or
The Making of Mead
By Stephen Pursley

 


Mead Variations


Let's Make a Batch
(an example of a medium sweet still mead)
Barat's Honeymoon Mead

  • 14 lbs. honey (clover, orange blossom or any other light honey)

  • Yeast nutrient

  • Yeast energizer

  • Lalvin 71B-1122 Red Wine Yeast

Bring 2.5 gallons of water to boil. Remove from heat and stir in the honey. Return to heat. Bring to a light simmer. Scum (foam) will form (white to light tan). Skim it off till it stops showing up (10 minutes to and hour and a half or longer, depending on the amount of albumin in the honey). If the scum forming is dark tan or brown, turn the heat down.

Fill your clean sterile carboy with 1 gallon of cold water (this is done to keep the hot must from cracking the carboy). Add the must to the carboy (see the entry in the equipment section on funnels to avoid burning yourself). Add yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must up to 5 gallons. Don't fill the carboy completely to the top, leave 5" of airspace (head space) above the liquid level. Put an airlock on the carboy. Do not agitate the must at this stage. When the temperature is down to 70-80 deg. F pitch the yeast. Let the carboy sit for a day, then use the shaker method to increase the yeast count.

Rack the mead into a clean sterile carboy when the fermentation stops and some sedimentation (1/2" or more) has taken place. You will need to repeat this step several times to insure a clear mead, and to keep the mead off of the sediment. Taste the mead. If it's too dry (not enough residual sweetness) you will need to feed the mead.

Once the mead is done fermenting (no more blips of the airlock and yeast is no longer settling out), clean, de-label and sanitize 30 - 750 ml wine bottles. Once they are de-labeled, look in each to insure there's nothing nasty in them. If need be, blast the bottles out with a bottle washer. The bottles must be COMPLETELY CLEAN.

Sterilize the bottles. You can do this by filling the bottles with a bleach water solution. Another method is to use a dishwasher. Place the bottles in the dishwasher, neck down, and run them through a full cycle. Don't worry about the water getting into the bottles (you've already made sure they were clean), you're after the heat cycle. Let the bottles go completely through a wash and dry cycle. Don't use the energy saving cycle, as this will lower the temperature of the wash water and the dry cycle. Let the bottles cool with the door closed.

Fill the bottles with the finished mead however you like. I use a bottling bucket, a length of clear plastic (food grade) tubing and a bottling cane. One thing to remember: the less you agitate the mead during bottling the better. Agitation will put oxygen into the mead, causing it to have a shorter shelf life. So don't let the mead splash into the bottles when you are filling them.

While you are filling the bottles, place your corks in very warm water. They should be heated until they are slightly soft (the will give about 1/16" when squeezed). If the corks get too soft they won't stay in the bottles. Drive the corks in with a corker, label the bottles (I've got so many meads that if I didn't label them, I wouldn't know what's what), and put them in storage. Let the bottles sit upright for two days to let the corks harden, then store them on their sides so that the corks don't dry out.

Color: Golden amber
Alcohol Content: 8%
Batch Size: 5 gallons


Metheglin
To make a metheglin (a spiced mead) take 4-6 sticks cinnamon, 1-3 tsp. allspice, 10-15 cloves or any other herb/spice you like and place in a pot with a quart of water. Heat slowly, and do not let it boil. Let it almost simmer for fifteen minutes. Take out the herb(s)/spice(s) and add this "tea" to your brew pot. It works best if you add this tea to the must right before you pour the must from the brew pot to the carboy. Or you can add it directly to the carboy. Or, for a stronger flavor and aroma, add the tea to the mead at bottling time.

Moonlight Metheglin
by Lord Alexander Ravenshaw

  • 20 lbs. honey

  • 4-6 Sticks of cinnamon

  • Yeast nutrient

  • Yeast energizer

  • Lalvin 71B-1122 Red Wine Yeast

Dissolve the honey into 3 gallons of hot water. Return to heat. Simmer and skim (just like the other recipes) till no more scum forms.

