water for 1 minute. Add 1/2 teaspoon of bentonite to the hot water and stir until dissolved. Let the bentonite mixture cool to room temperature, and then pour it into the empty carboy you’re about to use.
- Rack the liquid into the cleaned and sanitized 1-gallon carboy with the bentonite slurry already poured in.
- Test the specific gravity in a hydrometer. A 1.0 reading indicates most of the sugars have been converted.
- Install the airlock.
- Allow the mead to sit in a dark, cool location until it clarifies.
BOTTLING:
- If, at this point, there are still solids settled in the bottom of the mead, rack one more time to segregate the clarified mead before bottling.
- When there’s no more noticeable fermentation taking place, prepare for bottling.
- Clean and sanitize bottles, and then run them through the dishwasher without detergent. Also do this with the funnel and any other equipment that’ll come into contact with the mead.
- Test the specific gravity in a hydrometer. A 1.0 reading indicates most of the sugars have been converted.
- Bottle and cap the mead.
- Label the bottles. Try to include the date you began the primary fermentation and the bottling date.
- Break open one of the bottles to try it out.
- Store the remaining bottles in a cool, dark place until at least a year has passed since the start date to let the flavors blend and moderate.
The end result; a bottled batch of mead