|
Jehannette’s (Julie) Basic Mead Recipe Ingredients B-Brite Cleanser 8oz tub 5 gallon Carboy If plastic, a #10 rubber stopper with hole If glass, a #6.5 rubber stopper with hole 1 airlock/1 way valve 3-5 feet plastic tubing Wine Yeast ( I had red star Montrachet yeast for the class) 1 TBLSP sugar 1 teabag or 1TBLSP raisins 1-2 gallons raw honey (1 gal for dry mead, 2 gals for sweeter mead, more if you want SWEET) 3-4 gallons bottled springwater, chilled. Large Pot, preferably glass or stainless
Additional Supplies (you need these in about a month) - Corker or Capper, plus corks or caps (or mason jars with lids)
- mason jars, wine bottles, or Import (non-threaded) beer bottles
1. Chill bottled water, especially if you are using 2 gallons of honey for this recipe. 2. Clean out the carboy or brewing bucket with the B-Brite cleanser. Remove all debris. Never use soap since soap contains fats which is detrimental to the brew. If further disinfection is desired, use the brewers iodine solution. (My supplier for most things is either the Ridgeback winery in Mt Dora, or Hearts Homebrew in Orlando www.heartshomebrew.com . 3. Place 1 cup warm NOT HOT water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl, stir allow to set, checking occasionally. You are basically watching for the tell-tale of fermentation, i.e. foam or bubbles, to show that the yeast is alive. That is the purpose for this first step. 4. Place 1 gallon of honey, teabag and enough water to top off the pot over med-low heat until it nearly boils. Skim off foam from top. Allow to simmer 10-20 mins, skimming as needed. You are just looking to get the majority of the foam off. Pour hot solution into the carboy. Repeat with 2nd gallon if you prefer sweeter mead. 5. Add cold spring water in smaller increments, swishing the bottle to stir, until honey solution reaches baby-bottle temperature, which is just warmer than lukewarm. You are looking to be 70-80 degrees. Test the specific gravity of the solution with a hydrometer if you wish to know your final alcohol content. Otherwise, this is not necessary for basic mead. Add yeast mixture. 6. Top the rest of the carboy off with spring water, swish if you can still move the thing, put rubber stopper and airlock (with water inside) on. 7. Allow to ferment in a cool dark place until no more bubbles come up through the airlock. Rack mead into a second carboy with the rubber tubing. Allow to sit for another week, or longer if you get bubbles in the airlock again. 8. Bottle mead in either disinfected mason jars, wine bottles (with a corker), or beer bottles (with a capper).
|