Simmer the cinnamon sticks in 1 gallon of water for 10 minutes. Discard the spices. Add 1 gallon cold water to the carboy. Add the cinnamon water and must to the carboy.

Add yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must up to 5 gallons. Don't completely fill the carboy, leave 5" head space. Put an airlock on the carboy. Do not agitate the must at this stage. When the temperature is down to 70-80 deg. F pitch the yeast. Let the carboy sit for a day, then use the shaker method to increase the yeast count.

Ferment to completion, racking as needed. Taste the mead at the second racking - your first racking will usually kick off fermentation again, so feeding it then may not give you the residual sweetness you expect. If it's too dry (not enough residual sweetness) feed the mead. Bottle when done.

See the recipe for Barat's Honeymoon Mead for bottling instructions.

Color: Gold to amber
Alcohol Content: 8%
Batch Size: 5 gallons


Herbs and Spices
What spices to use? On the next page is a list of some herbs/spices taken from modern, period and near-period recipes.

There are many more herbs/spices than those listed that work well in meads. If you are going to experiment with a new herb/spice, use small amounts to start with. The amount of herbs/spices to add to your metheglin is a matter of personal taste. In general, use the less strongly flavored herbs/spices in amounts of up to 1 oz. in a 5 gallon batch. The stronger flavored herbs/spices should be used in smaller quantities, usually 1/2 oz. or less in a 5 gallon batch.

Obtaining some of these herbs/spices may prove difficult. Your local grocery store will carry the more mundane ones. Some of the others can be purchased at a well stocked brew shop. Still others can be found at natural/health food stores.

It's not an herb, it's not a spice, it's WOOD. A hand full of oak chips (brew shop) added to the fermenter will give your mead that unique oak cask aged taste.

Note: before using any herb/spice in your meads, make sure they are safe for human consumption. Some of the herbs used in period recipes can be quite toxic. The period recipes in this work have been chosen to avoid this problem, and may be produced without concern.


Let's Talk About Hops
Historically, mead was a sweet drink, and adding bittering agents to "balance" the sweetness is counterproductive. However, Digbie does mention the use of hops in several of his meads. For instance:

A Receipt to make Metheglin as it is made at Liege
Communicated by Mr. Masillon.

. . . And if you do intend to keep your Meathe a long time, you may put into it some hopps on this fashion. Take to every Barrel of Meathe a Pound of Hops without leaves, that is, of Ordinary Hops used for Beer, but well cleansed, taking only the Flowers, without the Green-leaves and stalks. . .

That's 16 oz. of hops to a barrel (64 gallons U.S.). Making the amount of hops used 1/4 oz. per gallon. This is about the same amount of hops used in modern beers.

Mr. Webbes Meath

Master Webbe, who maketh the Kings Meathe, ordereth it thus. Take as much of the Hyde-park water as will make a Hogshead of Meathe. Boil in it about two Ounces of the best Hopp's for about half an hour. By that time, the water will have drawn out the strength of the Hopp's. . .

That's two ounces of hops in a hogshead of water. Very little if any hop flavor or aroma will result from such a small quantity.

The first of Septemb. 1663. Mr. Webbe came to my House to make some for Me. He took fourty three Gallons of water, and fourty two pounds of Norfolk honey. As soon as the water boiled, He put into it a slight handful of Hops; which after it had boiled a little above a quarter of an hour; he skimed off; then put in the honey to the boyling water, and presently a white scum rose, which he skimed off still as it rose; which skiming was ended in little above a quarter of an hour more.

A slight handful of hops (1-2 oz. I would say) in fourty three gallons of water will produce little if any hop flavor or aroma.

If you wish to use hops in your mead, give it a try and see if you like the flavor.


A Note on Cinnamon
There are several varieties of trees that botanists refer to as being in the “cinnamomum” family.

