I'm going to start homebrewing mead this weekend, I need some tips!?

Question

OK so I was wondering if someone who knows what they are talking about could give me a detailed step by step process on homebrewing mead, without using the homebrewer's jargon which i see so frequently online. Or, if you could, please explain what each term is (such as 'must' and 'pitch the yeast') as you go along. Also if you could put down not only an ingredient list but also an equipment list that would be amazing!

Also, does it matter if you use 'buckets' or carboys? And does it matter if the carboy is plastic or glass?

Do you clean w/ bleach, or soap and water?

Also if someone could put down a recipe for a quick mead that'd be awesome too, thanks a lot yal'!

Answer 1

Mead

Metheglin:  Historical Mead

Makes 2 gal

4 lbs Honey

6 Cloves

2 Sticks cinnamon

Juice & peel from one lemon

1 gal Water

1 Tsp Activated dry yeast

Methods/steps:

In a large nonreactive pot, add the next four ingredients to the gallon of water.

Boil all together for 30 minutes, then strain into a crock that will hold it with a little room to spare.

When cooled, add the yeast, dissolved in some of the liquid.

Allow to ferment in a cool place - 55F is ideal - until it ceases bubbling and the liquor clears, then bottle, cap tightly and store in a cool, dark cellar.

It should not be used for at least a month, and longer is better. Mead unlike many other drinks, does not improve with really long aging, so it should be consumed within a year of the time it was made.

hope this helps.              good luck and enjoy.

Answer 2

check out the website www.gotmead.com

not only will their be tons of great information for your venture into the world of making mead; if you have any questions at all, you can email them and they will answer your questions almost immediately.

additionally, they have a really good forum with mead makers from around the globe that will reply to your posts quite rapidly.

gotmead.com also has recipes and a recipe calculator

There is just too much information to cover on mead making to fit in this little answer section.

Answer 3

Homemade Mead....That sounds awesome....I'd love to know how difficult that is....that's somethign I could totally get into!

Answer 4

Sterilize everything, constantly, especially when in doubt.

1) Combine honey and water.

2) Sterilize, some people use campden tablets, others use a short term heating.  I personally do about 175F for 15 minutes.  In the case of mead only sterilization is required as there are no chemical reactions lended from an extended boil.

3) Allow total liquid volume, or "must", to cool to 80F or less.  Luke warm to the touch if you don't have  thermometer.

4) Transfer, or "rack", the liquid volume to the fermentation vessel (bucket, carboy...).  Buckets are good for the short term, carboys are a better bet for long term but people argue back and forth about this.  Personally I use nothing but glass for fermentors.  

5) Add yeast ("pitch" the yeast) and seal the container with an airlock or loose fitting piece of sterile tinfoil.  Store in a cool dark place.

6) Allow that to ferment for a few weeks or so and then transfer, or "rack", the mead to a second fermentation vessel.  This is pretty important.  Your mead will develop off flavors if you don't get it off the layer of yeast which will have formed at the bottom by this point aka, the "yeast cake","yeast slurry", or "trub".

7) You could probably drink the mead within a month or two but most if not all people I talk to about mead recommend at least six month of "bulk fermenting" which is fermenting and aging the total volume together rather than in the bottle.  

8) Anyways, when you decide you've waited long enough take a series of hydrometer readings over a weeks time to assure that you mead is done fermenting.  This is indicated by consistent readings.

I have some absolutely badass mead from a couple of years ago that went like...

4ish gallons of water

12lbs Wildflower Honey

3lbs Clover Honey

Several fresh ground peppercorns and cloves

Heated for 15 minutes at 175F

"Pitched" aka added Wyeast Sweet mead yeast when cooled.

Primary for a month.

Secondary for 2 months.

Tertiary for a little over a year.

Soap = bad because it contains oils.  If you must use "soap" use unscented detergent.

Bleach I've heard mixed things about, supposedly it's pretty hard to get the taste and smell of bleach out after using.

For cleaning I use hot water and elbow grease.  Sugar water comes off of equipment pretty easily.  For sterilizing I use either dilute alcohol and water or one step sanitizer.