Making Mead Is a Centuries-Old Practice That Can Be Enjoyed by the Home Brewer
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Making mead is a centuries-old practice that can be enjoyed by the home brewer. As with the preparation of most foods and beverages, the making of a good mead is a blend of science and art. This kit is designed to help you understand the basic principles of mead making and guide you through the process. It is intended as a primer for the beginner and as a resource for the more experienced home brewer. The History of replaced mead in many Varieties areas of the world. In Mead Brewing Northern Europe, where of Mead Mead is one of the world’s grapes were difficult to Mead is an alcoholic oldest fermented grow, mead remained beverage made by beverages. Ancient myths popular until grape wine fermenting a mixture of and writings throughout the was imported from honey and water. world contain references to southern regions. Traditional mead is simply alcoholic beverages that that — honey and water. were drunk by both people The roots of the variations Variations have existed and gods alike. of mead we have today through the ages and can be found in the range from the traditional Mead was a part of the cultures and agriculture of to complex mixes of fruit rituals of the Celts, Anglo- old. The practice of adding juices and spices. (See Saxons and Vikings. It was bitter herbs (gruit) to mead Table 1.) believed to have magical, began in the Middle Ages. healing powers even Mixing grape and other fruit Mead can be either still or capable of increasing wines with mead can be sparkling. Sparkling mead fertility. The word honey- traced to Roman times. results from a second moon is derived from the fermentation that retains practice of the newlyweds Eventually, agricultural dissolved carbon dioxide in drinking mead for one crops such as grapes, the bottled product. month (a moon) after the grains and hops, became wedding. If the mead was the preferred ingredients Other alcoholic beverages "proper," a son would be for alcoholic beverages made from honey include born nine months later. such as wine, beer and braggot and mead brandy. ales. Braggot, made with malted As civilizations and grain and honey, is part agricultural resources beer. Mead brandy is mead grew, beverages such as that has been distilled. A wine made from grapes or honey liqueur is made by other fruits, and ale made adding extra honey to from barely and wheat mead brandy. National Honey Board • (303) 776-2337 • www.nhb.org • P a g e 1/12 Table 1. Varieties of Mead Traditional Mead A fermented honey beverage made from approximately two and one-half pounds of honey diluted with one gallon of water only. Hydromel Weak, or watered mead Sack Mead Mead that is made sweeter by the addition of twenty to twenty-five percent more honey; a sauterne-like bever- age. Metheglin Spiced mead; originally spiced with a combination of herbs (gruit) but later hops became more popular. Sack Metheglin Sweet spiced mead; traditionally similar to vermouth. Melomel, or Mulsum Mead made with fruit juice. Cyser A melomel made with apple juice or cider; similar to a sherry wine. Pyment, or Clarre A melomel made with grape juice; sometimes referred to as honey-sweetened grape wine. Hyppocras Spiced pyment. National Honey Board • (303) 776-2337 • www.nhb.org • P a g e 2/12 Basics for Brewing Mead Getting Started: Choosing which honey to sugars in honey to carbon use is a matter of taste and dioxide and ethyl alcohol. Ingredients the type of mead desired. Cultured wine yeast is Stronger honeys go well commonly used to make HONEY with sweeter, heavy or mead. In general, those Honey is the first ingredient spiced meads and milder that are used for white to consider when making honeys with delicate wines, especially sauterne- mead. The flavor and color flavors work well for yeast work well. The yeast of the final product are traditional or fruit meads. used for wine and mead dependent on the variety of fermentation is Saccharo- honey used. In general, a The National Honey Board myces cerviseae. light honey yields lighter has additional information colored and flavored mead available on the floral Matching the appropriate and a dark honey, darker sources of honey. A list of yeast culture to the honey colored and more robust honey suppliers is avail- variety is key to developing flavored mead. able on the National Honey the desired taste and Board’s Web site, mouthfeel of mead. The floral source of the www.nhb.org. A paper de- Formulation guideline for honey determines its flavor scribing the sensory attrib- various types of yeasts and profile and other sensory utes of U.S. honey honeys can be found in attributes. Honey bees varieties is available both Zymurgy: For the Home- gather