The spice we know as cinnamon is ground from the dried bark of trees in the evergreen (laurel) family. There are several varieties of cinnamon-producing trees which differ slightly in the flavor and color of cinnamon they produce. Some types resemble thick-stemmed bushes 6-10 feet tall, while others grow as large as 5 feet in circumference and 50 feet in height. When harvested the bark is slit and stripped off both the trunk and branches. As it dries it curls up tightly, making the familiar long, slender cinnamon sticks.

The majority of the cinnamon sold in the U.S. and Europe is derived from trees of the “cinnamolnum cassia” division of this family. This group is native to China, Indo-China and Indonesia, It is reddish brown in color with a strong characteristic aroma and flavor.

The other major type is “Ceylon” cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon is characteristically tan-colored, with flavor and aroma much milder than that of cassia.

Either type can be used in the production of a spiced mead. Be aware that if you use Ceylon cinnamon you will either need to increase the amount used or you will end up with a much milder and less noticeable cinnamon flavor.


Melomel
A melomel is a mead made with fruit other than grapes and apples (we have special names for those).

Many recipes call for two or three pounds of fruit in a 5 gallon batch. In truth, using two or three pounds of most fruit will only add a hint of fruit flavor and a little color. Most of the successful melomel recipes I have used or devised require six to ten pounds (or more) of fruit for a 5 gallon batch.

Choose your fruit. Blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, cherry, gooseberry, mango, elderberry, peach, pear, kiwi, lemon, lime, whatever you like. Put the fruit in several freezer bags and freeze it hard. Let the fruit thaw and crush the fruit (I leave it in the freezer bag and smash it a bit). The freezing causes the cell walls of the fruit to rupture. Several freeze - thaw cycles will insure maximum juice extraction. Dump the whole mess into the carboy. Pour the simmered and skimmed must over the fruit while the must is still hot. This will help pasteurize the fruit without setting the pectin in the fruit skins (pectin is what makes jelly gel). If the must is boiling (a no-no), the pectin in the fruit may set causing the melomel to be hazy.

Add yeast nutrient and energizer as we have previously discussed. Use the shaker method after you pitch your yeast. While some fruits have some of the nutrients yeast needs, most do not.

After initial fermentation, or after two weeks, whichever comes first, rack the mead into a secondary fermenter leaving the fruit skins and pulp behind. If you leave the mead on the skins too long, you may pick up some nasty flavors.

Ferment to completion like any other mead, bottle and enjoy.


Blackberry/Cherry Melomel

  • 15 lbs. honey

  • 7 lbs. blackberries

  • 2 gallons cherry juice

  • Lalvin 71B-1122 Red Wine Yeast

Freeze, thaw and crush the blackberries and put them in a sterile carboy.

Dissolve the honey in 2 gallons of hot water. Simmer and skim (just like the other recipes) till no more scum forms. It will boil down a little.

Put the cherry juice in the carboy. Add the must to the carboy. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must up to 5 gallons. Don't completely fill the carboy, leave 5" head space. Put an airlock on the carboy. Do not agitate the must at this stage. When the temperature is down to 70-80 deg. F pitch the yeast. Let the carboy sit for a day, then use the shaker method to increase the yeast count.

When fermentation stops, or after 2 weeks (whichever comes first) transfer the mead to a sterile secondary fermenter, leaving the sediment and fruit behind. Ferment to completion, feed and rack as needed, then bottle.

Color: Cherry Red
Alcohol Content: 8%
Batch Size: 5 gallons

Note: If you can not find cherry juice (and it can be hard to find), use a cherry concentrate from your brew shop. Most bottles of fruit flavor concentrate contain enough to make 5 gallons. Use 1/2 of a bottle of concentrate (enough for 2.5 gallons) and 2 gallons of water instead of the 2 gallons of cherry juice listed.

Raspberry Mead (Melomel)

  • 30 lbs. honey

  • 7-10 lbs. raspberries

  • Yeast nutrient

  • Yeast energizer

  • Wyeast Dry Mead Yeast (remeber, not powdered yeast)


Freeze, thaw and crush the raspberries and put them in the carboy with 1 gallon of cold water.

Dissolve the honey in 4 gallons of hot water. Simmer and skim (just like the other recipes) till no more scum forms. It will boil down a little.

Add the must to the carboy. Add yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must up to 5 gallons. Don't completely fill the carboy, leave 5" head space. Put an airlock on the carboy. Do not agitate the must at this stage. When the temperature is down to 70-80 deg. F pitch the yeast. Let the carboy sit for a day, then use the shaker method to increase the yeast count.

When fermentation stops, or after 2 weeks (whichever comes first) transfer the mead to a sterile secondary fermenter, leaving the sediment and fruit behind. Ferment to completion, feed and rack as needed then bottle.

Color: Pale Rose
Alcohol Content: 16%
Batch Size: 5 gallons


Things to Remember About Melomels

  • Do not use a fruit packed in cane sugar. Cane sugar will give your mead a harsh cider flavor that does not go away with aging.

  • Get the mead off the fruit after two weeks (or when primary fermentation is over, whichever comes first).

  • Melomels will tend to ferment to completion faster than a straight mead.

  • If you are using a berry fruit, most of the color of the melomel will come from the skins. The less time the mead stays on the skins, the lighter the color of the finished mead.

  • If you use fruit juice instead of whole fruit, you don't have to worry about pectin. You will need about 3 gallons of fruit juice, or 50-100 oz. of a fruit juice concentrate for a five gallon batch of melomel.

  • Some brew shops carry flavor extracts. These are usually all natural (read the label to be sure). They work fine to make melomels. However, I have found that using real fruit (or juice) produces a better tasting product with much more depth and complexity.

  • Limes make a truly nasty melomel.

  • Most melomels become drinkable faster than straight meads. Melomels made with berry fruits tend to become drinkable faster than other types of melomels.


Pyment
Pyment is mead made with the juice of grapes. Most brew supply shops carry wine grade juice concentrates. These make for some very good pyments. The more juice you use, the more wine like the finished product will be.

As a general rule, with a lighter juice (white wine concentrates) use a lighter honey such as clover, orange blossom and the like. For reds and purple juices (concord grape), you can use darker honeys.

If you are making a pyment with whole grapes, rather than juice or concentrated juice, don't allow the must to ferment on the skins for more than two weeks. Needless to say you will need to add a wine press to your list of equipment if you plan to use whole grapes.

You can add spices to your pyment as described in the Metheglin section. As a general rule, if a spice goes well in a cake, it goes well in pyment (or any other type of mead for that matter). I have found that cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves (use only a small amount, say 1/8 oz.) and mint work very well in pyments.


Barat's Concord Pyment
Also known as the Purple Stuff


Try this one, it has been winning awards and has put smiles on many faces.

  • 15 lbs. Honey (clover, orange blossom or any other light flavored honey) (12 lbs. to start, feed with 3 more)

  • 90 oz. Concord Grape Concentrate

  • Yeast nutrient

  • Yeast energizer

  • Lalvin 71B-1122 Red Wine Yeast

Bring 2.5 gallons of water to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in 12 lbs. of honey. Return to heat. Bring to a light simmer. Scum will form (white to light tan). Skim it off until it stops showing up (10 minutes to and hour and a half, depending on the honey). If the scum forming is dark tan or brown, turn the heat down. Remove from heat and immediately add the concord grape concentrate. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes. This pasteurizes the juice (kill off any wild yeast/bacteria). Fill your carboy with a little less than 1 gallon of cold water. Add the must to the carboy. Add yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must up to 4 gallons. Put an airlock on the carboy. Do not agitate the must at this stage. When the temperature is down to 70-80 deg. F pitch the yeast. Let the carboy sit for a day, then use the shaker method to increase the yeast count.