nectar and convert it online and as a hard copy. brewer and Beer Lover, to honey. There is some May-June 2000 issue. variation in the amount of The United States sugar, minerals and Department of Agriculture In addition to sugar, yeast vitamins in the nectars that Technical Bulletin number needs nitrogen, the bees gather. An 1261 gives detailed phosphorus and potassium enzyme (invertase) information on the for growth. Ingredients secreted by the bees chemical composition, such as urea, peptone and converts the sucrose in the color and granulation of potassium phosphate are nectar to fructose and various honey varieties. used to supply these glucose and another These resources will be nutrients. It is also enzyme (glucose oxidase) helpful in selecting a honey possible to buy packaged changes the glucose to variety. nutrients specially gluconic acid and hydrogen designed for mead. peroxide. The water YEAST content in the nectar is also Yeast is the next ingredient WATER reduced in the process. to consider and once The third basic ingredient The result is honey: a again, there are several used to make mead is fermentable sugar with pH choices. Yeast is living water. The quality and of approximately 3.9, on organism that metabolizes chemical composition of average, and an 17.1 the water used to make percent water content. mead is critical. National Honey Board • (303) 776-2337 • www.nhb.org • P a g e 3/12 be used. Twelve to fifteen For example, water that pounds of fruit with twelve Getting Started: has a high chlorine content to fifteen pound of honey in may produce off-flavors. five gallons are Equipment Most mead makers rec- recommended. ommend bottled or spring Home brewers typically water but not distilled water SPICES AND HERBS: make five-gallon batches of since it lacks sufficient Almost any spice or herb mead. The equipment they minerals for the yeast. can be added to mead need is similar to what is either as an extract or used to make wine and is OTHER INGREDIENTS directly at almost any time readily available in home ACIDS: Small amounts of during the mead making wine and brewing supply acids, such as malic, process. Blends of two or stores. tartaric and citric acid, are more spices and herbs are added to balance the commonly used. If added Basic equipment needed to flavor. Their tartness directly, they should not produce five-gallon batch offsets the sweetness of remain in the mix for longer includes: •= the honey while combining than twenty-four hours 1 (four-gallon) with the alcohol to give a because bitter components enameled or stainless degree of stability against may be extracted. steel pot spoilage. •= 2 (five-gallon) glass A strong extract of mixed carboys* Some experts recommend herbs (gruit), can be added •= 1 fermentation lock with an acid blend composed of at bottling time. Or, a rubber cork to fit carboy twenty-five percent citric, strong extract of each •= 7 feet clear plastic si- thirty percent malic and spice can be prepared and phoning hose, 5/16-inch forty-five percent tartaric added at any time after diameter acids. fermentation but before fin- •= 3 feet plastic blow-out ing. To make an extract, hose, 5/16-inch SULFITES: Sodium boil the spices in a small diameter bisulfite or potassium amount of water for 15 •= Detergent and chlorine metabisulfite in tablet or minutes. bleach powder form are commonly •= Large funnel used for sanitation in wine HOPS: Adding hops to •= Corker or bottle capper making. mead will add a distinctive •= Corks or bottle caps flavor, but more •= Bottles STABALIZERS: When importantly, its resins, oils, •= Wine hydrometer making still mead, tannins and pectin can help •= Thermometer potassium sorbate, or wine to clarify the mead and •= Acid-testing kit stabilizer, can be added at preserve its freshness. the bottling stage to *Note: A carboy is a glass prevent a second Tannin is sometimes used container with a narrow neck. fermentation by killing by itself to add astringency remaining yeast cells. and aid in brewing and clarification. FRUIT: To create the fruit-containing mead, ten to twenty percent fruit juice or purees are added to the honey-water mixture. Whole, pitted fruit can also National Honey Board • (303) 776-2337 • www.nhb.org • P a g e 4/12 break" which precipitates consume mead that is Processing the protein and other made with sulfiting agents. colloidal materials in the Also care must be taken Guidelines honey. This will help clarify not add too much sulfite as the final mead. levels in the 60-70 ppm There are seven basic range can inhibit yeast steps to making mead. The disadvantage of growth. Since proper (See Table 2.) boiling is that it drives off adjustment of levels re- the delicate flavor compo- quires an accurate scale SANITIZING nents of the honey.