When fermentation tapers off (1 blip of the airlock every 15 minutes), feed the pyment. Here's how: simmer the extra 3 lbs. of honey as you did the 12 lbs. (skimming the foam off) in 1/2 gallon of water. Add to the fermenter (this is one of the reasons I use 7.5 gallon carboys for 5 gallon batches). If you do not have sufficient room in the carboy to feed the mead, remove some of the pyment from the fermenter and store it in a 1 gallon bottle with an airlock. You can then add this 1 gallon back into the main batch at bottling time.

The color is a deep, dark bluish purple. It tends to be crystal clear, without adding any clarifying agents. Wonderful flavor. Be warned, I prefer sweet meads, and this is a sweet mead.

Where to get concord grape concentrate? The highest quality source I have been able to find is Welches Concord Grape Juice Concentrate (really). This stuff is made with the best concord grapes around, has no preservatives (except for a small quantity of added vitamin C).

This pyment is good straight out of the fermenter, no aging required. Sometimes this pyment will have a little bit of an acid tang when you taste it. If this happens, just let it age in the bottle about two months before drinking. Try it sparkling. Oh My!

Color: Deep, dark bluish purple
Alcohol Content: 11-14%
Batch Size: 5 gallons


Hippocras: not a mead
Well, if it's not a mead, why did I list it? Many books on mead list hippocras as spiced pyment. This is incorrect. Hippocras is not fermented honey with grape juice and spices. It was made by mixing wine with honey and spices/herbs at serving time. This way, a wine of lower quality could be made more palatable. Other references show that the alcohol in the wine was used as the vehicle to deliver medicinal herbs. Honey was added to cover up the flavor of the herbs.


Cyser
A cross between mead and a hard cider. Cysers tend to have a very crisp flavor, unlike most meads which tend to be rather mellow.

When you make a cyser you will need to add about three gallons of apple juice to your fermenter, so cut down on the amount of water simmered with the honey. Yeast energizer and nutrient are not needed when you make a cyser, as the apple juice has everything the yeast needs for a good fermentation.

Note: The apple juice you use must not contain any preservatives, as many food preservatives will stop a fermentation completely. The F.D.A. now requires all producers of non-pasturized apple juice to put a warning label on their products, so non-pasturized apple juice is now much easier to spot.

Note: I have found that a Cyser fermented at a lower temperature (55-60 deg. F) will tend to produce a much smoother drink than one fermented at room temperature. Needless to say, a lower fermentation temperature will require a longer fermentation time. You can (and many have) produce a more than adequate Cyser fermenting at room temperature, but I am willing to wait a little longer (well, a lot longer) for a smoother drink. For those of you who are beer brewers, no doubt you see a direct analogy between the above and the difference between ales and lagers.

Cyser go Boom!!

  • 3 gallons fresh apple juice with no preservatives (any preservative other than a small quantity of vitamin C can stop the fermentation)

  • 8 pounds honey

  • 2 large sticks cinnamon

  • 5 cloves

  • Lalvin 71B-1122 Red Wine Yeast

Dissolve the honey into 2.5 gallons hot water. Return to heat. Simmer and skim (just like the other recipes) till no more scum forms.

Simmer the spices in 1 gallon of water for 10 minutes. Discard the spices. Put the apple juice and the spiced water in a sterile carboy. Add the must to the carboy. Add yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must up to 5 gallons. Don't completely fill the carboy, leave 5" head space. Put an airlock on the carboy. Do not agitate the must at this stage. When the temperature is down to 70-80 deg. F pitch the yeast. Let the carboy sit for a day, then use the shaker method to increase the yeast count.

Ferment at 55-60 deg. F. When fermentation dies down, transfer the cyser to a sterile secondary fermenter, leaving the sediment behind. Ferment to completion, feed and rack as needed then bottle. This cyser will need to age six months to a year before it is drinkable.

This is a very clear, slightly sweet cyser. Wonderful sparkling (except when the bottles blow up).

Color: Amber to golden
Alcohol Content: 7-9%
Batch Size: 5 gallons


Braggot
Wonderfully complex, usually strong and not for the faint of heart. A braggot is a wonderful thing to behold (and to drink).

Concerning Water Hardness and Braggots
Very hard water (200 parts per million of dissolved minerals or more) will tend to result in less bitterness from the hops. The use of soft-hard water is recommended (0-100 parts per million of dissolved minerals) for braggots.


Pieter's Imperial Braggot
 by Lord Pieter Lambic

  • 10 pounds liquid amber malt extract

  • 10 pounds honey

  • 1-2 oz. Hallertauer hops (full boil)

  • 2 gallons sour cherry juice

  • Wyeast Dry Mead Yeast

Boil the malt and hops in 2.5 gallons of water for 60 minutes. Add the hops after the malt/water begins to boil. It will boil down to about 2 gallons. Meanwhile, dissolve the honey in 2 gallons water. Simmer and skim (just like the other recipes) till no more scum forms. It will boil down a little.

Yes, you simmer the honey and boil the malt separately. You don't want to boil the honey, and you need to boil the malt with the hops to get the bittering out of the hops, so they have to be treated separately.

Put the sour cherry juice into a sterile 7.5 gallon carboy. Add the malt (wort) and honey (must) to the carboy. No yeast nutrient or energizer is needed, as the malt has all that is needed for good yeast growth. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume up to 6 gallons (you probably won't need to add much if any water to the carboy with this recipe). Put an airlock on the carboy. Do not agitate the must at this stage. When the temperature is down to 70-80 deg. F pitch the yeast. The shaker method is not needed for a braggot.

When fermentation stops, transfer the braggot to a sterile secondary fermenter, leaving the sediment behind. Ferment to completion, feed and rack as needed then bottle. Braggots ferment quickly.

This braggot is thick, strong and very alcoholic. Age for 2-5 years before drinking. Really.

Note: If you can't locate sour cherry juice, substitute 3 Krick beer kits (3.3 lbs. of malt in each) for the 10 lbs. of malt and the two gallons of sour cherry juice. If you do this you will need to add 1 to 1-1/2 gallons of cold water to the carboy to keep it from cracking when you pour the hot wort and must in.

Color: Dark brown to black
Alcohol Content: 16%
Batch Size: 6 gallons

By the way, this recipe originally used 15 pounds of malt and 15 pounds of honey. If you like it strong, use these amounts.


Now for Some Recipes from History
In this section I have first listed the period recipe, then a modern translation. The translation will include such things a yeast nutrient, yeast energizer and the shaker method. These have been added to reduce fermentation time. If you wish, you can reproduce these recipes without the yeast nutrient and energizer. Be aware that fermentation will take 2-3 times a long to complete without these additives.

Note: Most of these recipes rely on an open fermentation to obtain wild yeast. While an open fermentation using wild yeast can produce a quality mead, it is unlikely you will obtain consistent results. It is also likely that the mead will become infected if a open fermentation is used. Therefore I have listed the use of packaged yeast in the translations.


The Country Housewife. London. 1762
Take eight Gallons of Water, and as much Honey as will make it bear an egg; add to this the Rinds of six Lemmons, and boil it well, scumming it carefully as it rises. When 'tis off the Fire, put to it the Juice of the six Lemmons, and pour it into a clean Tub, or earthen Vessel, if you have one large enough, to work three days, then scum it well, and pour off the clear into the Cask, and let it stand open till it has done making a hissing Noise; after which stop it up close, and in three months time it will be fine, and fit for bottling.

Translation:

  • 15 lbs. honey

  • 6 Lemon rinds

  • Juice of 6 Lemons

  • Yeast nutrient

  • Yeast energizer

  • Lalvin 71B-1122 Red Wine Yeast

Dissolve the honey in 3 gallons of water. We won't be boiling all 8 gallons of water as in the original recipe, as 8 gallon brew pots are hard to find. We will add the additional water to the fermenter.

Grate the rinds of 6 lemons and add to the brew pot with the honey/water. Simmer and skim (just like the other recipes) till no more scum forms. It will boil down a little.

Add 2 gallons cold water to a 7.5 gallon carboy. Add the must to the carboy, along with the juice of 6 lemons. Add yeast nutrient and yeast energizer. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must to 7 gallons. Put an airlock on the carboy. Do not agitate the must at this stage. When the temperature is down to 70-80 deg. F pitch the yeast. Let the carboy sit for a day, then use the shaker method to increase the yeast count.

After 3 days transfer the mead to a sterile secondary fermenter, leaving the sediment and the lemon rind behind. Ferment to completion, feed and rack as needed then bottle.

Color: Pale gold
Alcohol Content: 5-8%
Batch Size: 7 gallons


Mr. Corsellises Antwerp Meath
from Digbie, 1669
To make good Meath, good White and thick Marsilian or Provence-honey is best; and of that, to four Holland Pints (the Holland Pint is very little bigger then the English Winepint:) (a English winepint appears to be approximately the same size as a U.S. pint) of Water, you must put two pounds of Honey. The Honey must be stirred in Water, till it be all melted. If it be stirred about in warm water, it will melt so much the sooner.

When all is dissolved, it must be so strong that an Egge may swim in it with the end upwards. And if it be too sweet or too strong, because there is too much Honey; then you must put more water to it; yet so, that, as above, an Hens Egge may swim with the point upwards: And then that newly added water must be likewise well stirred about, so that it may be mingled all alike. If the Eggs sink (which is a token that there is not honey enough) then you must put more Honey to it, and stir about, till it be all dissolved, and the Eggs swim, as abovesaid. This being done, it must be hanged over the fire, and as it beginneth to seeth, the scum, that doth arise upon it, both before and after, must be clean skimmed off. When it is first set upon the fire, you must measure it first with a stick, how deep the Kettel is, or how much Liquor there be in it; and then it must boil so long, till one third part of it be boiled away. When it is thus boiled, it must be poured out into a Cooler, or open vessel, before it be tunned in the Barrel; but the Bung-hole must be left open, that it may have vent. A vessel, which hath served for Sack is best.

Translation:

  • 20 lbs. light honey

  • Yeast nutrient

  • Yeast energizer

  • Lalvin 71B-1122 Red Wine Yeast

Dissolve the honey in 5 gallons of hot water. Simmer and skim (just like the other recipes) till no more scum forms. Simmer till 1/3 of the volume is gone. Cover, remove from heat and allow it to cool over night. Do not uncover the mead until it's cool (70-80 deg. F) and you are ready to put it into the carboy, otherwise it may become infected with wild yeast/bacteria.

Add the must to a sterile carboy. Add the yeast, yeast nutrient and yeast energizer to the carboy. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must up to 3.5 gallons. Put an airlock on the carboy. Let the carboy sit for a day, then use the shaker method to increase the yeast count.

Ferment to completion, feed and rack as needed then bottle.

Color: Pale gold
Alcohol Content: 10-12%
Batch Size: 3.5 gallons


An Excellent white Meathe
from Digbie, 1669
Take one Gallon of Honey, and four of water; Boil and scum them till there rise no more scum; then put in your Spice a little bruised, which is most of Cinnamon, a little Ginger, a little Mace, and a very little Cloves. Boil it with the Spice in it, till it bear an Egge. Then take it from the fire, and let it Cool in a Woodden vessel, till it be but lukewarm; which this quantity will be in four or five or six hours. Then put into it a hot tost of Whitebread, spread over on both sides, pretty thick with fresh barm (Yeast, probably the lees from a pervious batch); that will make it presently work. Let it work twelve hours, close covered with Cloves. Then Tun it into a Runlet wherein Sack hath been, that is somewhat too big for that quantity of Liquor; for example, that it fill it not by a Gallon; You may then put a little Limon-pill in with it. After it hath remained in the vessel a week or ten days, draw it into Bottles. You may begin to drink it after two or three Months: But it will be better after a year. It will be very spritely and quick and pleasant and pure white.

Translation:

  • 20 lbs. light honey

  • 3 Sticks of Cinnamon

  • 1/4 - 1/2 oz. Grated Ginger Root

  • 1/8 - 1/4 oz. Mace

  • 1/8 oz. Cloves

  • Yeast nutrient

  • Yeast energizer

  • Lalvin 71B-1122 Red Wine Yeast

Dissolve the honey in 4 gallons of hot water. Simmer and skim (just like the other recipes) till no more scum forms. Lightly crush and add the spices to the pot. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Cover, remove from heat and allow it to cool over night. Do not uncover the mead until it's cool (70-80 deg. F) and you are ready to put it into the carboy, otherwise it may become infected with wild yeast/bacteria.

Add the must to a clean sterile carboy. Add the yeast, yeast nutrient and yeast energizer to the carboy. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must up to 5 gallons. Don't completely fill the carboy, leave 5" head space. Put an airlock on the carboy. Let the carboy sit for a day, then use the shaker method to increase the yeast count.

Let it ferment for 12 hours, then rack into a clean sterile carboy leaving the spices behind. Ferment to completion, feed and rack as needed then bottle.

Color: Pale gold
Alcohol Content: 8-10%
Batch Size: 5 gallons


Wilt du guten met machen
(How to Make Good Mead)
Ein Buch von Guter Spise (German, c. 1350)

The original recipe is in German. I have translated it into English for your convenience (unless, of course, you are German). Please note, this is a rather loose translation, not a literal one.

To make good mead, warm clean water to the point where you can just stand to place your hand in it. Use two parts water to one of honey. Stir with a stick, then let it sit a while. Then strain through a clean cloth or a hair sieve into a clean barrel.

Put the must back into the brewpot and boil it as long as it takes to walk the length of an acre and back. Skim the foam from the pot with a bowl with holes in it. Pour the mead into a clean barrel and cover it tightly, so that no vapor escapes. Let it cool until one can bear to put ones hand into it.

Take a half maz pot of hops and a hand full of sage. Add this to the must and boil for the time it takes to walk 1/2 mile.

Add the must a half nut of fresh yeast (the amount that would fit into half a nut shell). Cover, so that the vapor can get out. Let it ferment for a day and a night.

Strain the mead through a clean cloth or hair sieve and pout it into a clean barrel. Let it ferment three days. Rack it.

After fermentation stops, let it sit and settle for 8 days. Rack to a clean barrel and let it sit for eight days. Drink within the next 6-8 weeks for best results.

Translation:

  • 14 lbs. honey

  • 2 oz. Hops

  • 1/2 oz. Sage

  • Yeast nutrient

  • Yeast energizer

  • Lalvin 71B-1122 Red Wine Yeast

Dissolve the honey in 3 gallons of hot water. The straining listed in the translation is not needed unless you are using raw unfiltered honey.

Boil and skim for 10-15 minutes. Cover and let the must cool until it is only very warm to the touch. Add the hops and sage and boil the must for 10 minutes. Cover, remove from heat and allow the must to cool over night. Do not uncover the mead until it's cool (70-80 deg. F) and you are ready to put it into the carboy, otherwise it may become infected with wild yeast/bacteria.

Add the must to a sterile carboy. Add the yeast, yeast energizer and yeast nutrient to the carboy. Add cold water to the carboy to bring the total volume of the must up to 4.5 gallons. Put an airlock on the carboy. Let it ferment for a day, then rack into a sterile carboy leaving the spices behind. Ferment for three days. Rack into a clean sterile carboy. When fermentation is complete, allow it to sit for eight days so the yeast can settle out. Bottle.

Color: Pale gold to amber (depending on the honey used)
Alcohol Content: 5-7%
Batch Size: 4.5 gallons


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